In this section, we’ll be covering the following 10 games: Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 or Better, Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better, Big O, Limit Omaha, Double Board Omaha, Short Deck, Courchevel, Drawmaha, and S.H.O.P. (a.k.a., S.O.H.E.)

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

THE OMAHA FAMILY

Omaha almost needs it’s own section among flop games since there are so many varieties. So, we’ll be treating it as such, with the two most popular versions, Pot Limit Omaha and Omaha 8 or Better getting the majority of the stroke, with all its variations following.

Pot Limit Omaha

After No Limit Hold ‘em, Pot Limit Omaha (PLO) is the most widespread game in poker rooms. If you ever feel like changing things up and taking a break from the 2-card game, PLO is a natural transition.

The rules are virtually identical to Hold ‘em, with the key difference of course being the four cards you are dealt instead of two. Players must use two (and only two) cards in their hand along with the five community cards to make their hand. That ace of spades in your hand along with the four spades on the board? Useless, except as a great bluff card! (More on that, below.)

The other key difference is that the maximum that can be bet on any street is the size of the pot (hence the name: Pot Limit Omaha), and that’s also the guideline for how to calculate pot odds, of course.

Other than that? Yup, same as Hold ‘em. That’s why there’s no need to be afraid of playing PLO. While strategies and hand strengths are impacted, the differences in the actual gameplay are quite minimal, and the added action and excitement provide a lot of appeal.

PLO Tip: Blockers, blockers, blockers!

Remember that ace of spades I just mentioned? Well, the concept of blockers really first gained steam from PLO before it became a part of No Limit Hold ‘em vernacular.

With wider ranges, and so many more possibilities to make hands based on your two extra hole cards, there is an added importance on making a truly premium hand. Small sets, low straights and weak flushes are all very vulnerable to being crushed by a player holding the nuts.

As such, if you hold the one key card that prevents your opponent from holding the nuts, who’s to say you don’t have the nuts?! If you have that nut card to the suit on a flush-y board, you can credibly represent holding that nut flush.

Bonus tip: Follow Joey Ingram on social media. There’s no bigger advocate for the “GREAT GAME OF POT LIMIT OMAHA”!

READ MORE: Interview with Joey Ingram

Limit Omaha 8 or Better

The next-most popular game in the Omaha family, Limit Omaha 8 or Better (O8) is a split pot game where players are also dealt four cards instead of two. At the conclusion of a hand, half the pot is awarded to the highest five-card hand, just like in Hold ‘em or Pot Limit Omaha, while half is also given to the lowest qualifying five card hand (the five cards must each be 8 or lower *better*). The goal, however, is to win both halves of the pot, known as “scooping”. If, however, there is no qualifying low hand, the best high hand is awarded the entire pot.

As in PLO, players must use two and only two of their cards at showdown for either side of the pot. For example, a player Holding A2KK on a board of 346KQ can use their two kings for the high, making three-of-a-kind, and then use their A2 to make 6432A for the nut low.

A player with A38K on a board of 2459K will use their A3 for both high and low, as along with the 245, they make a 5-high straight which is the nut high as well as the best possible low hand, a.k.a. the “wheel”.

“I have what’s known as the wheel. It’s got earthy tones a smooth draw and enough kick to win me the high and the low” Mike D #Rounders

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) September 22, 2013

O8 Tip: A2 is your best friend but…

As mentioned, the goal of split pot games is to win both halves of the pot. Well, there are many ways to do it, but a lot of them can also potentially get you in trouble. Not all low hands are created equal. However, A2 is essentially the low version of pocket aces in O8. Pretty much any starting hand containing A2 is playable. If connected with two other low cards like A235, or if the ace is suited, or paired with a high pair like A2KK, A2 has huge potential to scoop a pot for you.

Once the flop falls, however, things can change drastically. If you hold a relatively naked A2 like Ah2s7c9s and the flop comes with no cards 8 or lower, your hand is essentially useless, since a qualifying low hand won’t be possible.

Your A2 can also be counterfeited if an ace or deuce hits the board, and you don’t have other low cards as backup. A2QQ on a K32 flop has a big problem. Unless two more low cards fall, you won’t have a low, and even then, you could be beaten by a better low. If the board does run out K3247, you now lose to A5 and A6, since you only have 7432A. As for the queens, they lose to any king, so they’re in danger, too.

