From Sweepstakes Poker to Poker Solver: The ClubWPT Gold Makeover

So, What’s Changed? Practically Everything

The first and most obvious update: Gold Coins are gone. Retired so to say. Once the backbone of ClubWPT Gold’s two-currency model, they’ve now been scrubbed from the platform. The familiar Sweeps Coins, used to play in tournaments and redeem for real prizes, are still around, but they’ve been renamed Chips and converted at a 1:1 ratio.

But the real shift here isn’t so much in the branding. It’s in the reason you’re spending money on the site. Before, players bought Gold Coins and received bonus Sweeps Coins. Pretty simple. Now, you’re actually buying Hand Analysis and getting Chips as the bonus. In other words, ClubWPT Gold wants you to think of it less as a prize room, and more as a learning platform. A place where you play, learn, and improve.

Poker Hands Now Come With a Side of GTO

From now on, every time you voluntarily put Chips in the pot, whether it’s preflop or postflop doesn’t really matter, ClubWPT Gold logs the hand and sends it through their new Hand Analysis engine. You’ll get feedback shortly after, breaking down your play by street, showing you what the “optimal” line was, and rating your decisions as solid, close, or lacking.

There’s a catch, of course: this only happens if you have Hand Analysis credits in your account. If you don’t, your hands go unreviewed. There’s no way to request analysis later or retroactively get feedback on older play. It’s also powered by Upswing Poker’s Lucid Trainer technology.

So, ClubWPT Gold didn’t just buy a course library, they bought a backend and now they’re putting it to work.

A Strategic Shift or a Regulatory Pivot?

So, officially, ClubWPT Gold is pitching the relaunch as an evolution. Basically, they’re giving players more value, more feedback, and a better path to just being better at the game. But there’s more to it than that.

For years, the sweepstakes model (built around purchasing virtual currency and receiving prize-eligible credits as a bonus) lived in a legal gray zone. It’s worked so far, legally speaking, but that’s starting to change.

Several states, including California and Texas, either proposed or passed laws that crack down on dual-currency sweepstakes sites. So this new model is also a little bit of a legal hedge.

By flipping the value exchange, ClubWPT Gold separates itself from the riskier mechanics of the old system. You’re no longer “buying Coins.” You’re buying poker training. That’s a different legal argument.

But Does It Work for Players?

That part’s still playing out. Some players have welcomed the new system, especially those who were already spending time on training sites like Run It Once, PokerCoaching.com, or the old Upswing Lab. Now, they get a way to play and train in the same place and maybe even win something along the way.

Others, though, aren’t so sure. Reddit threads and forum posts have questioned whether the pricing will be fair, whether the analysis is deep enough to justify the spend, and whether this is more about compliance than real educational intent.

As of now, ClubWPT Gold hasn’t released full pricing breakdowns for Hand Analysis credits. Some early reports suggest that each analyzed hand costs around $0.50, with Chips awarded at a $1-for-$1 ratio, but those numbers haven’t been confirmed on the official site.

Where Does This Go Next?

For now, ClubWPT Gold is still a work in progress. The site has teased additional training tools, like stat tracking, personalized quizzes, and drills. If those roll out successfully, and the quality holds up, the site might just carve out a new niche as the first real hybrid of online poker room and live-updating training app.

And with Upswing Poker’s brand in its corner and Doug Polk still involved on the coach recruitment side, the talent pool is certainly there. But the road ahead isn’t guaranteed. Between legal scrutiny, player skepticism, and the tricky task of explaining this whole system to a mainstream poker audience, ClubWPT Gold has a lot riding on this experiment.

One thing’s for sure, PokerLisitings will be watching closely to see what happens next.