Four-time WSOP champ, Robert Mizrachi talks about his new book, Getting Started with HORSE Poker

2014 WSOP Main Event champ Greg “Fossilman” Raymer remembers dear friend, Rich Korbin

NOTE: PLEASE SUBSCRIBE To Bernard’s YouTube page AND LIKE any videos that you enjoy

Robert Mizrachi, plus Norman Chad, Joe Cada, Kevin Mathers, Greg Raymer

In this episode of The Bernard Lee Poker Show on the Cardplayer Lifestyle Podcast Family, Bernard Lee initially interviews four-time WSOP champ, Robert Mizrachi about his new book and then talks with others (Norman Chad, Joe Cada, Kevin Mathers, Greg Raymer) discussing the WSOP transition to Bally’s/Paris.

At the start of the interview, Robert shares his thoughts about the WSOP transition to Bally’s/Paris. Robert discusses how he became involved with Chris Wallace in writing the new book, Getting Started with HORSE Poker. Robert reveals which games he enjoys the most and strategies when playing HORSE. Follow Bernard on Twitter, Instagram (@BernardLeePoker) and Subscribe to his YouTube channel for a chance to win this book.

During the second part of the interview, Bernard speaks with Norman Chad, Joe Cada, Kevin Mathers, Greg Raymer about the WSOP transition to Bally’s/Paris from the Rio. Finally, Greg Raymer and Bernard also pay tribute to good friend, Rich Korbin who recently passed away.

Time Stamps

2014 WSOP $10,000 HORSE champ, Chris Wallace talks about his new book, Getting Started with HORSE

WSOP POY 2007 Tom Schneider recalls the WSOP at Binion’s, the Rio and the new home of Bally’s/Paris.

NOTE: PLEASE SUBSCRIBE To Bernard’s YouTube page AND LIKE any videos that you enjoy

Chris Wallace and Tom Schneider

In this episode of The Bernard Lee Poker Show on the Cardplayer Lifestyle Podcast Family, Bernard Lee initially interviews 2014 WSOP $10,000 H.O.R.S.E Champion, Chris Wallace and 2007 WSOP POY Tom Schneider.

At the start of the interview, Chris talks about his background in poker. Chris discusses how he became involved with the Mizrachi brothers in writing the new book,  Getting Started with HORSE Poker. Chris divulges some strategies of the different games in HORSE. Follow Bernard on Twitter, Instagram (@BernardLeePoker) and Subscribe to his YouTube page (www.YouTube.com/BernardLeePoker) for a chance to win this book.

During the second part of the interview, Tom talks about the transition from Binion’s to the Rio to the new venue of Bally’s/Paris for the WSOP. Tom talks about different strategies about the different games in HORSE and the situations that occur during HORSE tournaments. Tom talks about the rest of his 2022 WSOP schedule.

It was the most popular version of poker before Hold ‘em began to grow in the 1980s. Now, while not as prominent as they once were, Stud variants remain an integral part of mixed games. In this section of our Mixed Games Poker Guide, we’ll be covering the classic variants of 7-Card Stud, Razz and 7-Card Stud 8 or Better, as well as some spicy variations that have evolved in the wider mixed games collective like 7-Card Stud high/low with No Qualifier, Super Stud 8 or Better, and Razzdugi.

Also, be sure to check out our other Mixed Games Poker Guide articles on Flop Games and Draw Games.

THE CLASSICS

Three of the staple games in H.O.R.S.E. or an 8-game mix are 7-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud 8 or Better, and Razz. Generally speaking, in these (as well as other stud games), card memory is key. In other words, there’s a ton of information available to you in the form of your opponents’ face-up cards. As they fold, it’s critical you remember what those cards were as they dramatically change the math regarding the likelihood of you and your remaining opponents hitting hands. Knowing with certainty, for example, that there’s just one 6 left in the deck will directly influence whether you should bet, raise, check, call, or fold on specific streets.

Shockingly, many new players don’t pay enough attention to this critical part of the game. This is even worse than a basic level of thinking in Hold ‘em, where players don’t think beyond the strength of their holding. With so much information provided throughout a Stud hand, it makes the puzzles of a hand infinitely easier to solve. The fact of the matter is that you’ll almost always have pot odds to make the call, but that’s not always the correct play.

7-Card Stud

As opposed to Texas Hold ‘em, where all players play two hole cards with a board of five community cards, in a hand of Stud, players will begin with two down cards, but then be dealt their own boards face-up as the hand progresses.

The action begins with all players posting a designated ante, followed by the deal of “3rd street”. Specifically, players are given three cards, two face-down (as in hold ‘em), and one card face-up known as the “door card”.