Love your A2 but know that sometimes you have to let that love go.

So, if PLO and Limit O8 are the Mama and Papa of Omaha games, lets check out some of their wacky kids…

Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better

The least wacky variant, it’s exactly what it says. A merger of PLO and Omaha 8 or Better.

PLO8 is likely the next most well-known version of Omaha, but it is tough to find a regular game anywhere live. However, it is widely available online.

Hands that play well in Limit O8 also play well in Pot Limit O8, but the importance of having a good 2-way hand is magnified by the fact that the pots can get much larger with pot limit betting as opposed to limit.

As such, strong high hands and low hands with backup (A2 with another good low card) rise further in value. The ability to put more pressure on your opponents with larger bet sizing can put marginal and drawing hands in precarious situations.

Of note, there is also a No Limit version of O8 online (NLO8), that is quite popular. The game structure is the same as limit or pot limit, but the betting is No Limit.

PLO8 Tip: Don’t splash around with marginal low holdings

If you’re playing hands with low possibilities, make sure they’re good low possibilities. Starting hands that aren’t particularly great either high or low are absolute death in PLO8. In low stakes mixed games, players will be splashing around with all kinds of hands, even in the big bet games. It’s crucial to be able to make the nuts or very close to the nuts against very wide ranges.

Starting hands like 4578 or 2489 can make both high and low hands, but neither are going to be particularly good, and will be susceptible to being beaten by players with better highs and lows. Plus, even if you do make a strong hand one way, it’s unlikely to be the best hand the other way. You’ll be putting in a bunch of money drawing live to only half the pot. In big bet variations of Omaha it’s critical that you play to scoop the whole pot.

Big O / Really Big O (5- and 6-Card Omaha)

Even more cards, even more fun!

5-card Omaha games are growing in popularity, basically because as much action as regular 4-card Omaha games provide, the action grows exponentially if you add an extra hole card (or two with 6-card Omaha).

I’ll put these variants together because they can be played high only or hi/lo (8 or Better), and either Limit or Pot Limit (or even No Limit, but it’s very rare).

The 5-card versions are available online as well as in more and more live venues. By contrast, 6-card games can be found sporadically online, and very sporadically live, but can be called in a mixed game.

Big O Tip: Make the nuts

This may sound obvious, but the more cards you are dealt the more possibilities you have to make some sort of hand. As such, players are more incentivized to play. And if that’s the case, and many pots will be multi-way as a result, It’s on you to not be caught with a marginal hand while one of those opponents is likely making the nuts.

For the same reasons that in PLO8 it’s critical to start with a hand that can scoop, It’s even truer in 5- or 6-card versions. Starting hands with plenty of cards working together will set you up nicely for winning big.

Limit Omaha (High only)

Now we’re getting rare. Regular 4-card Omaha in limit form is really tough to find because frankly, there’s just not as much skill in it, compared to other poker variants (although if you ask the folks playing the $4/8 game at Boulder Station in Las Vegas, they’ll tell you otherwise).

Much like Limit Hold ‘em, Limit Omaha is very much a math-based game, as the combination of four cards with a limit betting structure really limits creativity and offers great pot odds throughout a hand. There is virtually no bluffing, as pots will go multi-way, many until the river, in which case without holding the super nuts, someone will almost always have something that could draw out on you.

Limit Omaha Tip: Know when the odds aren’t in your favor

If you insist on playing this crapshoot of a game, you have to know when that draw of yours is in trouble. There will be many instances when you’ll be getting ridiculous pot odds to draw to… well, a lot of things. The key to this game is knowing when despite those odds, you’re drawing dead to a better version of your hand. A higher flush, a better full house, etc. Reverse implied odds are a danger of limit games with multiway pots going to the river.

When you do have the best hand, you need to bet and raise to at least make an attempt to thin the field and protect your hand from these draws. But, yah, good luck with that.

Double Board Omaha (High only)

If you’ve gotten this far in our guide, you may have detected that we’re not necessarily the biggest fans of Limit Omaha. However, throw an extra board out there, and you have arguably the most splashy, fun and ridiculous version of poker available in a mixed game!

