Tournament Poker Strategy Articles
Popular Tournament Poker Articles
Four Doug Polk MTT Hands Reviewed by Two of The Best Tournament Players Ever
Doug Polk built Upswing Poker, but he’s still best known as a heads-up cash game specialist. That’s what makes his…
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…
7 Poker Tournament Tips for Running Deep More Often
Poker tournament tips is, apparently, a pretty common search term on Google. I assume the searchers are looking for a…
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). Modern Tournament Mastery by Tim Adams and Dan Dvoress (feat. Stevie Chidwick) launches May 2026. Learn more
All Tournament Poker Articles
$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…
Jungleman Hits $825,635 Straight Flush vs Phil Ivey’s Quads (Analysis)
Half-man, half-machine, Steve Austin was the original six-million dollar man. With superhuman strength and speed, he battled evil for the…
Can She Fold a Full House Getting 7 to 1? (Analysis)
One of the many common cognitive biases is commitment bias. In short, commitment bias is our unwillingness to make decisions…
€1,115,207 On The Line…Should She Fold A SET? (Analysis)
The late Kenny Rogers famously sang: You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em. Know…
How to Play Flopped Sets in 8 Common Situations
Who doesn’t love the feeling you get when you flop a set? When it happens, all you can think about…
Late Registering Online Tournaments: How Late Is Too Late?
You’re starting to take tournaments seriously. You put a decent amount of time into studying theory / analyzing hands. But…
$22 Becomes $100,061 in Unbelievably Huge Tournament (Hand Analysis)
Who hasn’t dreamed of turning a small tournament buy-in into a fortune? Upswing coach Daniel “Daniel” McAulay actually pulled off…
How “Game Flow” Should Impact Your Decisions in Poker
People aren’t robots. Poker can be a very emotional game, which can cause even experienced players to lose control of…
How ICM Should Impact Your Play at Final Tables
You don’t want to be the person who blows a huge opportunity because of one avoidable decision at a final…
What is a Flush? And How Should You Play Flushes?
Making a flush can often result in winning the pot in a game of poker. One of the stronger hands…
10 Poker Infographics That Will Help Your Game
Infographics are a fun and effective way to learn, which is why we’ve created numerous infographics throughout the years. Today’s…
4 Valuable Pieces of Poker Tournament Advice for Beginners
You’ve played your A-game for hours and you made some hands when you needed to. Now, it has finally happened:…
Tourney Boss Hristivoje “ALLinPav” Pavlovic Joins the Upswing Lab Team
One of poker’s most prolific Twitch streamers has joined the Upswing Lab. Hristivoje “ALLinPav” Pavlovic is the newest member of…
Single-Raised Pots vs 3-Bet Pots: How Should Your Strategy Differ?
If you want to make as much money in poker as possible, you need to be well versed in the…
The Ultimate Guide to Squeezing in No Limit Hold’em
The “squeeze” play — 3-betting preflop versus a raise and one or more callers — was once a staple of…
[QUIZ] Can You Ace 10 Super Tough Poker Questions?
There are dozens of poker quizzes here on Upswing Poker. Over the past few days, my team and I sifted…
3 Questions to Ask Yourself When Facing a Bet
Learning poker in 2020 can feel overwhelming. The poker community is always buzzing about solvers and theoretically optimal play —…
3 Crucial Types of Poker Software for Serious Players in 2024
If you’re serious about poker, there are a few must-have types of poker software / poker tools. Whether you play…
7 Must-Read Articles That Will Help Your Poker Game
I’ve been running the Upswing Poker blog for over four years. In that time I have commissioned, read, and published…
How to Play Pocket Aces (5 Mistakes to Avoid)
After hours of looking down at hands like T♠ 5♣, it finally happens. You get dealt the beautiful pocket aces.…
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.