Welcome to the world of Mixed Games!
There is in fact more to poker than No Limit Hold-em and Pot Limit Omaha. These ‘other’ poker variants that are often collectively dubbed ‘Mixed Games’ and are available to anyone looking to spice up their poker playing lives.
These variants can be quite different to what you might expect compared to NLHE and PLO, so here is a quick primer on some of the terminology and mechanics you might come across when venturing into the world of Mixed Games.
Differences Across All Game Formats
Dealing from the Left
In games that play with a button, the dealer will always deal from the button round, however in stud games there is no button.
In this case dealers always deal from left to right across every street.
Antes
It is commonplace in today’s poker tournaments to adopt a Big Blind Ante in NLHE and PLO games, where the Big Blind pays the Ante for the whole table and the Ante is equivalent to 1 Big Blind.
In fixed limit variants that have a Button and Blinds, there is no Ante in play.
In contrast to this, the fixed limit stud variants, which do not have a Button or any Blinds, have all players paying the ante every hand.
Streets of Betting
In Flop Games, people refer to the actions as pre flop, post flop, turn and river actions.
In Stud Games, given that there are no community cards, the betting rounds are known as streets and are based on the number of cards currently in your hand. The very first round of betting is 3rd street and with each subsequent card we get 4th street, 5th street, 6th street and 7th street.
In Draw Games there are similarly no community cards, and action is determined by the drawing round, so pre-draw, 1stdraw, 2nd draw and post draw.
Position
In games with a button, who acts first is based on position relative to the button. In Stud Games, where there is no button, who acts first is determined by whichever player has the best board for that game. This means position can change between the players mid-hand, depending on the face-up cards that are dealt on the following streets.
Actual Mixed Games
Game Changes
The true definition of a Mixed Game is a poker game format that incorporates multiple different poker variants on a set rotation. These are games such as HORSE, 8-Game, 10-Game and Dealer’s Choice. These formats will typically rotate through the variants after a set number of hands played. This is usually the equivalent to an orbit at a full table.
All Fixed Limit Mixed Game Variants
Limit Betting
In fixed limit games there are two different betting limit increments. That of the small bet and that of the big bet. If you are ever unsure of what the current limit is in the hand you are playing you can check the number of burn cards on the table. If there are two or more burn cards then you are now on the big bet limit.
Capped
No limit betting is, as expected, a format where you can wager all your chips in a single action.
In pot limit betting, you can wager your chips based on the size of the pot.
In fixed limit games, you are only able to bet and raise within the constraints of the current limits. In addition, there is also a cap to the number of raises you are allowed to make on any given betting round.
The cap is usually 4 raises / 5 bets but may vary among operators.
Big Bets, not Big Blinds!
In no limit and pot limit games, people gauge their stack size based on how many big blinds they have, with something like 40-50 big blinds being a reasonable stack average.
In fixed limit games you count your stack in number of big bets. The big bet is the higher limit increment of the limits currently in play and a 10 big bet average is very standard for tournament play.
Hopefully this tip helps you get a better idea of whether you are short stacked or deep stacked, and you’ll be able to adjust your play accordingly.
Hi/Lo Games
Split Pots & Low Hands
Games described as hi/lo are split pot games where half the hand goes to the best low hand and half the pot goes to the best high hand. In the split pot games within 8-game the games have an 8 qualifier and are formally known as Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better and Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better.
This means that in order for your hand to have a low, you will need five cards unpaired 8 or lower to qualify. The best low hand is A2345, and straights and flushes do not count against you.
Stud Variants
Face-Up Cards, Face-Down Cards and The Board
Here’s another Mechanic unique to Stud Games: In stud variants you will receive some cards face down and some face up. There are no community cards!
Your starting hand will consist of two cards dealt face down (down cards) and then a third card dealt face up. This card is commonly referred to as the up card.
The fourth, fifth, and sixth cards are also all dealt face up to make your board; the collection of up cards. Your seventh card is then dealt face down to complete your hand.
Bringing-In
The Bring-in is a uniquely Stud Variant Mechanic; it applies to the games Razz, Stud and Stud8.
It is a forced bet, similar to that of the blinds in no limit hold’em, except the player who brings in is the one with the ‘worst’ face-up card, according to the game being played.
In Razz the worst up card is a King (of Spades); in Stud it’s a 2 (of clubs) and in stud hi/lo it is also the 2 (of clubs).
When it comes to who brings in, suits do matter and suits are ranked in alphabetical order with spades being the highest and clubs classed as the lowest.
The “Complete” and 2Bet
The “Complete” is the first ‘whole’ bet following the Bring-in in Stud Games.
It only occurs in the very first round of betting and is in the denomination of the small bet limit. The first raise after this is then known as the 2Bet.
Draw Variants
Standing Pat
In Draw Games, players take turns to declare how many cards they are drawing. Players often make the mistake of showing their drawing cards before their turn and offering information to their opponents unnecessarily, so be careful you don’t fall into this habit!
When someone says they are ‘pat’ or ‘standing pat’, that means they are not drawing any cards.
And that’s a wrap!
Hopefully this introduction to live poker mixed games mechanics will have better equipped you to handle your first foray into the poker wilderness that is Mixed Games. If I’ve piqued your interest and you want to watch me stream mixed games online, be sure to check out my Twitch channel.
Finally, a great place to give live mixed game poker a try for the first time is the upcoming Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival IX, which will be held at Resorts World Las Vegas in partnership with the 2024 PokerStars NAPT from November 3-7.
Good luck!
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