diff --git a/dnscrypt-proxy/config_loader.go b/dnscrypt-proxy/config_loader.go
index 60e76746ee..b34b7aecda 100644
--- a/dnscrypt-proxy/config_loader.go
+++ b/dnscrypt-proxy/config_loader.go
@@ -201,23 +201,38 @@ func configureServerParams(proxy *Proxy, config *Config) {
 func configureLoadBalancing(proxy *Proxy, config *Config) {
 	lbStrategy := LBStrategy(DefaultLBStrategy)
 	switch lbStrategyStr := strings.ToLower(config.LBStrategy); lbStrategyStr {
+
 	case "":
 		// default - WP2 is now the default strategy
 		dlog.Noticef("Using default Weighted Power of Two (WP2) load balancing strategy")
+
 	case "p2":
 		lbStrategy = LBStrategyP2{}
 	case "ph":
 		lbStrategy = LBStrategyPH{}
-	case "fastest":
+	case "fastest", "first":
 		// "fastest" kept for backward compatibility with older configs
-		fallthrough
-	case "first":
 		lbStrategy = LBStrategyFirst{}
 	case "random":
 		lbStrategy = LBStrategyRandom{}
 	case "wp2":
 		lbStrategy = LBStrategyWP2{}
+	case "wph":
+		lbStrategy = LBStrategyWPH{}
+
 	default:
+		// Support wpN (e.g. wp3) -> LBStrategyWPN{n}
+		if after, ok := strings.CutPrefix(lbStrategyStr, "wp"); ok {
+			n, err := strconv.ParseInt(after, 10, 32)
+			if err != nil || n <= 0 {
+				dlog.Warnf("Invalid load balancing strategy: [%s]", config.LBStrategy)
+			} else {
+				lbStrategy = LBStrategyWPN{n: int(n)}
+			}
+			break
+		}
+
+		// Support pN (e.g. p3) -> LBStrategyPN{n}
 		if after, ok := strings.CutPrefix(lbStrategyStr, "p"); ok {
 			n, err := strconv.ParseInt(after, 10, 32)
 			if err != nil || n <= 0 {
@@ -229,10 +244,12 @@ func configureLoadBalancing(proxy *Proxy, config *Config) {
 			dlog.Warnf("Unknown load balancing strategy: [%s]", config.LBStrategy)
 		}
 	}
+
 	proxy.serversInfo.lbStrategy = lbStrategy
 	proxy.serversInfo.lbEstimator = config.LBEstimator
 }
 
+
 // configurePlugins - Configures DNS plugins
 func configurePlugins(proxy *Proxy, config *Config) {
 	// Configure listen addresses and paths
diff --git a/dnscrypt-proxy/example-dnscrypt-proxy.toml b/dnscrypt-proxy/example-dnscrypt-proxy.toml
index 8d53a79551..3e04ae2d4e 100644
--- a/dnscrypt-proxy/example-dnscrypt-proxy.toml
+++ b/dnscrypt-proxy/example-dnscrypt-proxy.toml
@@ -178,6 +178,8 @@ keepalive = 30
 ## Load-balancing strategy: 'wp2' (default), 'p2', 'ph', 'p<n>', 'first', or 'random'
 ## 'wp2' (default): Weighted Power of Two - selects the better performing server
 ## from two random candidates based on real-time RTT and success rates.
+## 'wph': randomly selects the better performing server from fastest half of servers.
+## 'wp<n>': randomly selects the better performing server from fastest n servers.
 ## 'p2': Randomly choose 1 of the fastest 2 servers by latency.
 ## 'ph': Randomly choose from fastest half of servers.
 ## 'p<n>': Randomly choose from fastest n servers (e.g., 'p3' for fastest 3).
diff --git a/dnscrypt-proxy/serversInfo.go b/dnscrypt-proxy/serversInfo.go
index 7cb0425a24..e214f09165 100644
--- a/dnscrypt-proxy/serversInfo.go
+++ b/dnscrypt-proxy/serversInfo.go
@@ -133,8 +133,8 @@ func (LBStrategyRandom) getActiveCount(serversCount int) int {
 type LBStrategyWP2 struct{}
 
 func (LBStrategyWP2) getCandidate(serversCount int) int {
-	// This function is not used for WP2 - getWeightedCandidate is used instead
-	// But we need to implement it to satisfy the LBStrategy interface
+	// This function is not used for WP2 - getWeightedCandidate is used instead.
+	// But we need to implement it to satisfy the LBStrategy interface.
 	if serversCount <= 1 {
 		return 0
 	}
@@ -145,6 +145,30 @@ func (LBStrategyWP2) getActiveCount(serversCount int) int {
 	return serversCount // All servers are considered active for WP2
 }
 
+// LBStrategyWPH is the weighted version of PH: it limits the candidate pool
+// to the first half of the servers, then applies the WP2 two-choice scoring.
+type LBStrategyWPH struct{}
+
+func (LBStrategyWPH) getCandidate(serversCount int) int {
+	return rand.Intn((serversCount + 1) / 2)
+}
+
+func (LBStrategyWPH) getActiveCount(serversCount int) int {
+	return (serversCount + 1) / 2
+}
+
+// LBStrategyWPN is the weighted version of PN: it limits the candidate pool
+// to the first N servers, then applies the WP2 two-choice scoring.
+type LBStrategyWPN struct{ n int }
+
+func (s LBStrategyWPN) getCandidate(serversCount int) int {
+	return rand.Intn(Min(serversCount, s.n))
+}
+
+func (s LBStrategyWPN) getActiveCount(serversCount int) int {
+	return Min(serversCount, s.n)
+}
+
 var DefaultLBStrategy = LBStrategyWP2{}
 
 type DNSCryptRelay struct {
@@ -460,10 +484,16 @@ func (serversInfo *ServersInfo) getOne() *ServerInfo {
 
 	var candidate int
 
-	// Check if using WP2 strategy
-	if _, isWP2 := serversInfo.lbStrategy.(LBStrategyWP2); isWP2 {
-		candidate = serversInfo.getWeightedCandidate(serversCount)
-	} else {
+	// WP2, WPH, and WPN all use the weighted two-choice algorithm.
+	// WPH/WPN restrict the pool using their PH/PN active-count semantics.
+	switch strategy := serversInfo.lbStrategy.(type) {
+	case LBStrategyWP2:
+		candidate = serversInfo.getWeightedCandidate(strategy.getActiveCount(serversCount))
+	case LBStrategyWPH:
+		candidate = serversInfo.getWeightedCandidate(strategy.getActiveCount(serversCount))
+	case LBStrategyWPN:
+		candidate = serversInfo.getWeightedCandidate(strategy.getActiveCount(serversCount))
+	default:
 		candidate = serversInfo.lbStrategy.getCandidate(serversCount)
 		if serversInfo.lbEstimator {
 			serversInfo.estimatorUpdate(candidate)
@@ -480,7 +510,8 @@ func (serversInfo *ServersInfo) getOne() *ServerInfo {
 	return serverInfo
 }
 
-// getWeightedCandidate implements the WP2 algorithm
+// getWeightedCandidate applies the WP2 two-choice algorithm within the
+// specified active server pool.
 func (serversInfo *ServersInfo) getWeightedCandidate(serversCount int) int {
 	if serversCount <= 1 {
 		return 0