The issues that hamper regular Limit Omaha are precisely what make Double Board Omaha great.

It’s almost as if the first person who created this game decided while playing Limit Omaha, “welp, since we’re going to play a high variance game that people aren’t going to fold much in, the hell with it; let’s spread a second board, and crank that variance up to 11!”

Somehow it worked, and it’s amazing.

Following the preflop betting, the dealer will spread two flops (followed by a round of betting), two turns (followed by a round of betting), and finally two rivers (followed by a final round of betting).

We’re not going to lie to you and give you any tips or poker strategy for playing this game. We’re sure they exist, but we don’t know it, and we’re just fine with that.

Generally speaking, this game is primarily played in low-stakes mixed games where the priority is having fun.

There will be plenty of other games in the mix that you may know better and can invoke strategy in.

Take the opportunity to go crazy and have some fun when this game gets called. Use your best poker instincts, and if that fails, make sure you have a beverage in front of you.

OTHER FLOP GAMES

Short Deck (a.k.a., 6+ Hold ‘em)

Short Deck was basically born from action players who got tired of folding trash hands and wanted a higher percentage of playable holdings. How to do that? Tighten the deck by removing all the 2s through 5s! So instead of a standard 52-card deck, there are now only 36 cards in play!

Like regular No Limit Hold ‘em, aces also play high and low, so in short deck they can act as a 5 to form a straight with 6789.

The differences don’t stop there. Though the game can be played with standard small and big blinds, Short Deck is mostly played with antes from all players, with an extra ante posted by the button that rotates clockwise around the table. Preflop action starts to the left of the button, with players having the option to fold, call, or raise, just as in other flop games.

Other differences come in the actual rank of hands. With four fewer cards of each suit available, flushes are now mathematically more difficult to make than full houses, so they are ranked higher. Three-of-a-kind is also more difficult to make than a straight. Most rooms still rank straights higher though, but it can vary from room to room.

Short Deck Tip: Know your preflop odds and bet sizing

If you watch the Triton Series Short Deck cash games and tournaments featuring some of the best players in the world, you’ll see that their preflop betting strategy is different from that of standard No Limit Hold ‘em. You’ll see a lot of limping as well as raise sizes that appear huge compared to the ante.

The caveat though is that with the shorter deck flops will almost always be ‘wet’, with your hand likely to connect with the board in some way. Games are also generally played 6-handed, so an initial limper will be getting 7:1 on the pot. Raises will appear on the larger side, usually starting at the size of the pot and often much larger.

A common mistake made by Short Deck newbies is raising in 2.5-3x increments of the button ante, and not factoring in the full amount of antes in the pot.

With a 1,000 chip ante in a 6-handed game, there will be 7,000 chips in the pot before any betting has taken place. A standard raise to the size of the pot would then be to 7,000. However, many new players will “raise” 3x the ante to 3,000 (roughly 43% of 7,000), merely building the pot size to 10,000 and still providing opponents excellent odds to continue with virtually any playable hand.

In a 6-handed No Limit Hold ‘em tournament with 500/1000 blinds and a 100 ante, with 2,100 in the pot prior to preflop betting, this would be like putting in 900 (roughly 43% of 2,100) to continue if that was possible.

Bottom line: if your intention is to raise, make sure you’re raising the correct amount.

Courchevel

Courchevel is a rarely-played but interesting and fun game, with elements of 5-card PLO (or Big O), with one key difference. Before any preflop betting, a community card known as a ‘spit’ card is dealt. Standard betting with a small and big blind then continues in a normal fashion preflop before the now 2-card flop is dealt and further betting commences. From there, the turn and river are also played as in a normal flop game.

Courchevel can be played as a high only or hi/lo split pot game.

Courchevel Tip: The spit card has a huge impact

As you might expect, with a community card revealed before any betting commences, that spit card will have a huge impact on your hand strength immediately.

Combined with the contents of your five hole cards (you can only use two of your hole cards to make your final five-card hand), you could be dealt trips, three to a nut flush, or three to a straight (and/or a key card to a wrap), all of which are very playable and can be bet aggressively.