From there, the player with the lowest door card must post a forced bet called the “bring-in”, which will be roughly double the value of the ante. In a $20/$40 cash game for example, the ante could be $2 or $3 with the bring-in being $5.

Action then proceeds to the player to the left of the bring-in, who has the option to call the bring-in bet, “complete” to the lower limit in the game (in that $20/$40 cash game, they can “complete” to $20), raise (to $40) or fold. Play continues clockwise around the table with players able to call the previous bet, raise, or fold, until it comes back around to the bring-in for the same options, and so on until the round of betting is completed. In a standard stud game, up to four raises, or $80 in this case, would be allowed. Stud games can be played pot-limit or no-limit, but generally is not.

At this point the dealer gives each player another card face-up (4th street), with the highest open hand now given the first opportunity to act, and action again continuing clockwise around the table from that player. As a hand progresses, depending on who has the strongest “up cards”, the player first to act in each round can change several times.

With the next round of action, 5th street, the betting amounts change to the larger limit listed. In this case, bets and raises are now in $40 increments. This continues through 6th and 7th street, with players dealt another card face-up until 7th street, where players receive their final card face-down.

At the completion of the hand, the player with the best five card hand from their seven total cards wins the pot.

7-Card Stud Tip: Pay close attention to ‘dead cards’

Stud, like Hold ‘em is a game of incomplete information, but less so because of the information provided by the various up cards throughout a hand. Thus, as mentioned above, the most critical, basic skill needed to succeed in Stud is keeping track of those cards and how they impact a hand.

The simplest example of this is if you start with three cards to a suit in your hand, you should have a playable hand with a chance of making a flush by 7th street. However, if four of the other players show that same suit with their door card on 3rd street, your ability to make that flush is seriously hindered with now only six more suited cards available instead of 10. Those four flush cards are considered ‘dead’ in relation to your hand.

Another basic example is if you start with a pair in the hole (called a ‘buried’ pair). Your hand has great potential to make disguised trips, which could win you a large pot against a player with a strong two pair hand. However, if the other two cards you need get exposed, your pair’s value shrinks significantly since it can’t improve.

These are the most basic of examples, but as you put your opponents on potential holdings, keeping track of what cards are dealt that could impact their hand as well as yours is key. Do your best to memorize which cards have been exposed and how they could impact both yours and your opponents’ hands.

Despite the amount of information available throughout a hand, there are still many nuances and strategies to the game of 7-Card Stud, but as with any poker game paying attention to your opponents, the action, and the information provided will lay a solid foundation of understanding and success in the game.

Razz

Razz is a lowball version of 7-Card Stud, where the lowest five-card hand wins the pot, with A2345 (a wheel), being the best possible hand. Straights and flushes do not count against you in standard Razz, however in 2-7 Razz, a variation popular in Las Vegas mixed games, they do. For this article, we’ll be discussing standard Razz.

The action is dealt the same as 7-Card Stud, with two down cards and one door card dealt to each player, however the highest door card pays the forced bring-in bet. On 4th street and beyond, the lowest visible hand acts first. Action then proceeds clockwise to that player’s left, as in Stud, with bets doubling on 5th street, and 7th street dealt face-down to players.

Razz may seem like a simple, straightforward game, as players’ boards will largely dictate how a hand is played depending on who “catches good or bad” but there are many intricacies and poker strategies to the game.

Razz Tip: Boards matter; actual hands don’t (as much)

As with any stud game, players’ boards provide a huge amount of information, and no more so than in Razz. There is no excuse for playing passively if your board appears stronger than your opponents. In limit games, you need to be betting aggressively and charging your opponents the maximum so that they don’t catch!

Here’s an example…

You start a hand with A2(5) on 3rd street vs. two opponents with a 7 and an 8 as their door cards. On 4th street, you catch an ace, the 7 catches a 9 and the 8 catches a Jack. While you’ve paired, you can still represent the best hand as you appear to be ‘a card ahead’ of their likely hands.

On 5th street, you catch a 2, while the 7 catches a Jack and the 8 catches a Queen. You now have two pair, which puts you well behind based on your actual hand strength. However, your board appears incredibly strong (5A2), even if your opponents actually have better made hands in J97xx and QJ8xx. The one caveat is that a sticky player could come along with the made J97, but you must bet anyway. If you get called by a sticky player, you will need to do the Razz equivalent of triple barrelling off, unless you actually happen to make a hand on 6th and 7th streets. If you show weakness and allow your opponents to see a free 6th street, their hands could improve enough to justify seeing 7th street (especially if you catch poorly), and you’ll end up likely losing the pot to their jack low or whatever. If it appears that you have the best hand, you must tell that story, and smash your opponents with the book that story is in!

