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Articles by Nick Petranglo
Should He Fold Pocket Aces At The Final Table? (Analysis)
Some poker players love to set traps. Players who trap too often are pretty easy to play against, but so are those who never trap. Like most things in poker, balance is the key. It’s also important to navigate cautiously when a trap doesn’t go exactly to plan. In 2017, Irish poker pro Dara O’Kearney made the final table of the Killarney High Roller where he met his old nemesis Upeshka ‘Pesh’ De Silva — the man who had defeated him heads-up for a WSOP bracelet in 2015.
The Worst Poker Hand Of His Life (Analysis)
Every time you sit down at the poker table, you make mistakes (even if you’re Phil Ivey). What matters is how you learn from those mistakes. Jamie Nixon is one of the brightest young poker talents in the UK and, like most great players, he is immensely self-critical. In 2019, when he was up against high stakes regular Örpen Kısacıkoğlu in a WPT Deepstacks tournament, he played what he describes as “the worst hand of his life”.
Should She Fold Aces Full in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event? (Analysis)
What does it take for you to lose all your chips in level 1 of the WSOP Main Event? With 300 big blinds and the slowest structure of any live tournament… …it should require the coldest of cold decks. Let’s look back on a classic, crazy hand from the 2017 Main Event that demonstrates what it takes for an accomplished pro to exit so quickly. This article is based on my video here and includes analysis from poker pros Dara O’Kearney and Daiva Byrne.
5 "Poker Boom" Hands That Will Make You Cry Laughing
Did you play poker back during the “boom years” of 2003-2006? If you did, I’d bet my bottom dollar you look back on that time period fondly. If you didn’t, let me paint a picture for you. It’s 2003. The World Poker Tour came out on television the year before, triggering increased interest in poker (especially No Limit Hold’em). Then, an accountant named Chris Moneymaker wins the World Series of Poker Main Event for $2,500,000. All of the sudden, everyone and their mother wants to play poker.
[QUIZ] Do You Know Which Hands to Bluff With?
Knowing when to bluff is one of the most important aspects of poker, which is why we’re making another quiz to test your skills. In this quiz, your technical understanding of bluffing on every street will be challenged, from preflop through the river. Keep in mind that multiple answers might be good bluffing hands, but the correct answer is the BEST bluffing hand of the 3 options.
David Lappin, Author at Upswing Poker
This guide will help you understand which hands to raise first in in Pot Limit Omaha.
♠ Hand Replayer - Upswing Poker
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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 something, or want to double back and reinforce what you’ve learned, we’ve compiled our top strategy articles.
If You Can't Ace This Cash Game Quiz, You Should Join the Upswing Lab
The Upswing Lab training course has helped poker players of all levels exceed their goals. The Lab’s greatest success story is probably high stakes regular Ali Imsirovic, but many more have seen dramatic improvements as well. If you can’t get all 10 questions correct on this quiz, you really need to get the Lab (unless you don’t care about winning and moving up in stakes). Answer each question assuming your opponent is a solid online player against whom you have no specific reads.
How to Play Ace-Queen Offsuit in Cash Games (Preflop Advice & 6 Postflop Tips)
Some hate it, some love it. Ace-Queen offsuit is one of the most polarizing hands in poker. While it is one of the best starting hands in the deck, it can also be relatively difficult to play compared to strong starting hands.
How to Destroy Your Opponent After Seeing One Showdown (Part 2)
Sometimes it takes just one showdown for a great poker player to change their game plan and start crushing opponents. If you want to maximize your win-rate, you need to be able to identify and exploit the leaks in your opponents’ games. One of the best ways to do this is by paying attention to how they played their hands that went to showdown. Occasionally, a player will showdown a hand that reveals huge holes in their strategy.
The Girah Scandal: How a Fake Prodigy Cheated the Poker World
Cheating scandals are an unavoidable part of poker lore. A recent tweet from Bill Perkins about a multi-accounting cheating scandal sent the poker community into sleuth mode. The depth of whatever happened to Perkins might never be known, though Dan Bilzerian has accused Dan “Jungleman” Cates as being at the heart of the cheating Perkins is referring to.
