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Upswing Poker Level-Up

Upswing Poker Level-Up

Written by: Upswing Poker
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Improve your poker skills fast with short, hyper-focused episodes covering crucial poker topics. Hosted by VP of Upswing Poker Mike Brady and poker pro Gary Blackwood.© 2024 Upswing Poker Level-Up
Episodes
  • How to Actually Win at Pot Limit Omaha
    Apr 22 2026

    Get the course here: https://upswingpoker.com/crushing-plo-tournaments/

    View the written version of this episode here: https://upswingpoker.com/podcast/ep19-pot-limit-omaha/

    Most PLO players are making the same costly mistakes without even realizing it—and it's destroying their win rate. In this episode, you'll learn the core fundamentals of Pot Limit Omaha so you can build stronger hands, make better decisions, and start playing a winning strategy immediately.

    00:00 Episode Intro + Why This PLO Episode Matters

    01:37 What This Episode Will Teach You About PLO

    02:20 Why Most PLO Hands Are Overvalued

    02:58 The 4 Key Traits of Strong PLO Hands

    05:41 What "Robust Equity" Means in PLO

    07:41 Position and Preflop Strategy Fundamentals

    08:04 UTG vs Button: How Ranges Change

    11:32 Blockers, Equity, and Preflop Mistakes

    14:01 Pocket Aces in PLO: Biggest Misconceptions

    16:16 The Biggest Leak: Playing With Fear

    19:18 Postflop Tip #1: Playing Based on Robust Equity

    21:34 Postflop Tip #2: C-Bet Sizing by Board Texture

    24:06 Postflop Tip #3: Checking Out of Position

    26:16 Postflop Tip #4: Turn Strategy and Pot Sizing

    28:50 Postflop Tip #5: Multiway Pot Strategy

    Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is one of the most complex poker variants, and in this episode, high-stakes pro Dylan Weisman breaks down a practical framework for actually winning. Unlike No-Limit Hold'em, PLO is an equity-driven game where hands run close together, making concepts like nuttiness, connectedness, suitedness, and high-pair power essential. Dylan explains how these four traits define strong PLO hands and why players must focus on building "robust equity"—hands that can improve across multiple streets and realistically make the nuts by the river.

    The episode emphasizes how position and stack depth shape strategy. Early position requires tight, smooth, and highly connected hands, while later positions allow for wider, more flexible ranges. Dylan also highlights common mistakes, including overvaluing weak hands, misplaying pocket Aces, and ignoring blockers and opponent ranges. A key takeaway is that many hands that look strong preflop perform poorly postflop if they lack nuttiness or backup equity.

    Postflop play is where most players struggle, and the biggest leak discussed is trying to "protect equity." In PLO, board textures change too frequently for that approach to work. Instead, players should apply aggression with hands that have strong redraws and play more passively with vulnerable holdings. The episode also covers c-bet sizing by board texture, why checking out of position is often optimal, and how to build effective check-raising ranges.

    Finally, Dylan breaks down turn strategy, polarized betting, and multiway pots, where smaller bet sizes and discipline are critical. Overall, this episode provides a clear, structured roadmap for improving PLO fundamentals and avoiding costly mistakes.

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    32 mins
  • Winning Money with Small Bets
    Feb 13 2026

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    View the written version of this episode here.

    In this episode, you'll learn the seven most powerful small bet situations that can instantly pressure your opponents and win more pots. By watching, you'll understand exactly when to use small bets for protection, range advantage, stack-to-pot leverage, block betting, and multi-way pressure so you can make more profitable decisions in both cash games and tournaments.

    00:00 Mastering Small Bets to Punish Missed Ranges (Cash Game C-Bet Strategy)

    00:48 Protection Betting: Thin Value with Medium Pairs in Tournaments

    02:50 Range Advantage Boards: Small Bets When You Smash the Flop

    04:30 Low Stack-to-Pot Ratio Strategy in 3-Bet and 4-Bet Pots

    06:16 Out-of-Position Flop Strategy: Why Solvers Prefer Small Bets

    07:18 River Block Betting: Setting Your Own Price with Medium Strength Hands

    09:06 Multi-Way Pots: Shared Defense and Why Smaller Bets Work

    In this episode of the Level-Up podcast, we break down the seven most profitable small bet situations in No Limit Hold'em and explain how to weaponize small sizing in both cash games and tournaments. From classic continuation bet spots to advanced stack-to-pot ratio adjustments, this guide shows you how to pressure opponents efficiently without bloating the pot unnecessarily.