Despite what the poker statistics might indicate, razz is a great game to bluff in. You can fire away with two bananas in the hole if you know your opponent will play straightforwardly or weakly on later streets when you catch good cards. Even so, be careful doing this against competent players or calling stations, or more than one opponent. Shedding one opponent is doable, but banking on two or more to catch poorly enough while you catch good is a big ask.

7-Card Stud 8 or Better (a.k.a., “Stud 8”)

‘Stud 8’, as it is commonly known, is a split pot Stud game, where half the pot goes to the highest hand, and half goes to the lowest (with five cards 8 or lower *better* as a qualifier).

The game is dealt identically to 7-Card Stud, where the lowest door card makes the forced ‘bring-in’ bet, and the highest hand opens the action on each subsequent street, with action continuing clockwise from that player.

Stud 8 is the most complex of the classic Stud games, with many who play mixed games proclaiming it as their favorite game in the mix because of the amount of skill required to play it well.

Don’t let this frighten you though. Essentially, it’s just Stud and Razz combined, but the nuances of playing the game well can make it the most satisfying Stud game to play. To be successful though, the most important thing is to play to scoop the pot and not to get drawn deep into a hand chasing half.

7-Card Stud 8 or Better Tip: The Platinum Rule

Todd Brunson wrote the Stud 8 section of Super System 2, which is an outstanding place to form the groundwork for learning this game, and the one thing he preaches above all is “The Platinum Rule”.

Not just the golden rule, PLATINUM. It’s that important.

The basis of it is this: Before entering a pot, or proceeding in a hand, as soon as you can no longer scoop the pot and are playing for half, strongly consider folding. As with any rule, there are exceptions, but for those new to the game this is a concept that will save you a ton of money that would otherwise be lost.

There are many elements to the Platinum Rule, but I’ll give you what I feel is one of the most important, which is to not fall in love with Razz hands in Stud 8. Starting hands like 873 or 752 (rainbow or two tone) are very unlikely to end up with a strong enough high AND low hand by 7th street that will scoop you the pot. Your most likely “good” outcome with these starters is a marginal hand on both sides that you’ll be lucky to win half with. Low starting hands that are suited, tightly connected and/or contain an ace are the best to begin with. Low flushes and straights, and lows with a pair of aces, are the kind of hands you want to be making to scoop pots.

THE VARIANTS

7-Card Stud high/low with No Qualifier

Also a split pot game, though it may seem more like Stud 8, this variant is dealt in the same manner as Razz, as opposed to Stud high, with the high card bringing in, and the lowest hand starting the action on subsequent streets.

With no qualifier for low hands, high cards, big pairs, and even rolled up monsters have little value, since it is virtually impossible to win the low half of the pot. In Stud 8 you can get away with playing some high hands since a low hand will not always be made. That isn’t the case without an 8 or better qualifier. As such, the Platinum Rule is magnified.

7-Card Stud high/low with No Qualifier Tip: What once was bad, is now good!

Since those high hands I mentioned are basically useless (unless in a VERY multiway pot – but you’re still only potentially winning half), hands that were marginal in Stud 8 are much more valuable without a qualifier.

Hands with medium pairs such as 88(2) or 73(7), which are troublesome in Stud 8 because they’re most likely to make a one-way hand or at best a marginal two-way hand, are significantly more playable. This is because the value of the pairs grows without higher pairs contesting the pot as well, and the requirement for a low hand is lessened as well without the qualifier. So, starting with two cards to a low along with the pair is now much more favorable than in Stud 8.

The higher your pair the better, but not too high, as making a serviceable low hand to be able to scoop the pot is the priority.

Super Stud 8 or Better

How do you make an already great game better? Super size it of course!

In Super Stud 8 players are dealt four cards along with their face up door card. From there, the high card brings in. A round of betting occurs clockwise from the bring in as per usual, however before 4th street is dealt, players discard two of their four hole cards. The highest visible hand then has first action on each subsequent street. After 7th street, the pot is split as in regular Stud 8 between the highest hand and lowest 8 or better qualifying hand.

Note that there are versions of this game where instead of the discards being made collectively starting in seat 1 after the 3rd street betting, discards are made immediately by each player as they put money into the pot on 3rd street.