Poker Training Mini-Course - The Postflop Game Plan - Upswing Poker
A duplicatable system that allows you to make quick, high-quality, profitable poker decisions, which translates into more money in your pocket. 1. Make correct poker decisions in 60 seconds (or less) 2. Quickly place your hands into their correct categories 3. Find the best decision based on which category a hand falls into 4. Turn "I don't know what to do here" spots into money generating situations 5. Locate and execute the best play, even against the toughest opponents 1.
How to Avoid the Unhealthy Mindset That Tortures Poker Players
If you want longevity in poker, you need to have a strong mental game. Among other things, that means you have to be able to self-criticize (so you can grow as a player) while not self-shaming. Way too many poker players are extremely harsh and critical of themselves. Such a mindset may help in achieving short-term goals, but in the long-term it puts you in an unhealthy mindset and undermines your chances for sustained excellence.
Can You 10/10 OtB_RedBaron's Strategy? -- Advanced Poker Quiz
‘Otb_Redbaron’ is considered one of, if not the best 6-max player right now, and Upswing’s own Andres Artinano (‘Educa-p0ker’) has been battling him for years. In fact, Andres built his strategy by studying the Baron’s strategy, and he has decided to share that strategy in his advanced Crush the Baron training course. This quiz is based on the tactics and strategies revealed in that course. Keep in mind that a wrong answer doesn’t mean your play is generally without merit.
Checking Flops with Overpairs: When Should You Do It?
You look down at the beautiful Q♦ Q♥. You raise preflop and get called by two players. The flop is all undercards, so you still have an overpair. You start to reach for chips, but then you remember this article. What did it say about scenarios like this? You’re about to gain insight into when it’s appropriate to check on the flop with an overpair in order to win the maximum.
8 Rules That Will Help You Choose the Perfect Sizing
Choosing the best bet size is a tricky task in No Limit Hold’em. There is no one ‘perfect’ bet size that can be used in all spots. The optimal bet size will depend on a number of factors, including: Preflop action Board texture Stack depth Who has the range advantage …and many more! In this article, you will learn eight general rules that will help you choose a winning size – whether it be a 33% pot-sized bet or a huge overbet – in any situation.
10 Fundamental Tips for The Most Common Types of Flops
You’re about to learn about one of the most important factors in poker. Board texture is one of the most important pieces of information in any given hand. The optimal bet sizing, bet frequency, and overall postflop strategy hinges on the specific three cards that come on the flop.
How The "King of Instagram" Plays One-on-One Poker (Analysis)
You probably already know Dan Bilzerian. The man dubbed the “King of Instagram” claims to have made his entire fortune playing poker — which has been contested (see: Did Dan Bilzerian Win His Money in Poker?). It’s tough to know how Bilzerian approaches poker strategy because he mainly plays in high stakes private games. Back in 2017, however, he played an online heads-up cash game session (on Bill Perkins’ account) that was live streamed on Twitch.
Ryan Fee Flops a Full House...Should He Fold? (Cutting-Edge PLO Tactics Revealed)
(Fee will be referred to as "Hero" in this section.) Hero's range is doing very poorly on this flop versus his opponent's range. This equity graph visualizes just how poorly his range is doing: A huge portion (~70%) of the Villain's range has Hero's range absolutely crushed with around 90% equity -- this represents the Villain's AAxx hands. The rest of Fee's range doesn't fair so well either (which is why the blue line is below the red line at almost every point in the graph).
Slow-Playing vs Fast-Playing Revealed
You flop a set… Your opponent bets into you and you have a decision to make. Will you fast-play with a raise, hoping to get all-in as soon as possible? Or will you slow-play with a call, setting a trap for your opponent? Situations like this will happen pretty much anytime you play a session of poker. If you want to walk away from the table with as many chips as possible, you need to know how to choose between fast-playing and slow-playing. Reading this article will help you do that.
Advanced Cash Game Strategy with Kanu7
Discover cutting-edge cash game strategies and crush your opponents. IMMEDIATELY IMPROVE YOUR STRATEGY WITH A CASH GAME MILLIONAIRE Advanced Cash Game Strategy is an elite training course for serious cash game players. This course is taught by legendary pro Alex "Kanu7" Millar, one of the biggest-winning online cash game players of all time.
