Tag: cash games

If you want to be a winning live poker player, you need to have a good handle on how to play straddled pots. Straddles are quite common in live cash games, but most live players make the same mistakes over and over again when the straddle is on. For this article, I dove into Nick...

Ace-Queen suited is a beastly hand, but it has limits. This article will help you play it better before and after the flop. Let's get started with how to play Ace-Queen suited in common preflop scenarios. How To Play Ace-Queen Suited Preflop Unopened Pots...

How good is your strategy with the best hand in the game, Pocket Aces? This quiz will test your skills with preflop and postflop situations. In all 10 situations, you hold Pocket Aces. Let’s see what your score looks like at the end (be sure to drop a comment with your results). You'll...

When you have Top Pair Top Kicker, you should expect to make a decent amount of money on average. But you have to avoid overvaluing or undervaluing the hand. Those mistakes can cost you a lot of money in the long run. By the time you finish this article, you'll be less likely to make those mistakes better results in your poker sessions...

One of my favorite ways to study poker is to look at hands between the best players in the world. By reviewing hands like the one below, you can gain valuable insight into how these poker beasts think about the game… …but sometimes, even the top players make what seem like glaring mistakes. So, let's dive into a $50/$100 hand on PokerStars between...

The best poker players in the world have a seemingly unlimited amount of weapons in their arsenal. One of those weapons is the tiny bet size (about 10-20% of the pot). When used in the right situations, tiny bets can be an incredibly efficient way to deny equity, leverage your range advantage, and narrow your opponent's range....

Double gutshot straight draws are very strong hands and you can pick up a lot of extra money if you play them well. This article covers how to play double gutters (aka double belly busters) effectively in a variety of situations. The focus will be on deep stack cash game play. Let’s dive in! What Is...

I freaking love flopping the nut flush draw....

You've probably been dealt Pocket Threes, also known as crabs, quite a few times. Have you ever wondered if you played them well? Time to find out! This article covers: How to play Pocket Threes in common preflop situations 3 tips for...

There have been some insane high stakes hands on poker live streams recently. Garrett Adelstein has been involved in a number of them, including the 6-figure pot that is the subject of today's article (No, not that one.) The hand takes place on Hustler Casino Live at the massive stakes of $100/$200/$400 ($200 Big blind ante). Read on for a recap...

If you play live poker, you probably notice your opponents making a lot of mistakes… …but could you be making any big mistakes yourself? Nick Petrangelo put together a list of the 5 most common mistakes that he sees live cash game players make. Watch or read on for that list....

Eric Persson and Alan Keating are two high-stakes poker players that have made quite a name for themselves over the past few years. In the hand we're about to review, the pair clashed horns in a colossal half-a-million-dollar pot. You just need to check out how this hand went down! The blinds are $200/$400/$800 with a few extra...

Want to maximize your winnings at the live cash game tables? Read (or watch) on....

It's happened to us all…and it sucks. You flop a solid hand like top pair or a straight draw -- let's say on a J♥ 8♣ 4♥ flop -- but then the turn is a pesky third flush card (like the 5♥). Navigating these situations can be tricky, but this article will make them a bit easier for you....

Elite high stakes poker pro Nick Petrangelo is back this week as he continues his sneak preview series for his upcoming Smash Live Cash course! In this article/video, Nick will walk you through a multiway pot that happened in a massive stakes cash game at...

Like it's brother Ace-Five suited, Ace-Four suited has become a quite trendy hand in recent years. That's because it has so much potential. Ace-Four can hit the strongest top pair, disguised straights, and nut flushes. In this article, I am going to help you get closer to...

Heads-up No-Limit Hold'em (HUNL) is arguably the purest form of poker. You sit across the table from 1 opponent and your job is to beat 'em. It's that simple. This article/video zooms in on 5 hands that were played by an Upswing Lab member...

Big pocket pairs will usually be your biggest money makers… …but, as you probably know all too well, they can also cost you an entire chip stack. To help you get max value and avoid costly mistakes, you're about to learn some key tips for playing the three biggest pocket pairs in No Limit Hold'em. Let's start at Pocket Queens and work up...

If you play relatively low stakes (online or live), read on. One of our coaches, Gary “GazzyB123” Blackwood, recently dropped down to 10NL ($0.05/$0.10) at the request of...

What is a double barrel in poker? A double barrel is a bet on the turn made by the same player who bet on the flop. For example, suppose I bet on the flop, you call, and I follow through with another bet (a double barrel) on the turn. Why is double barreling important? A great double barreling strategy will have an incredibly...