Intermediate Poker Strategy Articles

Popular Intermediate Articles

5 Situations Where C-Betting Will Burn You

By Dan B.

C-betting is a fundamental part of playing good, solid, winning poker. There are many situations where c-betting frequently is the…

Top Pair, Bad Kicker? Here’s the Right Way to Play It

By Dan B.

This article shares strategic advice from Uri Peleg on how to play top pairs with a weak kicker. The insights…

Where does the EV come from in poker?

By Dan B.

Continuing on the idea from the article I wrote recently (Should You Play Like a Nit Preflop?), in this article,…

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All Intermediate Poker Articles

Play More Hands, Win More Pots: 5 Tips for PLO MTT Success

By Duncan Smith

Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) tournaments are a completely different animal from No-Limit Hold’em. If you try to carry over your standard…

Push Fold Charts for Poker Tournaments, Plus More Advanced Strategies

By Leo Song-Carrillo

Note: Updated February 2026. For the original article and charts scroll to the bottom. In the mid-2010s, the emergence of…

How to Play the Turn After Range Checking the Flop (Part 1)

By Dan B.

Some time ago, I wrote about a few spots where checking your entire range on the flop is the right…

3-Bet Preflop Strategy with Updated Range Charts

By Dan B.

3-betting preflop is a fundamental strategy for winning at poker. Getting it right is also easier than ever, thanks to…

PR0DIGY vs Riggedeck: A $35,000 Hand Breakdown from the Cash Game World Championship

By Dan B.

As we steam ahead with the 2025 Cash Game World Championship (CGWC), I am going to break down a hand…

We’re Cutting Prices for Cyber Monday (25% Off Everything)

By Mike Brady

The 2025 Black Friday / Cyber Monday Sale is over. We’ll see you 2026 with more sales and more killer…

Unleash Your Potential with Lucid Poker

By Duncan Smith

This will change your poker game for the better. Lucid Poker Version 3.0 launches on November 10, offering a faster,…

Deep vs Shallow Study: The Key to Rapid Poker Improvement

By Uri Peleg

Uri Peleg is arguably the best poker coach in the world. He just released a game-changing course called Upswing Lab…

(Sneak Peek) Lab 2.0 is Your Path to Poker Mastery

By Duncan Smith

Ready to destroy weaker recreational players and come out on top against your fellow regulars? Upswing Lab 2.0 will teach…

LLinusLLove vs. AbsoluteTopUp: A Masterclass in Flush Draw Dynamics

By Dan B.

I’ve got a hand straight from the Cash Game World Championship hosted by CoinPoker. This one features Linus “LLinusLL0ve” Loeliger…

Top Pair, Bad Kicker? Here’s the Right Way to Play It

By Dan B.

This article shares strategic advice from Uri Peleg on how to play top pairs with a weak kicker. The insights…

Where does the EV come from in poker?

By Dan B.

Continuing on the idea from the article I wrote recently (Should You Play Like a Nit Preflop?), in this article,…

3 Preflop Exploits That Work in Live Championship Events

By Leo Song-Carrillo

The biggest live tournament of the year is underway. Whether you’re in the mix or just railing the action, there’s…

Should You Play Like a Nit Preflop?

By Dan B.

A player recently asked: “If only a minority of preflop hands make the majority of the money, why should I…

How Elite Poker Pros Play Pocket Kings Postflop

By Dan B.

Everyone gets a nice hit of dopamine and adrenaline when they’re dealt pocket Kings. Your unconscious mind expects a big…

5 Tips for Improving Your Skills with PokerTracker

By Dan B.

In this article, I’m going to share five ways you can use PokerTracker to improve your game. I’ve been a…

Limps in Poker: The Ultimate Guide to Crushing Open Limpers

By Dan B.

Think of limpers as your most valuable customers. Every time you see someone limp into the pot, you’re being handed…

5 Preflop Tips to Help You Crush on ClubWPT Gold

By Dan B.

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new poker site available to most residents of the USA. It’s called ClubWPT…

3 Tips to Make Your Opponents Regret Raising Your Big Blind

By Dan B.

Playing well out of the Big Blind (BB) is essential. The pots you play after defending your BB might be…

3 Money-Making Exploits That Work in 99% of Poker Games

By Dan B.

Whether to attempt to play a game theory optimal (GTO) strategy has been a hot topic in the poker world…

3 Pro Tips for Playing Overpairs (via Lucid Poker)

By Dan B.