However, when you don’t connect with the spit card, you must have a very strong hand outside of it to continue. Something along the lines of a strong starting hand in 5-card PLO. If you’re playing the game hi/lo, this is especially important. You’ll need a strong Big O starting hand, and if the spit card is 8 or lower and you don’t have the possibility to make a low hand, your hand is vulnerable. That’s because other players will already have 60% of a low, and you’ll very likely only be playing for half the pot.

Dra(w)maha

As the name suggests, Dra(w)maha (a consensus on the proper spelling of the game is tough to find) is a split pot game merging Draw (in several forms) with Omaha.

Blinds are posted as in Omaha, then players are dealt five cards, followed by a round of limit or pot limit betting. A flop is dealt, followed by another round of betting.

Following the flop betting, players will have the opportunity to discard any of their hole cards and draw new ones.

From there a turn card is dealt, followed by a round of betting, then a river card is dealt with a final round of betting.

In all variations of Dra(w)maha, half the pot goes to the player with the best Omaha hand, using two of their hole cards. The other half goes to the player with the best Draw hand in their hole cards.

Note that the Draw side can be played in a variety of ways, as 5-Card Draw high, as a 2-7 low hand, or as a 4-card Badugi hand, whichever is determined before the hands are dealt.

Dra(w)maha Tip: straights, two-pairs are good starting hands in standard Dra(w)maha

Straights and two-pair combos in the hole will give you a great chance at winning the Draw half of the pot. From there, you just have to hope for a board of community cards that will help you win the entire pot.

As with all split pot games, you should be playing to scoop, but if you have a virtual lock on half the pot with your draw hand, don’t jeopardize it by breaking (and drawing) in hopes of improving your Omaha hand. If you have a huge Omaha hand on the flop, keep the two cards you need for that and discard as many of the other three as you need to improve your draw hand.

S.H.O.P.

An acronym for “Simultaneous Hold’em and Omaha Play”, S.H.O.P. (also known as S.O.H.E.; simultaneous Omaha and Hold’em) combines elements of both. You’re dealt six cards and need to split your hand into a (2-card) Hold’em hand and a (4-card) Omaha High hand.

It’s a split pot game, with half the pot going to the best Hold’em hand and the other half of the pot going to the best Omaha High hand. The game can be played either Limit or Pot Limit, those some wacky home games also play it No Limit.

Other than that, the game proceeds exactly like either Hold’em or Omaha, as far as the betting and community cards dealt.

S.H.O.P. Tip: The split is key

While you can’t control the cards you’re dealt, you CAN control how strong your two hands are in this game.

As in all split pot games, you want to give yourself the best chance of scooping. Thus, knowing what you know about both Hold’em and Omaha, you ought to try and coordinate your two hands as best as possible such that if the right board comes you’ll be in prime position to take advantage.

If you only have a strong Hold’em or Omaha hand, it’s often still worth at least seeing the flop, but if you don’t connect you ought to muck. If you’re dealt a random collection of six cards that won’t give you much of a chance to with either half of the pot, your best move is folding preflop.

Pizza’s great and all, as is No Limit Hold ‘em, but remember also how your parents encouraged you to try new foods?

Well, we’re here to be your “poker parent” and encourage you to try something new, like Brussels sprouts (sorry Limit Hold ‘em, that’s you).

Mixed games are the smorgasbord of poker, with a variety of recipes and tastes. Some are sweet, some are salty (or will make you a bit salty), but ultimately, they’re a whole new exciting world of flavors beyond the same old pizza, and it’s a ton of fun to discover them!

Please don’t be the kid who said they didn’t like something without even trying it. Be the kid who tried a spoonful of something and was pleasantly surprised by what they’d just tasted and discovered a new favorite food.

In this overview article, we’re going to give you a few spoonfuls of info and strategy about a wide variety of mixed games. Most importantly though, we’re going to give you a ton of reasons why you should give them a try (with far fewer food references). If you’re looking to dive in even deeper, then we recommend signing up with one of the best poker training sites.

Also, be sure to check out the other three parts of this Mixed Games Poker Guide on Flop Games, Stud Games and Draw Games.

