Things don’t always go as planned in life, but those who can find their way around the obstacles and persevere through the hardships are the ones who make their dreams come true. The Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival was supposed to return to Las Vegas for its 13th iteration back in March, but due to various geopolitical reasons well beyond the control of us mere mortals, it had to be canceled.
It was a sad decision, both for the MGF founder Robbie Strazynski and all the mixed game fans in Vegas and beyond, but in retrospect it turned out to just be a bump along the road. A few months later, the festival is BACK, and if Day 1 of MGF XIV is anything to go by, it’s going to be a great one!
Mixed Game Festival XIV kicked off to much fanfare on May 31, and if numbers are anything to go by, they’ll be even stronger for Day 2 when some delicious free pizza lunch is thrown into the mix for the players.
Strong Action, Merch Giveaways, and Surprise Appearances
Day 1 of MGF XIV started at noon at Bellagio, and it wasn’t long before there were four full tables going. In addition to three $4/$8 tables, this was the first time in Mixed Game Festival history that a $6/$12 game was spread. The festival is nothing if not flexible when it comes to these requests, aiming to cater to all players.
As long as there is enough interest, “You can just… do things,” as Robbie puts it ever so eloquently.
Every time the festival rolls in, it brings with it a bunch of free stuff, courtesy of the sponsors, some of which have been strong supporters of the event for years now.
Chuck Martin got his hands on Jonathan Little’s Complete Poker Workout as a special reward for showing down a “Zero” in Drawmaha Zero. And if the second part of this sentence confuses you, it’s hard to explain. You just need to come over to Bellagio and see it for yourself.
Congratulations to @chuckspoker, who just won a free copy of @JonathanLittle‘s The Complete Poker Workout (published by @DBPoker1) for tabling a “Zero” in Drawmaha Zero. 👏 pic.twitter.com/Bje39cFovm
— Cardplayer Lifestyle (@PokerLifeMedia) May 31, 2026
Another lucky player got himself a nice setup of playing cards from Faded Spade, which will surely come in handy for any future home games, which the mixed game community is known for.
Congratulations to Brad from South Dakota!
He just won himself a setup of @FadedSpadeBrand playing cards for scooping Double Board Omaha “Best Best” pot.
Some great added value to be had here at @BellagioPoker during Mixed Game Festival XIV 😊 pic.twitter.com/Y4y9FNMPv6
— Cardplayer Lifestyle (@PokerLifeMedia) June 1, 2026
One of the great things about the Mixed Game Festival is that, although it caters primarily to recreational players rather than hardcore grinders, it never fails to attract some big names, be it Hold’em specialists looking to expand their horizons or mixed game beasts who simply love the game and don’t mind spending a few hours playing at the stakes that could be 100 times lower than what they usually play.
David Bach is certainly in the latter category. The 2009 $50k WSOP Poker Players Championship winner and a man with close to $5,000,000 in live tournament earnings decided to pay his first visit to the festival and splash around playing some $4/$8 mix. You just love to see it!
Surprise guest at @BellagioPoker, welcome to Mixed Game Festival XIV past $50K WSOP Poker Players Champion @gunslingerbach!
Man of the people, splashing around with us in the $4/8 streets. 👏😊 pic.twitter.com/wXm2zBIayL
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) June 1, 2026
The First Lady of Poker, Linda Johnson, was there to support the festival, as she’s been known to do, alongside Jan Fisher. These two have been some of the greatest ambassadors for mixed games, and we’re fortunate to call them festival regulars.
Poker Hall of Famer sighting 👀
Welcome to Mixed Game Festival XIV, @FirstLadyPoker and @WIPHOF-er @Jan_Fisher
Two of our game’s finest, legendary ambassadors ❤️ pic.twitter.com/gs8UxRmsRz
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) May 31, 2026
To round up the day’s poker glitterati appearances, Tim Duckworth, Director of Live Events and Content at PokerGO, pulled up a chair. You just never know who you’ll run into at the MGF; we’ll see who else comes out of the woodwork over the next two weeks.
The world’s most famous aspiring recreational player @Tim__Duckworth has decided to make an appearance here on Day 1 of Mixed Game Festival XIV.