    The first key concept centers on betting small when your opponent's range is filled with missed hands. In single-raised pots—like when you raise preflop and the big blind calls—dry flops such as queen-seven-three heavily favor the preflop raiser. Because the defender's range contains many ace-high and low-equity hands, a small one-third pot c-bet frequently wins the pot immediately while risking very little. This is one of the most efficient plays in modern poker strategy.

    Next, we explore protection betting with medium-strength hands. In tournament scenarios with 50 big blind stacks, holding a pocket pair on a coordinated board often calls for a small turn bet. This thin value plus protection approach forces opponents with overcards into difficult decisions, either folding equity or calling while behind.

    When your range crushes the board—such as in three-bet pots on ace-king-jack textures—small bets at high frequency generate folds from capped ranges while maintaining balance. Similarly, in four-bet pots where the stack-to-pot ratio (SPR) is low, small bets are typically optimal because the pot is already bloated and ranges are narrow.

    Out of position, solvers overwhelmingly prefer small sizing as the preflop raiser. By "naming your price," you avoid giving the in-position player the advantage of dictating the pot size. This principle extends to block betting on the river, where small bets with medium-strength hands prevent facing larger bets while still extracting thin value.

    Finally, we examine multi-way pots. Because the burden of defense is shared, betting into multiple players already signals strength. Smaller bets often accomplish the same goal as larger ones while preserving stack depth.

    Mastering these seven small bet scenarios will dramatically improve your postflop strategy, increase your win rate, and help you control pot geometry across a wide variety of poker situations.

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    10 mins
  • BONUS: Stop Playing Ace-King Wrong
    Nov 28 2025

    Click here to get 25% off EVERYTHING at Upswing Poker during the Black Friday sale!

    "Honestly in the 20 whatever years I've been on and off studying poker I don't know if I've ever seen a more impactful, concise, practical and actionable 20 minutes of content. Very very well done. Thank you." - Verified Lab 2.0 Member

    Click here and watch 'How to Play Pocket Kings'.

    Learn how to play Ace-King with clarity as Uri Peleg breaks down real hands and shows you exactly when this "premium" hand is powerful—and when it's just Ace-high. By the end, you'll know how to avoid costly mistakes, read tricky situations, and confidently extract maximum value from one of poker's most misunderstood hands.

    00:00 Why Ace-King Is a Deceptive and Difficult Hand

    01:59 Playing Ace-High on a Dry Board

    03:29 When Ace-King Becomes "Just Ace-High"

    03:56 Deep-Stacked 3-Bet Pot on a Connected Board

    06:08 Strong Flop and Clean Runout With Ace-King

    06:57 Blind vs Blind: Managing Missed Flops

    08:46 Navigating Bad Boards With Ace-King

    This video is a deep dive into one of poker's most misunderstood hands: Ace-King. Uri Peleg explains that while Ace-King is ranked among the strongest preflop holdings, it behaves very differently from true premiums like Aces or Kings. The hand's profitability is split: when you hit an Ace or a King, it becomes a powerhouse, but when you miss, it shifts into a marginal holding that often under-realizes its equity. The core message is learning to separate the emotional attachment players feel toward "big slick" from the actual strategic reality of the board, ranges, and runouts.

    Uri walks through a series of real hand examples that illustrate how dramatically Ace-King's value can fluctuate. In the first scenario, he shows how Ace-King with no pair is essentially just Ace-high—nothing more. He encourages players to visualize the hand as something as humble as Ace-Deuce when facing river aggression, reminding viewers that the preflop strength is irrelevant once the board runs out and equities shift. When the hand misses, the correct approach is often checking back, calling once with overcards, or folding river bets that only beat bluffs.

    The next hands highlight more nuanced spots, such as 3-bet pots where you flop draws or turn top pair in dangerous textures. Uri demonstrates how paired boards, four-to-a-straight runouts, and coordinated middling textures can crush Ace-King's value. In one hand he turns top pair top kicker but immediately explains why it's still a weak holding due to the connected nature of the board and the many wheel Aces that dominate him. He stresses discipline—letting go of the "premium hand" mindset and evaluating each street as if holding an ordinary bluff catcher.

    The video also includes best-case scenarios where you not only flop top pair but continue running out safely. Uri shows how to extract value on clean textures and when to size aggressively with strong but vulnerable holdings. These examples are balanced with tougher ones where the player gets to showdown cheaply or picks up a lucky river improvement after checking twice and avoiding check-raises.

    Uri reinforces a key concept: Ace-King is not a hand that wants to inflate pots blindly. Its strength is highly contextual, dependent on the board, the action, and the opponent's range. Sometimes it plays like a monster; other times it plays like a weak Ace-high.

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    9 mins
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