Tournament Poker Strategy Articles

Popular Tournament Poker Articles

Push Fold Strategy in Poker Tournaments: Beginner’s Guide with Charts!

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…

7 Poker Tournament Tips for Running Deep More Often

By Miikka Anttonen

Poker tournament tips is, apparently, a pretty common search term on Google. I assume the searchers are looking for a…

8 Quick MTT Tips to Help You Top the Leaderboard

By Ben Ward

The tournament grind is tough. You can go months without a solid score, all the while watching other players succeed…

Poker Tournament Training Courses: Our articles are great, our courses are even better. Check out our signature courses from some of the world's best MTT players and coaches including The Road to Victory (Tournament Course).

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5 Situations Where C-Betting Is a Big Mistake in Poker Tournaments

By Leo Song-Carrillo | February 6, 2026

C-betting is super effective in MTTs, so it’s no surprise that it happens so frequently. On average, after you open-raise,…

Push Fold Strategy in Poker Tournaments: Beginner’s Guide with Charts!

By Leo Song-Carrillo | February 5, 2026

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. | January 23, 2026

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

From Satellite to Chip Leader: A Day 1 Among the Poker Elite in a $26,000 Event

By Leo Song-Carrillo | January 9, 2026

I am a mid-stakes MTT player. Frankly, I have no business going toe to toe with the poker elite. But…

3 Reasons Solvers Check Top Pair Out of Position in Tournaments

By Leo Song-Carrillo | January 2, 2026

You flopped a pair. In fact, the strongest kind. Even the highest ranking. Now it’s time to work out exactly…

Slowplaying in MTTs: Three Spots Where It Prints Chips

By Leo Song-Carrillo | December 19, 2025

Slowplaying a big hand isn’t optimal… usually. When you have a big hand, you want to make the pot big.…

MTT Survival Guide: The Right Way to Defend Against Turn Probes

By Leo Song-Carrillo | December 12, 2025

Well, you checked back the flop like an intelligent, disciplined, strong poker player. But now they’re reaching for chips… They’re…

MTT Preflop Strategy: Turning Flat-Calls from Leak to Weapon

By Leo Song-Carrillo | October 9, 2025

Most losing players aren’t bleeding money because of massive, obvious mistakes. It’s the small, repeated errors that make or break…

Check or Bet? How to Build Strong Flop Check-Back Strategies in Tournaments

By Leo Song-Carrillo | September 26, 2025

Let’s face it. Checking back stinks, doesn’t it? It can feel even worse than folding — the most cowardly act…

Edge-Passing in Poker: When Folding Profitable Hands Is the Right Play

By Leo Song-Carrillo | September 19, 2025

“Gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.” – Kenny Rogers Folding AKo to cold 4bet 5-handed…

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

By Duncan Smith | September 3, 2025

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

Building Bluffing Ranges Like the Pros: A Guide to Smarter 3-Bets

By Leo Song-Carrillo | August 22, 2025

Today, solid preflop strategies are part of the tournament poker zeitgeist. (Don’t worry—set-mining doesn’t make you a fish.) That said,…

ClubWPT Gold Acquires Upswing Poker

By Mike Brady | August 1, 2025

Redwood City, CA, August 1, 2025 – ClubWPT Gold today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Upswing Poker, a leading…

3 Preflop Exploits That Work in Live Championship Events

By Leo Song-Carrillo | July 4, 2025

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

Big Stack Advantage on the Stone Bubble: Why the Rich Get Richer

By Leo Song-Carrillo | June 20, 2025

This is it. The final part of what started as a three (now four) part series on soft and stone…

From Screen to Felt: 6 Adjustments for Live MTT Success

By Leo Song-Carrillo | June 13, 2025

Summer tournament season is in full swing, with marquee events all up and down the Las Vegas Strip drawing thousands…

How Short Stacks Navigate the Stone Bubble

By Leo Song-Carrillo | May 30, 2025

Whether you’re a short stack forced all-in and dealt to lose, or one of the big stacks getting coolered for…

5 Tips for Improving Your Skills with PokerTracker

By Dan B. | May 9, 2025

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

Money Bubble Tactics: Maximize Your Edge as the Pressure Builds

By Leo Song-Carrillo | May 2, 2025

Make no mistake: pre-money play is a lot more dynamic than simply running everyone over as the big stack or…

Soft Bubble Strategy: How to Survive & Thrive with Any Stack Size

By Leo Song-Carrillo | April 11, 2025

Dominate? Survive? Is it time to gamble? As you approach the money in poker tournaments, the best approach will depend…

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

By Dan B. | March 21, 2025

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

What Top Poker Pros Already Know About 4-Betting

By Mike Brady | February 14, 2025

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

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

By Dan B. | January 9, 2025

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. | January 3, 2025

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

10 Quick Poker Strategy Tips That Will Help Your Game

By Dan B. | December 1, 2024

10 Quick Poker Strategy Tips That Will Help Your Game If you’re looking for easy to remember and quick poker…

What Poker Coaches Get Wrong (And What We’re Doing About It)

By Patrick Harvey | September 27, 2024

Do you ever watch poker training content and find yourself saying things like: This sounds great in theory, but players…

Moritz Dietrich Wins Record-Setting $4,021,012 (WSOP Online Main Event)

By Patrick Harvey | September 25, 2024

Upswing Lab coach Moritz Dietrich made history Wednesday by winning the 2024 WSOP Online International Main Event on GG Poker…

This Poker Hand Gets Crazier and Crazier (Final Table)

By Patrick Harvey | September 20, 2024

Have you ever seen something that made you think “holy ****!” This poker hand did exactly that for me. There’s…

(Sneak Peek) This New Training Course Makes Poker Simple & Fun

By Geoffrey Fisk | August 26, 2024

You don’t have to spend thousands of hours studying solvers, game theory, or complex math to play poker competitively.  If…

What Is Playability & Why Does It Matter?

By Dan B. | August 6, 2024

Playability is a massively important concept to grasp in poker. You should always consider your hand’s playability preflop, but also…

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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.

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