Super Stud 8 Tip: More players, stronger hands

With each player receiving five cards to start, the likelihood of more players having a playable hand and seeing 4th street increases. As such, with more multi-way pots likely, you will want a stronger starting hand. Those marginal hands we’ve discussed in Stud 8 and Stud 8 No Qualifier? Now pretty much unplayable, as they’ll get you in a lot of trouble.

This may sound strange to try to play even tighter when more possibilities present themselves, but that’s just it. You’ll get those premium low connected / suited starting hands more often thanks to the extra hole cards. Just be sure as always to give yourself the best chance to scoop that pot and remember the Platinum Rule as a hand progresses!

Razzdugi

Razzdugi is another split pot game, but instead of a high/low split as in other stud games, this game combines Razz and Badugi (which you can learn about in our Draw games section). The best Razz hand (lowest five card hand) gets half the pot, while the best Badugi hand (lowest four card unsuited hand) gets the other half.

As with all split pot games, the goal is to scoop both halves of the pot, starting with hands that play well in each variant.

The game is dealt identically to Razz, with two down cards and one up (door) card. As with Razz, the highest door card must post a bring in bet with 3rd street action progressing clockwise, and 4th street and later action starting with the lowest Razz hand. As in Razz, aces are low, so the best Razz hand is A2345, with the best Badugi being A234 unsuited. A 2-7 version can be played where aces are high, and flushes and straights count against you (as in 2-7 Draw games).

A ‘Super’ version of Razzdugi can also be played where players receive four down cards and discard two after the betting on 3rd street.

Razzdugi Tip: Prioritize building your Razz hand

You should always be starting with 3 cards that have potential to make both a strong Razz and Badugi hand, but the Badugi hand will be easier to complete than the Razz hand, since unlike a hand of straight Badugi, you do not have to discard and focus on drawing to a specific suit.

In straight Badugi if you had a hand such as Ac 3s 6d 8d, you would discard the 8d and hope to draw a non-pairing heart. In Razzdugi however, you don’t need to discard. If you have a 3-card Badugi like this on 4th street and you receive the 3h on 5th street, you can now pick up another non-pairing spade as well as a heart and use the 3h to make your Badugi. If you receive something like the 4s on 6th street, you’re in great shape with A2468 for your Razz hand and Ac 3h 4s 6d for your Badugi hand.

A big mistake that novice Razzdugi players will make is playing three high unpaired and unsuited cards because they have three cards to a Badugi. They’ll likely make that Badugi, but it won’t be a very good one, and any Razz hand they do make will be quite trashy as well, even if somehow they’re the only player to make a Badugi.

Remember, always play to scoop the pot in any split pot mixed game!

When it comes to poker, that’s no different. Along with studying and dedicating yourself more to your game of choice (for most, No Limit Hold ‘em), It’s also a great time to take up a new game… or 8, or 10.

Anyone who knows me knows I love the mixed games, and it thrilled me to see over 16,000 players kicking off the year in a small stakes 8-game tourney on PokerStars recently.

Mixed games are alive, well, and growing, and I would love to see them grow even more this year with new players.

As such, I wanted to put together a quick guide of beginners’ tips for the games in a standard 8- to 10-game mix.

This will consist of some very fundamental advice for the newest of players (and like any strategy advice in poker, there are always exceptions), but at the end of this guide I’ll also point you towards some excellent resources that will go far more in depth than I will.

First, a general rule for all games: know the basic rules of whatever you’re playing before you jump in. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen beginners playing 2-7 draw games like they’re Five Card Draw or Ace to Five. Know the fundamentals and give yourself a fighting chance.

And since No Limit Hold ‘em is in an 8-game mix, I’ll just leave this here: Enough with the open limping!

I’m not going to get into it all, but where we’re at in 2021 when it comes to No Limit Hold ‘em theory, it’s universal (outside of the highest levels) that open limping is just not a good play.

Okay, mini-rant over. I’ve gone and calmed down a bit (read: dusted off some bankroll money, lol) by playing some live dealer casino 2021. Now, let’s get to the good stuff!

Pot Limit Omaha: No danglers!

One of the appeals for new players to the great game of Pot Limit Omaha (said with Joey Ingram emphasis) is the action provided by having four hole cards instead of two. Twice the cards = twice the fun, right?

Well, if you’re playing with 3 cards while everyone else is playing with 4, you’re instantly at a huge disadvantage.

Got a random low card along with those 3 sweet broadway cards? That dangling low card instantly kills a good chunk of your equity. Barring a crazy rare runout giving you trips or better with that random dangler, your starting hand is seriously hampered.

Plain and simple, you’re given 4 cards. Make sure they all work together in some fashion.

