Exploiting your opponents' leaks is how you really take your win-rate to the next level. What is a Leak in Poker? A leak is a consistent strategic mistake made by a poker player. This article is written so you don’t need to understand poker game theory to use these … [Read more...]
These 4 Poker Cheat Sheets Will Make Your Life Easier
Poker cheat sheets can be great tools for improving your skills. To help you crush your competition this year, we're giving you 3 sheets that will help you avoid costly and embarrassing mistakes at the table. The sheets we're giving you today include (click to jump to that … [Read more...]
3 Late Position Battles Analyzed by a Cash Game Expert
Hey guys! In this article, we are going to take a close look at 3 hands in which we 3-bet on the button against a cutoff open. Upswing Lab coach Fried "mynameiskarl" Meulders played these hands at 500NL Zoom on PokerStars (a game he crushes). Then, he analyzed each one for his … [Read more...]
Why Bad Beats are a Poker Player’s Greatest Gift
A smart friend once suggested to me that perhaps poker would be better if every time players were all-in, the dealer split the pot according to their equity, instead of running it out and pushing everything to the winner of the hand. For instance, if Alice had AA and Bob had KK … [Read more...]
This Poker “Cheat Code” Will Help You Win More Hands
You're about to learn about a powerful play that was kept secret for years by elite poker pros. It's called "the weak lead", and it entails leading on the turn into a player who just c-bet the flop. If you're thinking "isn’t this called donk-betting?" the answer is yes! A … [Read more...]
[Quiz] The Preflop Raiser Checks Back… What’s Your Play on the Turn?
To probe or not to probe — that is the question. The following 10 hand questions take place on the turn after the preflop aggressor checked back on the flop. This is a super common spot that you need to understand if you want to succeed in poker. Want to study this situation … [Read more...]
How to Win More Chips with Your Bluff-to-Value Ratios
Have you ever heard of bluff-to-value ratio? When understood correctly, this concept will help you make more profitable plays both as the aggressor and versus aggression. In this article, you’ll learn:What is bluff-to-value ratio? The purpose of bluff-to-value ratio and how … [Read more...]
5 Quick Guidelines for Playing Versus C-Bets on the Flop
Poker is a bit like American football. It's important to have a solid offense (playing as the aggressor), but if your defense (playing vs. the aggressor) sucks, you're going to have a tough time winning. Perhaps the most crucial defensive situation in poker is playing vs. a flop … [Read more...]
Avoid These 3 Mistakes to Keep Your Poker Journey on Track
If you want to be a successful poker player in 2019, you need to prioritize your fundamentals. (That's what I explained in part 1 of this article series. If you missed it, you may want to check it out before reading on -- click here to read part 1 now.) In this article, we … [Read more...]
Stop Bleeding Money in 3-Bet Pots (Playing Vs Missed Turn C-Bet)
The fastest way to improve at poker is to study the most consequential and frequent spots, such as 3-bet pots. In this article, you will find some tips and tricks for 3-bet pots that will help you win more consistently. More specifically, we are going to analyze 3 hands which … [Read more...]
This is How You Should Study Poker If You Want to Win in 2019 (Part 1)
Q: What is more important than hard work? A: Harder work! Malcolm Gladwell made that very clear in his 2011 bestseller “Outliers,” where he popularized the concept that is now known as the 10,000-hour rule. The idea is that in order for someone to achieve mastery in any … [Read more...]
3 Concepts That Should Shape Your Postflop Strategy in 2019 (Positional, Range, and Nut Advantage)
Are you familiar with positional, range, and nut advantages in poker? Using these concepts to shape your postflop strategy will help you make more money in advantageous situations and limit your losses in disadvantageous ones. In this article, you will learn about each of these … [Read more...]
3 Theoretically Winning Calls That Lose in Practice
Should you favor a theoretically sound strategy or play exploitative poker? This question has been a hot debate in the poker world for the past several years. Some are fierce supporters of theory (sometimes to their stack’s detriment), while others insist that theoretically … [Read more...]
How a Strategy Mastermind Adjusts in Smaller Games (3 Hands)
Adjusting your strategy to exploit weak players is one of the most valuable skills you can have as a poker player. Today we'll take an in-depth look at 3 hands played by strategy mastermind Ryan Fee during a 50NL session he recorded for Upswing Lab members. While analyzing … [Read more...]
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 -- but there is a time and a place for every move in poker. In this article, you'll learn how to identify spots in which a tricky slow-play is more profitable than playing … [Read more...]
How Should You React to Check-Raises on the Flop?
It sucks to get check-raised, especially when you're not totally sure how to react. It's easy if your opponent is a tight player who rarely bluffs, against whom you should fold all but your strongest hands. But what to do when a tough player -- someone capable of bluffing -- … [Read more...]