3 Ways You Might Be Bleeding Money in Cash Games
There are so many ways to lose money in poker, but there are only a few ways to win. This is why when you are starting off in poker, and throughout your journey to the top, you shouldn’t focus on making “sick” and creative plays. You should instead focus on not doing something dumb that will cost you a lot of money. Put simply, making dumb mistakes frequently or in big pots will absolutely decimate your win-rate.
How to Handle Downswings Like a Poker Pro
What’s the only thing worse than losing money in one session of poker? Going on a poker downswing that causes you to lose money an extended period of time. Bad beats can seriously test your mental game. Downswings are an inevitable part of poker. It doesn’t matter whether you are brand new to the game or if you are the greatest player on the planet. Cruel variance will take its toll on you at some point.
How to Get Max Value with Ace-Jack on Jack-Jack-Five (Analysis)
Winning big pots is crucial for your bottom line. Whoever wins the big pots during a session is very likely to be the biggest winner at the end of it. Playing well and avoiding mistakes is of the utmost importance. In this article series, I am going to analyze 3 big pots that Upswing coach and cash game boss Fried “mynameiskarl” Meulders played at $2.50/$5 Zoom on PokerStars. Each of these pots were pulled directly from his latest Play & Explain session in the Lab.
How to Win Your Blind vs Blind Battles (as the Preflop Raiser)
As I said in part 1 and part 2 of the series, blind vs blind battles are happening way more often than they used to. This means there is more money to be won in these increasingly common spots. The focus of this article is playing from the small blind as the preflop aggressor. We’ll start by briefly covering preflop strategy, after which we will dive deeper and study flop play.
How to Choose Between Small vs Big Bet Sizes
Imagine you’re playing $1/$2. You raise preflop with 8♥ 7♥ and get called by the player in the big blind. The flop comes… …and your opponent checks. Now, you know you want to bet with your low flush draw, but you aren’t sure which size to choose. If this sounds like you, keep reading. You’re about to learn exactly how to choose between small and big bet sizes at the poker table. Small vs. Big Bet Sizes: The Fundamentals Let’s start with the basics.
[QUIZ] Can You Dominate Live Poker Games?
If you frequent live poker games with a $2, $3, or $5 big blind, this quiz is for you. Your goal is to choose the most profitable play based on the situation and reads provided. At the end of the quiz, you’ll get assigned with a live poker player based on your score. Good luck! If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. How’d You Do?
5 Fast Tips That Will Help You Dominate in 3-Bet Pots
3-bet pots are extremely important, and the tips in this article will help you play them more effectively. Let’s dive in straight away. 1. Defend more hands in position versus a c-bet on the flop After your opponent 3-bets, he will usually c-bet on the flop at a high frequency, including with many weak made hands or hands that missed completely. Therefore, you should oftentimes call versus the c-bet to avoid letting him win a lot of pots without good hands.
What Top Poker Pros Already Know About 4-Betting
You’re about to learn how professional poker players approach 4-betting. You’ll find the answers to these key questions in this article: Why do we 4-bet? With which hands should we 4-bet? What 4-bet size should we use? How should we adjust our 4-bet sizes in tournaments? The answers are actually quite simple and you can start applying the following advice in the very next session you play.
Playing with Deep Stacks: Tips, Tricks, & Adjustments to Help You Win
If playing with deep stacks (150bb+) makes you feel anxious or confused, this article will make your life easier. You’re about to learn how to: Adjust your preflop bet sizing when deep stacked. Choose the correct hands to 3-bet and 4-bet when deep stacked. Adjust your postflop game plan when deep stacked. Let’s dive in! Preflop Bet Sizings When it comes to open-raising preflop, your sizings should remain the same as when you’re playing 100 big blinds deep.
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 quick checklist to go over before playing a tournament, and not advice on how much to tip the dealers after a big win. When I searched “poker tournament tips” for myself, none of the results were particularly fruitful, with most info being wrong or outdated.