The Recipe (why mixed games are great)

As longtime lovers of mixed games, we can think of a plethora of reasons why they’re great. At the end of the day, you just need to experience a proper one for yourself, like the ones that’ll be running at an upcoming Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival. In the meantime, we’ve thought of eight great reasons why you’ll enjoy mixed games.

Friendly, welcoming players

The main reason we’ve heard players mention as to why they’re hesitant to try mixed games is the fear of looking foolish to other players because they may not know the games as well. From our experience, this is almost universally an unjustified fear. Players in mixed games are among the most welcoming and encouraging players in poker. If you tell them that you’re new to mixed games, they’re far more likely to welcome you and help you learn the game than to take advantage of your inexperience. The more people playing mixed games, the better it is for everyone, so it naturally lends itself to a supremely welcoming atmosphere.

Notably, the friendliness holds true for both low and high stakes games, though we recommend you start our on the lower rungs of the ladder to better get acquainted with all the different poker variants.

It’s a great change of pace

They say variety is the spice of life, and we passionately believe that holds true with poker. If you’re getting fatigued by playing just No Limit Hold ‘em, mixing it up with something new is a great way to recharge the poker batteries. NLHE can still be your bread and butter, but learning a new game (or two, or eight, or 20…) can be just what the doctor ordered to prevent poker burnout.

You may discover a new favorite

If you’ve never played before and get a taste of a variety of new games, you may just discover one or two that you love and want to learn more about and play more often!

Many players who first explore beyond Hold ‘em tend to dabble in Omaha 8 or Better and the stud variants in a HORSE rotation (Hold ‘em, Omaha 8, Razz, Stud, and Stud 8 or Better). Perhaps at that point you’ll be ready to dip your toes into draw games for the first time, such as the very popular 2-7 Triple Draw or more niche Badugi variants. With so many games to choose from, we’re willing to wager that Hold’em won’t be your favorite for too much longer.

It’s tough to really go broke

With most of the games in a dealer’s choice mix being limit structure or capped in big bet games, it’s tough to really get wrecked in a game like you can in a rough session of No Limit Hold em or Pot Limit Omaha (which is played with a cap in a mixed cash game).

If you’re just breaking into mixed games, yes there will be a learning curve. However, if you do a bit of homework beforehand you’ll be more likely to be competitive. Even on days when you “pay for experience” in a session, the hit will be much less painful to your bankroll (provided you learn at stakes you’re comfortable with).

Moreover, on a hand-to-hand basis, without really big bets relative to the pot as an option, the sting of flicking in a tough call is significantly less pressure-filled, which lends itself to less overall stress among the players, in turn leading to a more positive atmosphere at the table.

This relaxed vibe also leads to another great feature of mixed games…

No tanking!

Again, with limit or capped betting, those big decisions that warrant a really deep think are just so few and far between in a mixed game setting. Sure, there will be spots where players have a tough decision to make and put in some thought, but there is virtually never an occasion (especially in the limit games), where a player takes significant time to flick in a call or muck their cards.

Chips fly, decisions get made, and play moves much more quickly in mixed games, which is another major reason why players tend to generally be much happier and easygoing at a mixed game table.

Mixed games will help your No Limit Hold ‘em game

Whether it’s No Limit Hold ‘em, Pot Limit Omaha, 2-7 Triple Draw, 7-Card Stud, or even Razzdugi, they all fall under the umbrella of ‘poker’. There are general theories that apply to all, and there are nuances in different games that can help you with your No Limit Hold ‘em game. For instance:

• You’ll think about pot odds in a different way in a bunch of limit games.
• You’ll think more about blockers in PLO.
• You’ll closely contemplate bet sizing in No Limit 2-7 single draw.
• You’ll have a new perspective on how badly you can run when you start with A234 in Razz, then get dealt three face cards the rest of the way!

Seeing poker in a different way, with some familiarities, will refresh your mind when you sit back down in your regular game. On the flip side, playing games that require completely new strategic considerations accomplish the same goal. Getting out of your comfort zone a bit and trying to figure out the best way to scoop an Archie pot will make what you already know about No Limit Hold ‘em seem simpler and more comfortable.

Bottom line, test driving a few new vehicles will increase your confidence with the “Cadillac of poker”.

