Want to maximize your win-rate? Then you always need to be on the lookout for ways to exploit your opponents. One of the best ways to do that is by using a HUD. What is a HUD in poker? Short for Heads-Up Display, a HUD is a tool used in online poker games to track […]
Should He Call 3 Expensive Barrels With Middle Pair? (Analysis)
When you play poker, it can be easy to feel like a one man wolfpack. Even if you get along with the people that you are playing with, at the end of the day, you are still competing against them for money. Table camaraderie only goes so far. That’s why it’s so important to network […]
[QUIZ] Can You Play Famous Poker Hands Like a Top Pro?
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play as one of the world’s most famous poker players? Today you get that chance. This quiz will take you through 8 real spots that were played by world-class players at some of the world’s highest stakes. Your goal is to choose the best possible […]
Bluff-Raising to $302,000 vs Patrik Antonius (Analysis)
Let’s take a look at what is perhaps the most interesting TV poker hand Doug Polk ever played. It’s an ultra-high stakes cash game with the blinds at $1,000/$2,000 and $2,000 in total antes. Both Doug and his opponent, the famous Patrik Antonius, are very deep, with an effective stack depth of $470,000 (235 big […]
[QUIZ] Can You Exploit This Hypothetical Poker Table?
Time to test your exploit skills! The following quiz will challenge you with 10 hand scenarios at a live $2/$5 table. Before diving into the hands, click “See Player Reads” below to get valuable information about each of the other players at the table. Your goal is to figure out the best play given the […]
BONKERS Bluff With $992,500 On The Line
(Analysis of PokerGO’s Record-Breaking Pot)
Let’s take a look at the biggest pot in PokerGO history. This hand comes from Rob Yong’s Home Game streamed on PokerGO and features Rick Salomon and Lazaro Hernandez colliding in a $992,500 pot. The game is played at nosebleed stakes, with blinds set at $1,000/$2,000 with a $4,000 straddle. Hernandez is $580,000 deep (~145 […]
How to Snowball Your Winnings vs Weak Players
When you’re up against weak players, you have the opportunity to snowball your winnings. These players make much larger mistakes than regulars, and taking maximum advantage of those mistakes allows you to achieve a higher win-rate with less variance in your results. In this short article, I am going to show you how to extract […]
Why Teddy KGB is Actually Bad at Poker
Teddy KGB is a feared character in Rounders, the most iconic poker movie of all time. Teddy’s scary traits include his status as a Russian mob boss and deep ties into the New York City underworld. Those traits do not necessarily include his skill at the poker table, which (spoiler alert) lead to Mike McDermott […]
Your $1/$2 Hands Analyzed By A Live Cash Crusher
Featured Photo: Joe Giron & PokerNews (Edited from Original) You posted the hands. Now, we break ‘em down. With the help of live poker specialist (and crusher) Mike Finstein, I am going to analyze two $1/$2 live hands that were played by members of the Upswing Lab. Each member posted their hand in the private […]
Set vs Set vs Flush for (At Least) a $224,000 Pot (Analysis)
After playing for hours, it finally happens: you flop a set. But as you are busy counting all of the money you are about to win, the turn brings a possible flush and multiple opponents start to pile money into the pot. Naturally, the scary board and heavy action make you start to question whether […]
What is Rake in Poker? And Should Rake Impact Your Poker Strategy?
What is Rake? Rake is the fee taken by the operators of a poker game. If you’ve ever played cash game poker in a casino, you’ve probably seen the dealer taking chips out of the pot during most hands — those chips are the casino’s rake. Just to state the obvious: more rake is NOT […]
[QUIZ] Can You Beat the People of Instagram at Poker, Again?
We love quizzing our Instagram audience with head-scratching poker scenarios. (If you took the first Instagram quiz last week, you already know this.) The quiz you’re about to take includes 10 hand scenarios we’ve posted on the social platform in the past year or so. Let’s see how your skills stack up versus the scrollers […]
How to Adjust Your Strategy in Splashy Live Games
My local $1/$2 game is crazy. People call raises with all sorts of garbage hands and they never seem to fold a pair postflop, but I can’t seem to win! How should I adjust my strategy in this game? We see questions like this all the time in the Upswing Poker Facebook groups. It seems like […]
[QUIZ] Can You Beat the People of Instagram at Poker?
We love quizzing our Instagram audience with head-scratching poker scenarios. Their responses are usually a mixed bag. The top comment is almost always the hilarious joke “all-in” (makes me laugh every time), but reading the earnest responses gives you an interesting look into how players of different levels approach poker. The quiz below includes 9 […]
Leveling: How Overthinking Costs You Money at the Poker Table
In 1999 (and then later in 2006) David Sklansky in his celebrated book The Theory of Poker introduced the world to the various levels of thinking in poker. For those unfamiliar with the concept, they can be summarized as follows (slightly renumbered from their original version to include purely irrational actions): Level 0: I do not […]
Was This Bluff a Mistake? (Analysis)
This two-part article series will help you improve your strategy with missed draws. In part one, cash game crusher Fried Meulders missed a flush draw with Q♥ 7♥, but got his opponent to fold with a couple of huge overbet bluffs. This time Fried misses a straight draw in a 3-bet pot. Will his aggression […]