We welcome ALL types of poker players here at @BellagioPoker 😊 pic.twitter.com/QfxOUMa6gM
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) June 1, 2026
PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day: Christian Feng
We continue the tradition of putting the spotlight on one player every day of the festival, giving them a chance to share their thoughts, and also allowing everyone to see just how versatile the mixed game community truly is.
The honor of being the very first PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day for MGF XIV goes to Christian Feng from San Francisco, California.
Unlike many who have been coming out for the festival for a while, this is Christian’s first time, and he doesn’t even play mixed games. He’s in town for the World Series of Poker, but having heard about the Mixed Game Festival, he figured it was a great opportunity to learn about new games in a low-pressure environment and without risking too much money.
He is a recreational player with a 9-5 job working in HR for the State Government of California who plays small stakes Hold’em back at home and comes out to Vegas once a year to try his luck in some tournaments. Lately, though, with mixed games getting more exposure, he became interested in expanding his horizons, and when he saw the news about the festival on X, he decided to give it a try.
For Feng, one of the best things about poker (other than a chance to make money and achieve tournament glory) is the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and different parts of the world. He says that, so far, he’s probably met people from every single US state and over 100 countries worldwide, all that just playing low stakes No Limit Texas Hold’em.
After playing mixed games for about eight hours and coming into it with pretty much zero experience, he says the whole experience exceeded his expectations. He found other players to be very friendly and encouraging, willing to help and offer guidance at the tables, which is something you just won’t find anywhere else.
The way he sees it, this is the best way to dip your toes into the world of mixed games, and he was actually surprised at how cheap it is to play, even if you’re a complete beginner.
And that right there is truly what the festival is all about!
RunGoodGear Dealer of the Day: Jeremy Fornachon
There are two main facets of every poker event. Players are there to create the action, but nothing happens without the dealers who work tirelessly to deal the cards, push the pots the right way, and make sure every chip ends up exactly where it belongs.
It takes a special kind of skill and focus to be able to switch between all the different game formats, some of which you’ll hardly see anywhere outside of the Mixed Game Festival, and keep everything running smooth. That’s why the dealers also deserve their place in the spotlight, and why we proudly bring to you the RunGoodGear Dealer of the Day section of each daily festival recap.
Jeremy Fornachon has been dealing at Bellagio for two years, and he says that the best part about his job is that it feels like a family, and coming to work actually feels like coming home.
Jeremy has been dealing cards for 21 years now, having started his career at Peppermill in Reno, and worked at a few card rooms over the years before moving out to Vegas five years ago.
Jeremy says that the main difference he sees between everyday players and those coming out for the Mixed Game Festival is that the mixed game crowd is “really focused on having a good time and enjoying the game above everything else.”
When he’s not dealing cards, Jeremy likes to spend his time kayaking on the Colorado River and going to baseball games. As for his professional aspirations, he is actually in the process of taking the next step and exchanging his dealer nametag for that of a supervisor/floorman. We wish him the best of luck!
It’s Go Time!
As is usually the case, action continued deep into the night at a couple of tables, with the most dedicated of players looking to get the maximum amount of hours and enjoy the opportunity to play mixed cash games as much as humanly possible.
Day 2 action kicks off with the traditional pizza party, and if you also want to secure your seat at the tables, you can call in ahead of time at (702) 693-7291 to put your name on the list. Showing up on time by 12pm guarantees that you’ll have a spot.
📣 @cardplayerlife‘s Mixed Game Festival XIV, sponsored by @BetMGMPoker, has a PIZZA PARTY tomorrow at the @Bellagio starting at NOON! 🥳
📽️ https://t.co/qZn3UshWcR
🔗 https://t.co/K0u0CjaTXp
♠️♥️♣️♦️#PokerLifeMedia #MGFXIV #FindTheFountains #JoinTheFestival pic.twitter.com/QcjQj7h3Pv— Cardplayer Lifestyle (@PokerLifeMedia) June 1, 2026
On Day 3 of the festival — Tuesday, June 2 — we’ll be staging the event’s first big giveaway, with a $3,500 seat to the 2026 BetMGM Poker Championship awarded to the winner of a blind PLO flip.
Mixed games are back in town, everyone’s welcome to join, the action is fun and affordable, and there’s heaps of extra value up for grabs, so what’s your excuse for not showing up? 🙂
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