Tournament Poker Strategy Articles
Popular Tournament Poker Articles
Push Fold Charts for Poker Tournaments, Plus More Advanced Strategies
Note: Updated February 2026. For the original article and charts scroll to the bottom. In the mid-2010s, the emergence of…
8 Quick MTT Tips to Help You Top the Leaderboard
The tournament grind is tough. You can go months without a solid score, all the while watching other players succeed…
All Intermediate Poker Articles
Elite Pros Battle for Chip Lead With 0 Pairs Between Them (Analysis)
When two elite players are seated together late on in a tournament, it is often wise for them to steer…
Should He Fold Pocket Aces to a Close Friend? (Analysis)
When two friends clash at the poker table, it generally goes one of three ways: Some friends go after each…
Doug Polk Semi-Bluffs All-In With $3.7 Million at Stake (Analysis)
To mark the beginning of the 2021 World Series of Poker (which started yesterday), today’s article zooms in on a…
The $2.5 Million Bluff That Changed The Poker World Forever (Moneymaker vs Farha Analysis)
Heads-up for the 2003 WSOP Main Event title. A bracelet and $2.5 million on the line. The poker veteran in…
What is Board Coverage & Why Does It Matter?
Board coverage is a relatively new concept in the poker world. It became a hot topic when solvers gained widespread…
WSOP Main Event Winner Stoyan Madanzhiev Joins Team Upswing
The perfect way to hone your skills in preparation for the World Series of Poker is here… Bulgarian tournament poker…
Stop Punting Away Your Equity in Knockout Tournaments
A Wise Hitman Chooses His Targets Carefully… If you aren’t playing knockout poker tournaments as a part of your schedule,…
How Poker Antes Should Change Your Tournament Raising Strategy
Do you open roughly the same range from each position regardless of antes? If so, you are making a costly mistake. Many players leak chips by failing to adjust their preflop ranges when there’s dead money to go after. With antes in […]
5 Tips for Playing Backdoor Flush & Straight Draws
Backdoor draws play a significant role in the range construction process. If you don’t regularly consider backdoor draws when making…
Should You Ever Donk-Bet On The Flop?
What is Donk Betting? A Donk-Bet is a somewhat unorthodox bet made by an out of position player who was…
Leveling: How Overthinking Costs You Money at the Poker Table
What is Leveling in Poker? Also known as Multiple Level Thinking, Leveling is the concept of evaluating a poker situation…
Which Draws Should You Semi-Bluff With?
Bluffing is an indispensable part of the game—as Doug likes to say, “Bluffing is life in poker.” In this article,…
When Should You Slow Play a Strong Hand?
It’s generally not a good idea to slow play strong hands — you’ll usually win more money by fast-playing —…
How to Play Poker in a Casino (Beginner’s Guide & 5 Pro Tips)
You can find many different ways to play poker without ever stepping into a casino. That first trip to a…
Hellmuth Crushes Negreanu’s Soul with 8♣ 3♣ (Analysis by Polk & Negreanu)
Sometimes you see a hand that makes you think: “what the hell am I looking at right now?” This hand…
The Filthiest Hand from the $10,000,000 Wynn Millions (Analysis)
Imagine this… You are playing one of the first $10,000 buy-in tournaments post-lockdown, and it’s the biggest tournament of the…
How to Take Notes on Your Opponents Like a Pro
Learning how to take notes efficiently is an underrated skill in online poker. By taking notes, you give yourself easily…
Two Top Pros Play Perfectly with $450,076 on the Line (Hand Analysis)
Welcome to some of the toughest poker games on the planet: $25k High Roller Tournaments. These events attract the best…
14 Players Away from €300,000 — Should He Hero Call This Hand?
When your opponent either has the nuts or nothing, it can make sense to bluff-catch with a marginal hand. Today’s…
$2 Million Up for Grabs — Can Dan Smith Get Fedor Holz to Fold?
In 2016, the $111,111 WSOP One Drop brought out a who’s who of poker’s elite. A stacked final table boiled…
What is the Poker Game Tree & Why Does It Matter?
Learning poker is a gradual process. You start by learning about your hand strength and play poker without factoring in…
Should David Lappin Fold a Full House on a Devilish Board? (Analysis)
In November 2018, the Unibet Open took place in my hometown of Dublin, Ireland. Home advantage meant I was familiar…
Going for Value in Two High Stakes Tournament Hands (Analysis)
To help you improve your strategy in tournaments, today we’re taking a look at two key tournament hands played by…
4 Tournament Mindset Tips for Poker Success (ft. ALLinPAV)
Upswing Poker coach Hristivoje “ALLinPav” Pavlovic has proven that the poker dream is still alive. About five years ago he…
How Would You Play Pocket Aces at This Final Table? (Analysis)
Tom ‘Jabracada’ Hall is one of the most fearsome online and live poker players that the UK has ever produced.…
Should He Fold Trips vs An Aggressive Pro? ($25K High Roller Analysis)
I’ve got an interesting hand for you today, folks. Three huge factors were at play in this one: A $25,000…
Heads-Up for €29,620 — Should David Lappin Call with Jack-High?
For my fifth strategy article, I thought I’d put myself on the chopping-block and breakdown a hand from the 2018…
Top Pro Plays Pocket Queens Passively with $2.7 Million On the Line
Dominik Nitsche is considered by many to be one of the best tournament players in the world, and for good…
What is Four-of-a-Kind? And How Should You Play Four-of-a-Kind?
Four-of-a-kind marks one of the rarest and strongest hands you can possibly make in a poker game. The third-strongest hand…
The 100 Most Valuable Poker Strategy Articles for 2021
Hopefully you’ve taken advantage of all the great strategy content that’s available here at Upswing. But in case you’ve missed…
Poker Training Course: Upswing Lab 2.0
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.
More Poker Training from Upswing Poker
Browse our catalog of poker training courses. Whether you're a for fun/profit low stakes player, a tournament player, a cash game player, or rising crusher looking for advanced material, we have a course for you, including our brand new Upswing Lab 2.0 membership course and private strategy community.