Limit Hold ‘em: Bet and raise small pairs, don’t limp and call

The structure of the game may be the same, but the differences between Limit and No Limit Hold ‘em are huge.

One of the major ways in which the games diverge in strategic approach is how to play hands that in No Limit you’d be happy seeing flops with, and cashing in on implied odds. Well in Limit, that’s just not a thing. You do not want to go multiway with small pairs, especially out of position. You want to play pots heads up as much as possible, and not give the big blind incentive to see the flop. As such, you need to be raising and 3-betting small pairs preflop.

Postflop, having position is huge because just like in No Limit Hold ‘em, way more often than not, you won’t flop a set. Pairs are great, but they can still be vulnerable to whatever your opponent had preflop, given that despite your 3-bet, they’ll still be getting tremendous odds on a call.

Be ready to keep up the aggression, but with great odds both preflop and on the flop, your opponent will rarely fold, so have an idea of how they play, and whether or not you’ll be able to get them off their hand with sustained aggression, (especially on the turn, where the bigger bet sizes begin) if the board doesn’t run out in your favour.

Many times that small pair may end up the winner at showdown vs. missed draws or overcards that missed.

Omaha 8 or Better: No middle card garbage

Split pot games cause new players a lot more problems than they should.

Although there are plenty of ways to have chips pushed to you with high and low possibilities, the goal is to scoop the entire pot. Along with generally playing WAAAAAAY too many hands, far too often new players start with hands that look enticing but give them no shot at scooping.

Hands like 679J or JT65 may look promising, with plenty of straight-y possibilities (and flush potential if suited), they have huge potential for disaster.

In small stakes games, you’re very likely to find yourself in multiway situations postflop. If you make a straight, and a 3-flush hits the board, someone likely has you beat with a flush. Even if you have a flush, its vulnerable to better flushes, and above all, if a low comes on board it’s VERY likely your weak low won’t be good.

Hands like these leave you praying to win half the pot at best with marginal made hands. These are situations you want to avoid. Start with hands that have good potential to win you both halves of the pot. Will it mean you have to fold a lot? Yup, but I’m sure you’d rather keep your chips than give ’em away to strangers, right?

Hands with aces in them are off to a great start. Add a low card like a 2 or a 3, sprinkle in some high hand potential with big pairs, suitedness to the ace, or another wheel card (2,3,4,5), and you’ve got a recipe for success more often than not in Omaha 8 or Better.

Razz: You need 5 cards to make a winning hand

Ok, this may seem obvious as a basic rule of most poker games, including Razz, but the point I want to make here is that on 3rd (and 4th) street in Razz, you have an incomplete hand. As such, piling in multiple bets on these streets is generally not a good play.

Equities run much closer than you might expect in the early streets of Razz. Sure, you may have A23 vs. your opponent’s door card 8, or even a defended bring in, but only 60% of your hand is made. Piling in bets based on the “strength” of your hand this early is dangerous. Here come the broadway cards and a paired 3 the rest of the way (seriously… why does that always seem to happen?!). Now how does that A23 look?

If you catch good on 4th and your opponent(s) catch bad, then you can start applying pressure, but unless you have a notable advantage in the hand, piling in bets on early streets is a pitfall that beginners should avoid.

7 Card Stud: Do not double bet on 4th street

The Tournament Director’s Association (TDA) actually removed this archaic rule (when an open pair is shown on 4th street, that player has the option to make a double bet; e.g., In a 5-10 game, you can bet 10 instead of 5) recently for TDA-approved tournament play, but you may still find this option available in cash games and online.

Don’t do it!

In a game with no exposed cards, a big bet could still represent a bluff, but in stud, where your cards are right there for everyone to see, why in the world would you want to scare away your opponents with a big bet holding an open pair?! The minimum you’re representing is two pair, and only a comparable hand or huge draw can reasonably continue. As always, there could be rare exceptions, but in general it’s a terrible play.

Stud 8 or better: 9s, 10s, and high cards kill your starting hand

Okay, straight up: If you have a 9 or a 10 as your door card, unless you’re rolled up (3-of-a-kind on 3rd street), maybe have buried aces, or maybe, MAYBE have a 3-card straight flush, FOLD!

Again, there can be exceptions based on who your opponents are and your position in the hand, but in general 9s and 10s are the very worst cards you can have in your hand in Stud 8. Picture cards usually pose the same problem if they’re unpaired to start the hand.

Essentially if you have two babies and a high card banana to start, your hand is trash. Forget about thinking about “well I have two low cards, I could maybe make a low.” Great, but unless you also pair that high card, or run out a low straight or flush, you’re very unlikely to win both sides of the pot.