You can spice up your home game

Introducing mixed games into your home game presents huge benefits.

If you want to try mixed games in the most comfortable environment possible, what better setting than with your group of friends at stakes you set? You can learn the games together or, once you personally become familiar with mixed games, you can spread the good word and introduce your friends to your new favorite poker variants.

Admittedly, it may be a bit of a challenge. My friends in my own home game were a bit tough to crack, as they wanted the familiarity of hanging out and playing NLHE sit and go’s. So, what I did along with that was suggest that for an hour I’d introduce two or three games to them, dealing and teaching, but not actually playing, so they wouldn’t be afraid of losing to me since I knew how to play them.

Within a couple of evenings, dealer’s choice cash games became a prominent part of my home game, as each player could pick their favorite game to put in the mix (which is a regular practice in casino-dealt mixed games as well).

It’s just plain fun

There are many reasons to give mixed games a try, but above all they’re just straight up fun.

The combination of the elements listed above form the recipe for a great time at a poker table. The most fun times I’ve had playing poker can all be pointed toward sessions of mixed games, whether it’s playing with old friends or making new friends.

A legendary night of $4/8 mix at the old Monte Carlo, and a night at the Westgate full of mixed games, massage bomb pots, and other shenanigans in Las Vegas still stand head and shoulders above all others when it comes to the best times I’ve had at a poker table.

And I lost both nights.

So, are you ready? Or at least curious yet? Let’s get you set and take a peek at what you’re in for.

What’s On the Menu (the many different games)

Flop games (Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 or Better, PLO 8, Limit Omaha, Double Board Omaha, Big O, Short Deck, Courchevel, Drawmaha, S.H.O.P.)

These are the games that are dealt similarly to Hold ‘em. Players receive hole cards, there are blinds and/or antes, and a flop of community cards is dealt. These are games that will be most immediately familiar to Hold ‘em players, but there are many distinct differences.

Stud games (7-Card Stud, Razz, 7-Card Stud 8 or Better, Stud high/low No Qualifier, Super Stud 8 or Better, Razzdugi)

Each player in these games receives their own individual hand of (in most cases) seven cards. There is no flop of community cards. Players will play their own boards vs. their opponents, which will have a combination of hole and exposed cards.

Draw games (2-7 Triple Draw, A-5 Triple Draw, No Limit 2-7 Single Draw, 5-Card Draw, Badugi, Badacey, Baduecey, Archie)

Once again, there are no flops or community cards with these games. Rather, the main feature of these games is that on betting rounds, players have the option to discard from their hand and draw fresh cards in their attempt to make the best (or worst) hand.

The Cookbooks (study resources)

So where to start? You can either dive right in and find a live or online game (more on those in a bit), but if you want to get your feet wet with some study before you take the plunge, here are some outstanding resources to learn from.

Books

Mastering Mixed Games – Dylan Linde

If we 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 (Badeucey, Badacey). For under $40, The amount of information provided is invaluable. You can read our review of the book here.

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 a beefy book at almost 700 pages, but don’t let the size scare you. It’s well worth the read, and a great value also at under $40.

Super System 2 – Doyle Brunson + multiple authors

This book has 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 very well. Their sections (Negreanu on 2-7 Triple Draw, Harman on Limit Hold ‘em, and Brunson on Stud 8 or better) we can still highly recommend.

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

Seven Card Stud for Advanced Players – David Sklansky, Mason Malmuth, Ray Zee

High-Low Split Poker for Advanced Players – Ray Zee

These books fall solidly into the ‘classic’ category, as they were written in the 90s when Stud was as prominent if not more so than Hold ‘em.

As “for advanced players” is right in the title, we wouldn’t necessarily recommend these books as the first you read on Stud, Stud 8 and Omaha 8, but if you want to dig deeper and more thoroughly into these games, they’re definitely worth a look, and can by found through Amazon for under $40 each.

Online Training / Videos

Daniel Negreanu’s YouTube Mixed game series

Available at a cost of ZERO to your bankroll is Daniel Negreanu’s YouTube channel!