Are you maximizing your winnings with overpairs? Playing them correctly can mean the difference between extracting max expected value (EV)…

5 Tips For Check-Raising The Flop (via Lucid Poker)

By Dan B.

Check-raising is an essential skill to master. In this article, I’ll share 5 key tips for check-raising on the flop…

How to Exploit Maniac Poker Players

By Cameron Dhaliwal

Note: The new Lucid Poker channel will be posting helpful videos like this regularly. Click here to subscribe! Once again,…

What Top Poker Pros Already Know About 4-Betting

By Mike Brady

You’re about to learn how professional poker players approach 4-betting. You’ll find the answers to these key questions in this…

Quads vs Full House in High Stakes Poker Game

By Dan B.

Even the best poker players in the world deal with brutal bad beats. This hand features two powerhouse players going…

How To Play Underpairs in Cash Games

By Dan B.

It sucks when your pocket pair misses the flop, especially when you’re looking at three overcards. But you shouldn’t always…

Top Poker Pro Borrows Common Low Stakes Tactic ($99,136 Pot)

By Dan B.

Let’s visit the top of the poker food chain! The following hand took place in an online nosebleed $500/$1,000 ($200…

Nightmare for Pocket Aces! Huge Hands Collide in Massive Pot

By Dan B.

Sometimes losing a massive pot is avoidable; sometimes it isn’t.  Let’s take a look at a huge pot from a…

When Should You Set Mine with a Pocket Pair? These 5 Tips Will Clear Things Up.

By Dan B.

You call a raise with pocket sevens and stare anxiously as the dealer reveals the flop… Queen… Jack… SEVEN! As…

What Is Showdown Value & Why Does It Matter?

By Dan B.

Understanding showdown value is one key to becoming a winning poker player. It is a fundamental concept that shapes postflop…

Complete Guide to Tournament C-Betting Strategy

By Miikka Anttonen | January 23, 2018

Continuation betting (c-betting) is now so trivial that even the most inexperienced tournament players do it without thinking twice. Today…

Short-Stacked 3-Betting in Tournaments Revealed

By Miikka Anttonen | January 16, 2018

The Ultimate Guide to Tournament 3-Betting Suppose you’re facing a late position raise with a good-but-not-great hand on the button.…

My Tried-and-True Method for Conquering Tilt

By Ryan Fee | December 1, 2017

Featured image credit: Live at the Bike One thing can instantly transform a world-class poker pro into a mega-whale: Tilt.…

How to Check-Raise with Short Stacks Like an MTT Boss

By Miikka Anttonen | October 24, 2017

Check-raising is an indispensable play in tournaments. Since average stack sizes are shallow, a check-raise will typically represent a large portion of your remaining chips. This allows you to put a lot of pressure on your opponent(s), because in order […]

5 Not-So-Easy River Spots Explained By A Game Theory Expert

By George Mathias | August 25, 2017

Discussing hands with friends is a great way to get better at poker. Now, imagine if one of your friends…

Why The Very Best Poker Players Make Decisions At Random (Mixed Strategy)

By George Mathias | August 11, 2017

The many randomized elements of poker are a big part of what makes the game so strategically complex. We can…

The Ultimate Guide to Preflop Multiway Pots (And Squeezing)

By Upswing Poker | July 28, 2017

Multiway pots are extremely complex. As more players enter the pot, the size of the game-tree increases. This makes finding…

Does Your Poker Journey Feel Stuck? So Did Doug Polk’s

By George Mathias | June 9, 2017

Does your poker career feel stuck? Have you been playing in the same low- and mid-stakes games for what seems…

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Enjoying the free strategy articles, but want to take your game to the next level? Upswing has a poker training path for you in the new Lab 2.0 to move from intermediate to advanced as you work beyond the Launch Pad and into the Mastery Path. Lessons are from some of the world's best coaches including Uri Peleg, Gary Blackwood, and Qing Yang. Lab 2.0 gives you a clear path to sharper and more profitable play.

Enjoying the free strategy articles, but want to take your game to the next level? Upswing has a poker training path for you in the new Lab 2.0 to move from intermediate to advanced as you work beyond the Launch Pad and into the Mastery Path. Lessons are from some of the world's best coaches including Uri Peleg, Gary Blackwood, and Qing Yang. Lab 2.0 gives you a clear path to sharper and more profitable play.