Just like in Omaha 8, scooping the pot is your goal. And like in many small stakes games, there are likely to be more multiway pots with opponents making these mistakes. As such, you need to be the player starting strong and giving yourself the best chance to win the entire pot with stronger starting hands.

Bonus tip: Razz hands pose equal danger. Not all 3-low-card starting hands are created equal. Hands like 863 and 752 that are unconnected and unsuited may win you the low, but are very unlikely to win you the high as well.

Always be playing to scoop the pot in split pot games.

2-7 Triple Draw: Don’t leave home without a deuce

This is an easy one. The game is deuce to seven triple draw. Not three to eight, not four to nine. Deuce to Seven.

Therefore, if your starting hand does not have a deuce in it, you begin at a huge disadvantage. Simply because without a deuce, the best hand you can make is 86543, the ninth-best hand possible. Furthermore, if you don’t have a deuce, and your opponents are competent, they are likely to have one, limiting your ability to catch one.

As always, there are some rare exceptions. If you are dealt a pat 8 without a deuce for example, you do not want to break this hand, as it is quite strong, and you should be playing it aggressively before the first draw. However, if you are drawing, you should have that deuce in your hand.

Imagine if you have 7543x. Sure you have a draw to #1, the best hand you can make, but you can only draw that deuce. If you draw an 8, you have a good hand (87543), but it’s only the 13th best hand possible and can easily be outdrawn, especially against multiple opponents.

If you have 7432x, you’re in much better shape because you can draw one of four 5s or one of four 6s to make #1 (75432), or #2 (76432), or an 8 to at least make the 10th best hand (87432).

Of any game, it can safely be argued that a deuce in 2-7 Triple Draw is the most powerful card relative to the game. Even more so than an ace in Omaha 8 or Stud 8.

No Limit 2-7 Single Draw: A pat jack is a favourite against any 1 card draw

While the goal of making as low a hand as possible is the same as in the limit triple draw version, the methods and criteria for a quality hand is significantly different in the no limit single draw version.

With only one draw, and no limit betting, hand strengths differ greatly versus in triple draw. With only one crack at improving your hand, your initial hand strength is hugely significant.

There is a lot more to the game than one might think, and the more you study and play, you’ll quickly discover this. But when it comes to that initial hand strength, any pat Jack, (even JT986) is a favorite over any drawing hand (even 7432x).

Think of it like a coin flip preflop in Hold ‘em. A pair is a slight favorite against two overcards. This is also the case with pat Jacks in 2-7 Single Draw. Therefore, if you are dealt a made hand Jack low or better, and you think your opponent will be drawing, you should be patting it (not drawing) and playing it aggressively before the draw.

Badugi: Build up! (start with lower cards)

Badugi plays identically to triple draw in structure and drawing rounds, but building your hand from your lowest cards up is even more important because the best 3-card hand will be the winner if no one has made a badugi.

Equities run far wider than in triple draw. Unsuited A23 and A34 may look very close, but the A23 is actually a near 4-to-1 favorite because the A34 must improve, while the A23 does not need to, yet still could.

The smoother (lower) you start, the better chance of winning you’ll have even if you don’t improve. If you have a 359 for example, the best hand you can make is a 9 badugi. If you don’t improve, any 3-card hand lower than a 9 beats you. Even if you do improve to a 9 badugi, there’s no guarantee it’ll be the best hand by the final draw if your opponent is drawing smoother than you.

Bottom line, start and go low! Not only is ace-deuce is a great start in Omaha 8, but also in Badugi!

Mixed game resources

Poker Books

Mastering Mixed Games – Dylan Linde

If I could only recommend one resource for both beginners to mixed games, and existing players looking to improve, it is Dylan Linde’s outstanding book. Linde provides both basic and advanced strategies for all games, including some of the more obscure ones you may only find in a live setting (Badeucy, Badacey). For under $40, The amount of information provided is invaluable.

A Poker Player’s Guide to Mixed Games – Ken Lo

This 2014 book may have flown under the radar, but it’s still available and an outstanding resource for both beginners and experienced players alike. It is incredibly thorough, going through the basics of each game before diving into deeper strategy. It’s actually the biggest book I have in my poker library at almost 700 pages, but not a page is wasted. Don’t let the size scare you. It’s well worth the read, and a great value also at under $40.

Super System 2 – multiple authors

This was the first book I read that really had multiple great chapters on mixed games. The original Super System does as well, but the information is now quite dated, while SS2 was written by more contemporary players (in 2005), such as Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Harman and Todd Brunson, and still holds up quite well. Their sections (Negreanu, 2-7 Triple Draw; Harman, Limit Hold ‘em; Brunson, Stud 8 or better) I can still highly recommend.