Specifically, Negreanu put together a series of short videos ideal for beginners to mixed games outlining rules and basic strategies for Limit Hold ‘em, Pot Limit Omaha, Omaha 8 or Better, Stud, Razz, Stud 8 or Better and 2-7 Triple Draw.

They’re a great starting point that will provide players with some solid fundamentals for the key games in an 8-game mix.

Run It Up WCOOP review with Jason Somerville and Daniel Negreanu

Kid Poker is part of another great free resource we highly recommend. In 2016, JCarver and DNegs sat down for a 4-hour video breakdown of Daniel’s WCOOP HORSE win.

It’s awesome to hear Negreanu go through his thought processes on the final table together with Somerville, and there are really no other places to get such a high level breakdown of mixed game hands in a hand history review format. It’s an entertaining and highly educational resource for those with even a fundamental knowledge of mixed games. 

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 is PokerStars Team Pro and founder of the ‘Mixed Game Movement’ Mason Pye (pyefacepoker). Pye recently won his first SCOOP title in 7-Card Stud and can regularly be found crushing the low- to mid-stakes mixed games on PokerStars.

ACR Stormer Scott Kenyon (Pokerbrahs) can also be found crushing the online mixed game streets, especially during the big series like WCOOP and SCOOP. A long-time mixed gamer, his live credentials include an EPT London 8-game title in 2011 for over $50,000.

Upswing Poker’s Mixed Game Mastery course

This option is at the pricier end of the spectrum, at $999, but it’s incredibly comprehensive and features 102 videos from highly successful mixed game player Jake Abdalla. The course focuses primarily on Stud, Stud 8, Razz, Omaha 8, and 2-7 Triple Draw.

That’s not the full gamut of mixed games, of course, but with 102 videos covering just those games, you’ll be provided more than enough information to be able to crush those poker variants and thus be able to treat the high price tag as an investment rather than an expense.

Dig In! (where to play)

So, you’re finally ready to play some poker variants with more than two cards in your hand. Congrats, and welcome to the wonderful world affectionately known as “banana games”!

Here’s a look at where to jump into the mixed game streets.

Live games

Mixed games are more popular in some areas than others, so check the Bravo Poker or Poker Atlas mobile apps, or call your local casino or poker room to see what’s available in your region.

One area that will always have regular mixed games of various stakes running is Las Vegas, especially during the World Series of Poker. Games do run year-round, but during the WSOP the offerings expand vastly!

The WSOP has added a $250 H.O.R.S.E. tournament into their Daily Deepstacks weekly rotation to go along with the various mixed game bracelet events they stage.

The Orleans is a great spot for low-stakes cash and tournament mixed games year round, but during the WSOP they can be counted on for a great low-stakes tournament series with decent sized fields and prize pools for a small buy-in.

The Golden Nugget’s Grand Series is a fantastic spot for mixed game players as well, with a schedule generally echoing that of the WSOP, but for buy-ins roughly a tenth of the size.

Finally, during the WSOP the mixed game cash game streets tend to run wild at all stakes. You know those aforementioned legendary nights? Get ready to experience them firsthand at the next Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival, hosted by this site’s founder Robbie Strazynski. You won’t be sorry!

Online games

If you’re fortunate enough to live in a location with legal online poker, you have an outstanding resource to hone your mixed game chops.

PokerStars runs a full array of regularly scheduled daily mixed game tournaments with buy-ins as low as $1, and cash games with stakes as low as 1 cent / 2 cent, along with a full offering of play money games.

Other sites like GG Poker, partypoker and 888poker have more limited offerings including PLO, PLO8, Short Deck, Stud and Stud 8. PLO and Short Deck games will be largely available, but the others are tougher to find, with your best options being PLO8 tournaments on partypoker.

Rec Poker PokerStars Home Games

The crew at RecPoker are a great bunch of people, dedicated to growing poker for recreational players. 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.

Final note: Be nice to the dealers!

You should always make the extra effort to be nice to the dealers when playing in mixed games. Dealer knowledge of mixed games can be limited depending on the venue. Please consider that a lot of dealers are unfamiliar with many games. Be patient and considerate with them and provide as much help as they need. You’ll see that with a little help, dealers will pick up the new games quite quickly. Lastly, of course, be sure to tip well and tip often!