Only 10% of Poker Players Will Ace This C-Betting Quiz
You’re about to find out if you’re an END BOSS when it comes to c-betting on the flop versus a big blind defender. For each question, assume your opponent is a competent player against whom you have no specific reads. This quiz has been updated (originally published in June 2018). If the quiz is not displaying above this line, try refreshing the page or use a different web browser. How did you do?
[QUIZ] Are You a Boss or a Fish When Your Opponent 3-Bets?
Are you ready to test your skills versus 3-bet? This quiz will reveal two things: your understanding of the theoretical aspects of playing versus 3-bets and your understanding of the practical ways to adapt based on reads. If you want to study this spot before taking the quiz, read this article on reacting to 3-bets. Good luck! If the quiz is not displaying just above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. How’d You Do? Share your result in the comments below.
[QUIZ] Phil Hellmuth Sees Poker Players as Animals. Which One Are You?
When Phil Hellmuth sees a poker player, he sees an animal (according to his book Play Poker Like the Pros). The specific animal he sees — whether it be a mouse, an eagle, or something else — is based on that player’s style. Ready to find out which animal Phil thinks you are? Take this 10 question quiz and don’t forget to share your animal at the end! If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. Not done yet?
[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 before taking the quiz? Read our guide Probe Bets: How to Play Turns When the Preflop Raiser Checks Back. Good luck! If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. Want 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 have the following in common: Your opponent 3-bet preflop from the blinds and you called in position. The 3-bettor fired a continuation bet (c-bet) on the flop. The 3-bettor checked the turn.
Only 5% of Players Will Get 7/7 on This PLO Preflop Quiz
Ready to put your Pot Limit Omaha preflop skills to the test? The answers to these 7 quiz questions are based on what cutting-edge PLO solvers would do in each situation. Only a true Pot Limit Omaha expert will get 6 or more correct. Assume you are 100BB deep in each situation unless otherwise noted. Good luck! Featured photo credit & copyright: Drew Amato (edited from original) If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser.
[QUIZ] Are Your Check-Raising Skills Razor Sharp?
Do you have sweet check-raising skills? Do your opponents shake with fear before firing a c-bet? For each question, assume you have no solid reads on your opponent. And make sure you share your score at the end! If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. Take more poker quizzes here!
If You Get 8/10 On This 3-Bet Pot Quiz, You're a Shark
How competent are you at playing 3-bet pots as the defender? Take your time and think carefully, because these 10 questions are tough. For each question, assume that you have no information about your opponent. And be sure to share your results at the end. Best of luck! If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. Want more? Browse and take more poker quizzes here.
Preflop Strategy Quiz | Only a Feared Grinder Will Get 9/10
Are you ready to challenge your preflop skills? Because these 10 questions aren’t meant to be easy! Be sure you share your score at the end. Good luck! If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. NOTE: Want to improve your preflop skills without spending a dime? Get our FREE Preflop Guide with 8 easy-to-read charts now! Want more?
How Much Do You Actually Know About Cash Game Strategy?
Get ready to put your cash game strategy knowledge to the test. The 10 questions in this quiz are based on Upswing’s cash game content from the past year. Make sure you share your total score at the end! If the quiz is not displaying above, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. Want more? Note: Ready to join the 4,897 players currently upgrading their No Limit Hold’em skills? Take your game to the next level when you get the Upswing Lab training course.
Does Studying Poker Tells Make You a Worse Overall Player?
My name’s Zachary Elwood, and I’ve written some well-known books on poker tells: Reading Poker Tells, Verbal Poker Tells, and Exploiting Poker Tells. I also have a poker tells video series. I was watching the Cate Hall versus Mike Dentale “grudge match” the other day, and Doug Polk and Shaun Deeb were commentating.
How Much Do You Actually Know About Tournament Poker Strategy?
The following 8 questions will test your knowledge of tournament poker strategy, math, and more. Good luck and don’t forget to share your score at the end! If you do not see the quiz above this sentence, try refreshing the page or using a different web browser. Share your score in the comments below or on social media! If you want to take another quiz, click here! Note: Ready to join the 4,897 players currently upgrading their No Limit Hold’em skills?
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