Finding a physical copy of SS2 can be a bit difficult, but the Kindle version is available for under $10.

Run it Once Elite membership

This is on the pricier end of the spectrum at just under $1000/yr, but with coaches like Chris George, George Danzer and online mixed game wizard Iteopepe88, along with the huge amount of training RIO provides on No Limit Hold ‘em and PLO, a RIO membership will truly get you elite level training for all games.

Run It Up WCOOP review with Jason Somerville and Daniel Negreanu

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. This is THE BEST free piece of content available on HORSE. In 2016, JCarver and DNegs sat down for a 4-hour video breakdown of Daniel’s WCOOP HORSE win. It’s awesome to hear Daniel go through his thoughts on the final table, and honestly, aside from the aforementioned Run It Once Elite content, its really the only place you can find a mixed game hand history review with an elite poker player. Oh, and have I mentioned that it’s FREE?!?!?

Twitch streams

Twitch has become a hugely popular source of poker entertainment, and learning. While the biggest streamers are generally No Limit Hold ‘em players, there are some streamers on the platform whose main focus is playing and growing mixed games. At the top of the list are PokerStars’ streamers Mason Pye (pyefacepoker), and Georgina James (GJReggie), along with Scott Kenyon (Pokerbrahs), who has crushed me both online and live, and is incredibly good at winning flips for table massages (but that’s another story).

Rec Poker PokerStars Home Games

The crew at Rec Poker are a great bunch of people, dedicated to growing poker for recreational players. Along with nightly No Limit Hold ‘em tournaments, a monthly series, and an international series, they run a monthly mixed game tournament series with a leaderboard and player of the year award. To prepare for the monthly mixed game, each Saturday they’ll run a warmup game of whichever the game of the month is.

It’s a great way to play and learn with a group of friendly folks, and as it’s a free home game, can be played from anywhere in the world, even the United States!

So be sure to check them out and jump on into the mixed games. You’ll find me there defending my Player of the Year title.

Good luck, and have fun in the ‘banana game’ streets!

via GIPHY

It is basically a low-only variation of 7 Card Stud, so hand rankings are different from those in games like Omaha or Hold’em. So, if you want a breath of fresh air and feel like you’re getting tired of standard game variants, you should at least give it a try. Here’s a brief, but solid video primer on the game from PokerListings:

This short article won’t teach you everything you need to know about playing Razz – not even close. However, the three tips below should give you a good idea of what this game is all about and provide you with some important basics of strategy when you do decide to jump into the action.

Play low cards

If you’ve ever played any low poker format or a hi-lo split game, you should have a pretty good idea of how hand rankings work in Razz. Basically, you want to make a hand that’s lower than any other hand held by your opponents.

The first thing to keep in mind is that you want a five-card hand, i.e., a hand that contains five distinct cards of different rankings.

Beyond this, the winner is determined by figuring out who has the lowest card in their five-card combo. In Razz, the wheel (A, 2, 3, 4, 5) is the absolute nuts, and if you make this hand, you have nothing to worry about (other than building the biggest possible pot to scoop).

When comparing hands, the highest cards are compared first. For example, if you have 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, and the opponent has A, 2, 4, 5, 10, you win, because a 9 is lower than a 10. If the highest card is the same, the second-highest is compared, etc.

As mentioned, you want to have the best possible five-card hand made out of seven cards you’re dealt. Because of this, pairs and trips are bad news in Razz. You don’t want any of your cards to pair up because this reduces your chances of making a winning hand.

This is something to keep in mind as you play. If you have a nice start but then your cards double pair on the next two streets, it is probably the time to hit the brakes and reconsider continuing until showdown. If your opponent is showing decent face-up cards and you’re stuck with a double-paired hand, you need to forget about how good the hand looked on the first four streets and face the new reality of the situation.

Stay disciplined early on

Your hand selection in Razz is just as important as in other poker variants. So if you lucky to find a juicy mixed game in casinos like Running Aces poker room that offers it, make sure to stay disciplined early on.

You ideally want to start with good hands only; hole cards not containing a value over 7.

If you have an 8 or higher, you need to proceed very carefully unless your opponent is displaying even worse card face-up, and you have A2 or something like that in the hole. This alone will put you ahead of most players, so do not treat it lightly.

Do not chase after Fifth Street and always observe discarded cards

Picking the right starting hands is essential, but equally as important is to recognize the crucial moment in hand, and in Razz, that’s usually Fifth Street.

