BlackRain79

This is the most comprehensive Upswing Poker Lab review ever written (Updated for 2020). I have heard about the Upswing Poker Lab advanced training for quite some time now, but never really had a chance to have an in-depth look at it until now. And as a poker pro myself, I have always been interested in what's inside. This is by far the...

There is an incredible amount of educational material out there these days to help you improve your poker game in 2020. There is so much in fact that it can probably seem a bit daunting at first to someone who is just getting started online. Also, to complicate matters further, not all of this information is good. Some of it is bad and...

Even though I’m primarily a cash game specialist, I know that many of you are interested in micro stakes tournament strategy as well. Maybe you just play tourneys on the side. But who wouldn't want to hit a big score in one of them a little more often right? The best micro stakes poker tournament strategy involves using a tight and aggressive play...

This is the most comprehensive guide to the best poker software ever written (Updated for 2020). I get asked about the best poker software or best poker tools to use in 2020 more than any other question. And believe me, I get it. It is a bit of a jungle out there! So here are the best poker software tools you need to...

Recently the Daniel Negreanu MasterClass was launched. And like many of you I was excited to see what would be inside this new advanced poker training course. Daniel Negreanu's accomplishments in poker kind of speak for themselves. He has $40 million dollars in live poker tournament winnings and he is arguably the most famous poker player on the planet. So the great thing...

Your poker HUD (heads up display) is arguably your most important weapon at the poker tables especially as you start moving up the stakes. You have to play against regulars much more frequently and many of them don't have the obvious glaring leaks that they do at the lower limits. Having a good poker HUD setup that allows you to get the reads...

Could you use an extra $500 a month playing poker? Most people would probably answer yes to that question. And luckily it actually isn't as difficult as you might think. You don't need to be a great poker player either. A mediocre player could make $500 a month playing poker with consistent play at the lowest stakes online like NL2, NL5 or NL10...

People often ask me how do you win at poker every time? Now, unfortunately my answer might disappoint you a bit. Because, well, you can't. However, there are several strategies that you can use to make sure you win at poker more often. I am going to explain them all for you in this article. 1\. Why Can't You Win at Poker Every...

People often ask me what my top Texas Holdem tips are these days. Texas Holdem is a skill based card game played by people from all over the world in casinos and online. It is particularly popular in America which is also the birthplace of the game. Many people dream of winning the World Series of Poker Main Event which crowns the unofficial...

There have been a lot of great poker quotes over the years from legends of the game like Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, superstar players like Daniel Negreanu, and even from famous poker movies like Rounders. And I don't know about you, but even as a professional poker player for many years, I have still always considered myself to simply be a fan of...

People ask me all the time what are the best poker courses. And I know it can be difficult with so many options out there these days. Also, many poker courses are aimed at different skill levels, beginner, intermediate and advanced. As a 10+ year poker pro I have studied many poker courses over the years to improve my own skills at the...

I get a lot of questions about the Upswing Poker Postflop Game Plan little mini course that they offer. As many people know I already recommend several other Upswing Poker courses to take your game to the next level in 2020, including the Upswing Poker Lab. You can find my full review for that right here. And that is because Upswing Poker's main...

People ask me all the time how to beat the micro stakes poker games. And honestly, while the games have gotten a bit more difficult in the past 5-10 years, it still doesn't require a rocket science degree to beat them. Micro Stakes Poker Definition: The "micro stakes" by the way typically refers to NL2 to NL50 cash games online. These are the...

I have played A LOT of online poker over the years. I am talking well over 10 million hands at this point. So, trying to figure out my total career earnings is difficult because hand histories got stored on different computers and compiled by different programs: PokerTracker and Holdem Manager. Before PTR stopped tracking the games at Pokerstars they had me listed as...

I was pretty sure this first real post here was gonna be a downer post about losing some money. I started off running pretty bad and playing even worse. The most notable of my terrible play was raising AQo in EP, 2 callers, button (180bb) and SB (30bb). Flop AQK rainbow. I told myself not to play a big pot here. Nothing I...

Hello, This blog will be mostly concerned with poker. I have been playing online for about 2 years now and it was my sole means of paying the bills through about half of that time. That is no longer the case and I'm fine with that. Playing for a living can be very difficult mentally at times. I have no plans on going...

Well I'm done with that limit now as I have achieved the bankroll requirement I set. I will move up to NL100 tomorrow. I'm looking forward to getting in that game. I actually have more hands at NL100, than any other limit, throughout my poker career. So its nothing new. Tonight things went decent. I made quite a few big hands. Its a...

So I moved up to NL100 tonight. Moving up always makes me a bit nervous b/c if you run bad at first it really sucks. I mean, I have a huge bankroll for the game and wasn't going to move down given one bad night. But luckily that wasn't the case anyways. I ran better than I have in weeks and killed the...

I am opening this blog up to the public. It has in actuality been public for 3 years but I have never revealed my screen name until now. I am BlackRain79 on PokerStars (and elsewhere). I have gained a certain amount of "notoriety" in the poker community since PTR began tracking my play in October of last year. I currently have the #1...

I had a good question in the comment section section yesterday that I will just answer here. The question: I have a question for you, if you have the time. In one of your earliest posts you stated the following: "Fuck this game. It makes no sense at all lol. How the hell is it not rigged, seriously? " I'm wondering how you...