The Ugly Truth About Staking in Poker

makeup poker staking

You’ve heard of staking. Or at least you probably have if you’ve spent any time with poker players. Over the last decade or so, poker staking has blown up, mostly in tournaments, but cash games as well. Done right, a poker staking deal can be beneficial for both parties, yet staking deals gone wrong have…

Read More

Why You Should Play More Multi-Table Tournaments (MTTs)

mtt tournaments

When Multi Table Tournaments Brought the Fun Back Having recently given up poker as my full-time profession to focus on writing, coaching and growing my own poker strategy site, I have felt my love for MTTs – which had faded over the years due to the extreme time-commitment required – return in a way I…

Read More

Stop Bleeding Money in Re Entry & Rebuy Tournaments

rebuy re entry tournament strategy

Not Your Grandma’s Freezeout Re entry and rebuy tournaments, also occasionally referred to as WEEEE!buy and WEEEE!Entry tournaments, are two poker tournament variants that have grown immensely in popularity as of late (especially Re Entrys). They occasionally garner the WEEEE! tags in homage to the lovely sound you make on a roller coaster ride thanks…

Read More

How to Negotiate Final Table Deals Like a Pro

negotiating poker final table deals

Tournament poker deals aren’t something that come up often, but when they do their effect on your bottom line is massive. The high variance of poker tournaments understandably causes some players to seek insurance once it’s down to about four players. Nowadays, with the proliferation of events like the MicroMillions, inexperienced tournament players find themselves making…

Read More

How To Adjust Against Any Player Type At Heads Up Hyper Turbos

player types adjustment poker

Let’s examine the different player types we’ll meet at the tables, as well as look at some basic heads-up strategy that we can employ against each one. But before we do that, it’s important to note that the strategies we discuss below will make big inferences and generalities in order to highlight certain concepts or…

Read More

Spin & Go Strategy with Doug Polk and Courtney Gee (Transcript)

Upswing Poker featured pro Doug Polk recently recorded a Spin & Go hand history review session with fellow Team #GrindNation member Courtney Gee. Courtney (aka “courtiebee”) currently resides in western Canada and was a professional poker player before moving over to streaming full-time on Twitch in 2015. A Heads-Up Hyper Turbo specialist, Gee has used…

Read More

Money Bubble Strategy: How to Set Yourself Up for the Win

tournament bubble boy strategy

How To Not Blow It On The Bubble Congrats! You did it! You’ve endured through days of that tournament, survived the land mines, circumnavigated all the bear traps, and scaled the chip counts. Only 100 players remain and 99 walk away with some cash money! You call an open with 87 suited, flop a huge…

Read More

Should I Play Cash Games or Tournaments?

jamie gold illusory superiority

One of the most frequently asked questions you’ll hear from aspiring poker pros is whether to focus on tournament poker strategy or cash game poker strategy. Which one should you choose? Well, both are good and viable in today’s poker world. You can pick either one and be profitable with enough work and commitment.  They…

Read More

Out Of This World Satellite Tournament Strategy

satellite poker tournament strategy

Ok, ok, forgive me for the cheese-ball satellite joke in the title, I couldn’t help myself. I’ll make it up to you with some solid poker satellite strategy to help you increase that bottom line and get into the events you want to play that your wallet might not be on-board with. Why should you…

Read More

6 Traits That Will Help You Crush Heads-Up Hyper Turbos

david yan ept win

In the first part of our introduction to Heads-Up Hyper-Turbos (HUHT) we outlined the pros and cons of this format and dispelled its two most common myths, being a luck-based or all-in preflop game.  In this second part we will look at the anatomy of a successful HUHT player and explore the attributes most important…

Read More

Beginner’s Guide to Heads-Up Hyper Turbo Sit & Gos

Shaun Deeb slow roll poker

Even if you’re married to cash games and tournaments, it’s hard not to fall a little bit in love with Heads Up Hyper Turbo (HUHT) Sit & Gos every now and again. What’s not to love? 1-on-1 competition, lots of action and fast enough that you can always manage to get a few games in,…

Read More

Poker Sit and Gos – Explanation and Strategy

SNGs – What Are They, and Are They Worth Playing? With so many different poker formats available, it can be difficult, especially for beginners, to choose the best game to play. One of the most popular formats for new players are sit and go tournaments. Today we will take a look at the pros and cons…

Read More

ICM Poker Introduction: What Is The Independent Chip Model?

gavel on money and chips for poker debt collection lawyer

Long gone are the days where tournament poker was played by “feel” alone. The introduction of basic mathematical terms such as equity and the calculation of odds changed the game of poker forever some time ago. More recently, however, increasingly advanced concepts have been introduced. Among the more relevant are ICM poker: a mathematical model that uses stack sizes…

Read More

How to Maneuver a Tournament Short Stack

short stack poker

Monitoring your stack size is one of the most crucial elements of the tournament poker play and beginners often don’t pay it enough attention. Most tournaments start off with 100 BB stacks or higher, but the blinds will continue raising with our stack in relation shrinking. Large 100 BB stacks allow players to employ a wide range of intricate…

Read More