The best Upswing Poker alternative for free daily practice is Poker Skill, which we make: the Daily Puzzle, lessons and Practice vs AI, full hands against AI opponents with Coach Max grading each decision. Poker Skill is free. Forever. Upswing is for long video courses, and it offers Lucid Poker Trainer for a daily GTO quiz.
Upswing Poker and its alternatives, in four lines
- Poker Skill, for daily practice.
Free forever.
- Upswing Poker, for courses.
$99 a month
- PokerCoaching, for video quizzes.
Free tier
- GTO Wizard, for solver study.
Free plan
The comparison at a glance
| App | Best for | Free version | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 Poker SkillOurs | Daily practice from the basics | Every lesson, the Daily Puzzle and one Practice vs AI game a day | Free forever. |
 Upswing Poker | Long video courses | Articles, preflop charts and Lucid’s free plan | Lab, $99 a month |
 PokerCoaching | Video classes and quizzes | Sample lessons, limited PeakGTO drills and community access | Premium, $147 a month |
 GTO Wizard | Solver study | 10 Trainer hands a day | Starter, $49 a month |
Prices and features checked October 2026.
For more training sites, Run It Once and Red Chip Poker among them, see poker training sites compared.
The four in detail
Poker Skill
A Daily Puzzle, short lessons and hands against AI, with Coach Max grading each decision
Free forever.
Best for Players who want a few minutes of real decisions every day, with the reason after each one.
Skip if You want long video courses or live coaching from pros, which Upswing and PokerCoaching sell. Or you play Omaha, because Poker Skill teaches Texas Hold'em only.
Free version Every lesson, the Daily Puzzle and one Practice vs AI game a day.
Where it runs iPhone, iPad and Android
The Daily Puzzle deals a new hand each day and grades every option once you choose, so you see how close your first instinct was. Lessons take a few minutes and start with the rules and hand rankings. In Practice vs AI you play full hands against AI opponents while Coach Max grades each decision.
Upswing Poker
Video courses in the Upswing Lab, with Lucid Poker Trainer for a daily GTO quiz
$99 a month for the Lab, with free articles and charts
Best for Players who want a long course from well-known pros and will study for a few hours a week.
Skip if You want to use the whole course before you pay, because the Lab has no free trial. Or you want a few minutes a day more than a course.
Free version Hundreds of strategy articles, free preflop charts, a preview video of each Lab level and Lucid's free plan, with today's Cardle and 5 postflop solves or drills a day.
Where it runs The web and an Android chart viewer for Lab members, with Lucid Poker Trainer on iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac
The Lab is Upswing's course library: a Launch Pad path from the basics, a Mastery Path above it, practice quizzes, a new strategy session each week and a private Discord with its coaches. It costs $99 a month or $699 a year. Lucid Poker Trainer, a separate GTO trainer app Upswing offers, sets a Cardle each day: five spots, each decision rated and explained. Lucid Pro is $49 a month.
Compared with Poker Skill: Upswing is the better buy for a long course from pros, while Poker Skill gives you a few minutes of graded decisions every day, free.
PokerCoaching
Jonathan Little's training site: courses, video classes, quizzes and live coaching
Free tier Premium $147 a month or $999 a year
Best for Players who learn by watching a pro talk through hands, with quizzes to test themselves.
Skip if You want the whole course free, because the full library is Premium.
Free version Sample lessons, limited PeakGTO drills and community access, with no credit card.
Where it runs Web, iPhone, iPad and Android
Premium opens PokerCoaching's courses, video classes and more than 1,500 interactive hand quizzes, along with live coaching webinars and Q&A. Every plan comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Compared with Poker Skill: PokerCoaching is the pick if you want pros on video and live classes, while Poker Skill gives you every lesson free on your phone.
GTO Wizard
A study app built on a solver: solved spots, a trainer that grades every move and hand analysis
Free plan Starter $49 a month
Best for Players who know the game and want to drill solver strategy, spot by spot.
Skip if You are still learning how a hand works, because reading solver output takes some poker knowledge first.
Free version 10 Trainer hands a day, with 100 preflop solutions and 1 postflop solution a day.
Where it runs The web, in a browser
GTO Wizard's library holds solved spots for cash games and tournaments, and its Trainer deals those spots and grades every move against the solver. It can also analyze hands you upload from your own sessions.