By this point, you should have a lot of information available to you, not only about the strength of your hand but also about where your opponent might be. You’re able to see three of their cards and should have a pretty good idea of what direction their hand is headed in.

Critically, you need to have the discipline to give up on clear or likely losers at this point in a hand. There is very little point in chasing hands past Fifth Street when big bets come into play. You might get lucky and outdraw them every now and then, but in the long run, these types of plays will cost you a lot of money.

Of course, you should also utilize any information you’ve collected during the hand at this stage, in the form of your opponents’ face-up cards. Sometimes you can still win with a weak hand with aggressive plays if you are fairly certain opponents’ hole cards are unlikely to be strong.

You’ll only be able to do this if you keep a close eye on which cards have been discarded during previous streets, so you must stay alert for the entirety of any hand you decide to play.

Remembering what face-up cards other players already folded will give you a tremendous edge in lower-stakes games since most players don’t usually consider this information. So always observe the action to get a better idea of actual odds and then stick to solid strategy while letting others make the mistakes.

Quite the contrary; you can have so much fun playing less popular poker variants! You might even fall in love with these games just like I did. So, without further ado, here are three awesome poker variants that I recommend you try playing.

Razz

If you’re purely a Hold’em or Omaha player, Razz is quite a different game from what you are used to seeing. With that said, it does have a steadily growing player base. Importantly, there are no community cards in Razz; everyone plays his/her own hand. In terms of how the cards are dealt, the game is very similar to 7-Card Stud.

At the start of the hand, each player is dealt two face-down cards and one face-up. After a betting round, three more face-up cards are dealt to each player remaining in the hand (one at a time), with additional betting rounds after each street. A seventh, final card is dealt to each remaining player face-down, followed by a final betting round. By the end of the hand, each player remaining will see four of their opponents’ seven cards.

In my opinion, what makes Razz so awesome is that the winner of each hand is actually the player with the worst possible combination, not the best one, as in most other poker variants. Moreover, in this game, straights and flushes do not count against you. Thus, the best possible Razz hand is A 2 3 4 5.

So, when playing Razz, you’re aiming to avoid pairs and instead trying to catch the lowest possible cards. This “new approach” to poker is certainly an adjustment for seasoned Hold’em/Omaha players (all of a sudden, you’ll be upset, instead of happy, when you pair up), but there’s still plenty of skill involved in Razz.

2-7 Triple Draw Lowball

As the name suggests, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball is a draw poker game. You’re likely familiar with the classic 5-Card Draw, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

Gameplay is relatively simple. Everyone is dealt five cards face-down, and betting starts just like in any Texas Hold’em game. After the first betting round, each player who is still in hand can discard any amount of cards and drew new ones, or “stand pat” by keeping all his/her cards. There are three drawing rounds in total, and there’s a round of betting after each. Thus, you have three chances to draw new cards and improve your hand, but you’ll usually “have to pay” for the opportunity.

Much like Razz, the lowest possible combination wins in this game as well. However, in 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, straights and flushes do count against you. So if you’ve got 3 4 5 6 7, you’ve actually got a very weak hand and must draw to improve. Another crucial thing to remember about this game is that aces only play high, with twos being the lowest card. In other words, if you’re dealt an ace, get rid of it!

The game’s rules thus make 2 3 4 5 7 the best possible combination; hence the game’s name.

Irish Poker

Irish Poker is chock full of action This will probably be the easiest variant for you to pick up from the ones presented in this article, as it’s very similar to Texas Hold’em and Omaha. Actually, some would say that it takes the best features of both games and combines them into one.

In Irish Poker you are dealt four cards, just like in Omaha. Play begins like any flop game, with a betting round. What makes Irish Poker unique is what happens after the flop. Once you see the community cards, you have to muck two hole cards from your original four. Thereafter, play continues like in Texas Hold’em. As each player starts out with four cards, that means holdings will usually be a lot better among the remaining players after the flop. You won’t be sitting there “bored” and waiting for pocket aces; rather there’s likely going to be tons of action.

With so much action in Irish Poker, the game practically guarantees a good time. While you likely won’t find this game available in a live poker room or even at the best online poker real money sites, it will be a great addition to your home games with friends. Just try it, and I am confident you will start developing more of a taste for the game with each new hand you play.

Conclusion

As you see, there are plenty of poker games you can play besides Hold’em and Omaha while still ensuring you’ll have fun at the table. In general, it’s always good to be up for trying new poker games. Beyond having a good time playing them, you’ll also learn new things about poker that may end up helping you in your “main” games of Hold’em and Omaha. Have fun, and good luck!