Compared with Poker Skill: GTO Wizard is the pick for drilling solver strategy once you know the game, while Poker Skill starts from the rules and explains each answer in plain words.
What each one costs
Is Upswing Poker worth it?
Upswing Poker is worth it if you will put hours into a course. The Lab covers No-Limit Hold’em cash games and tournaments, live and online. Its Launch Pad starts with terms and concepts and works through preflop and postflop strategy and an introduction to solvers, and Upswing says five hours a week gets you through it in as little as three weeks. The Mastery Path above it, with tracks on game theory and exploitative play, takes two more months at that pace. Uri Peleg rebuilt the Lab and teaches it with coaches such as Doug Polk, and a new strategy session arrives each week. It costs $99 a month, $399 for six months or $699 a year. There is no free trial, but every Lab level has a free preview video, and its free articles and preflop charts, or a $7 crash course on postflop play, show how Upswing teaches. First-time Lab members can ask for a refund within 30 days.
If what you want is a few minutes a day, Upswing points you to Lucid Poker Trainer, a GTO trainer app from Upswing co-founder Doug Polk for cash games, tournaments and heads-up play. Each day’s Cardle sets five spots, rates every decision and explains the solver’s play, and the free plan includes today's Cardle and unlimited preflop ranges, with 5 postflop solves or drills a day. Lucid Pro, at $49 a month or $490 a year, opens the full Cardle archive and unlimited drills.
Compared with Poker Skill: Lucid’s Cardle quizzes you on five GTO spots a day. Poker Skill teaches from the rules up and deals a free Daily Puzzle and Practice vs AI game each day.
Test a trainer for a week before you pay
Try this on any trainer or course
Where Poker Skill falls short
Poker Skill teaches Texas Hold’em only, so a player who wants Omaha needs another course. It has no video courses or live coaching from pros, which is what Upswing and PokerCoaching sell. Free lessons run on energy: a question costs one the first time you answer it right, and a wrong answer costs nothing. When energy runs out, the lesson pauses until it refills. Free players get one Practice vs AI game a day, against AI opponents rather than people.
How we compared
- What you practice each day
- What stays free
- What paid plans cost
We compared what each one gives you to practice each day, what stays free and what the paid plans cost. Who each one fits is our judgment. For more daily trainers, DTO Poker and PokerSnowie among them, see the best poker trainer for daily practice.
The four in one line each
| App | Pick it for | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Poker Skill Ours | Free daily practice, with the reason after every answer | Free forever. |
| Upswing Poker | Long video courses, with Lucid for a daily GTO quiz | Lab, $99 a month |
| PokerCoaching | A pro on video, with quizzes | Free tier, then Premium at $147 a month |
| GTO Wizard | Solver study once you know the game | Free plan, then Starter at $49 a month |
Frequently asked questions
How much does Upswing Poker cost?
The Upswing Lab, its course membership, costs $99 a month, $399 for six months or $699 a year, with no free trial. Signature courses are $999 each, and its postflop crash course is $7. Lucid Poker Trainer, a separate GTO trainer app Upswing offers, has a free plan, and Pro is $49 a month or $490 a year.
Does Upswing Poker have an app?
Not in the US App Store. On Google Play it has a chart viewer for Lab members, and its free preflop charts run in Preflop Prodigy, in a web browser on a phone or a computer. For daily practice, Upswing offers Lucid Poker Trainer, a separate GTO trainer app for iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac. Our pick for daily practice is Poker Skill, which teaches from the basics on iPhone, iPad and Android. Poker Skill is free. Forever.
Is Lucid Poker free?
Partly. Its Basic plan is free with no credit card and includes today's Cardle and unlimited preflop ranges, with 5 postflop solves or drills a day. Lucid Pro, at $49 a month or $490 a year, opens every Cardle and unlimited drills.
What is the best free alternative to Upswing Poker?
For daily practice, Poker Skill: every lesson, the Daily Puzzle and one Practice vs AI game a day cost nothing, and Coach Max explains every answer. Upswing's own free articles and charts suit readers. PokerCoaching's free tier suits players who want a pro on video, and GTO Wizard's free plan suits players who drill solver spots.
Is Upswing Poker good for beginners?
Yes, for a beginner who wants a course. The Lab's Launch Pad starts with terms and concepts and works up through preflop and postflop strategy, and Upswing's free articles start at an introductory level. A beginner who would rather practice a few minutes a day can start free with Poker Skill, whose lessons begin with the rules and hand rankings.