Mixed Game Poker Rules| P4Poker | Free Poker News and Promotions

Poker News August 28, 2026

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One of the biggest hurdles preventing poker players from giving mixed games a try is that with so many mixed game poker variants out there, wrapping one’s head around all the different rules for each game can be tough. It’s with that in mind that we set out to compile a clear, concise list of mixed game poker rules for the most common variants played in tournaments and low-stakes, fixed limit cash game formats. In particular, you’ll find the overwhelming majority of these games being played at our Mixed Game Festivals.

Generally speaking, mixed games can be grouped into four main categories: Draw Games, Flop Games, Stud Games, and Drawmaha Games. With new game variants continuing to emerge “at the speed of player creativity and innovation”, it’s essentially impossible to have a 100% fully comprehensive list of rules for each and every single mixed game poker variant. Even so, a number of games tend to prevail as the ones most widely known and played in mixed game poker communities. Below, we dive into the mixed game poker rules for each variant, one category at a time, in the aforementioned order.

Draw Games Rules

2-7 Triple Draw

Category: Draw
Winner: Low only

2-7 Triple Draw is a lowball poker variation played with blinds. Aces count as high, and straights and flushes count against you. The best possible hand a player can make is 2, 3, 4, 5, 7 (unsuited).

Each player is dealt five cards, followed by the first round of betting. Players can then choose to either “stand pat” (without discarding) or discard any number of cards (up to five) and receive replacement cards.

This is followed by the second round of betting and another draw. Then, there is the third round of betting, followed by the third and final draw. After the final draw, there is the fourth and final round of betting, followed by a showdown.

The size of the bet doubles after the second draw (i.e., the final two betting streets feature a big bet). If the dealer runs out of replacement cards, discarded (mucked) cards are reshuffled and reused.

A-5 Triple Draw

Category: Draw
Winner: Low only

A-5 Triple Draw is a lowball poker variation that plays exactly the same as 2-7 Triple Draw. The only difference is in hand rankings. Aces play low, and straights and flushes don’t count against you, so the best possible hand is the wheel, i.e., A-2-3-4-5.

Archie

Category: Draw
Winner: High/Low Split

Archie is a draw poker variation played in a triple draw format. The game is played with blinds and follows the dealing and betting rules of other similar triple draw variations.

This is a split pot game, where half the pot goes to the best qualifying low hand (8 or better) and the other half goes to the best qualifying high hand (pair of nines or better).

In the event there is no qualifying high hand, the strongest low hand will scoop the pot.

Archie 49/0

Category: Draw
Winner: Split Pot

Archie 49/0 is played just like regular Archie, but with cards assigned point values based on pips. An ace is worth one point, numbered cards are worth their face value, and picture cards are worth zero points. The pot is split between the hand with the lowest point value (min = 0) and the hand with the highest point value (max = 49). Typically there are qualifiers for both high and low (e.g., 35 and 8)

Ari

Category: Draw
Winner: High/Low Split

Ari is played exactly like Archie with one notable difference: there’s a community card dealt before action begins. The community card can be used only to help players make their high hand (e.g., if at showdown a player is holding A, 2, 3, 4, K and the community card is a 5, the player has a wheel/straight for the high, but no qualifying low). Qualifiers for both high and low remain the same.

Badacey

Category: Draw
Winner: Split Pot

Badacey is a mix between Badugi and A-5 Triple Draw, where the pot is split between the best A-5 low hand and the best four-card Badugi hand. The game is played with blinds, following the usual betting rules for blind games, and uses a triple-draw format.

Badeucey

Category: Draw
Winner: Split Pot

Badeucey plays the same as Badacey, but at the showdown, the pot is split between the best Badugi four-card hand and the best low hand according to 2-7 lowball hand rankings.

Importantly, aces are considered high in this variation, so your best possible Badugi hand would be 2-3-4-5, all of different suits, instead of A-2-3-4.

Badugi

Category: Draw
Winner: Low only

Badugi is a triple draw lowball poker variation that has unique hand rankings. The goal is to make the best possible low hand where all four cards are of different suits and ranks. Aces are low in Badugi, so the absolute best hand is A-2-3-4 of four different suits.

Players are dealt four cards, and there is a pre-draw betting round. Then, there are three more betting rounds, each followed by a draw round where players are allowed to discard as many cards as they want and get replacement cards.

A four-card Badugi (four cards of different suits and ranks) always beats any three- or two-card hand (i.e., a hand containing two or three cards of duplicate ranks or suits). Any “three-card badugi” beats any “two-card badugi”.

Badugi Hi-Low

Category: Draw
Winner: Split Pot

The hi-low version of Badugi is played exactly the same as the original, but the pot is split between the best low (traditional) and the best Badugi high hand.

In this variation, aces are counted as both low and high. Low hands use traditional Badugi rankings, while, for the high hand, the player holding the highest low card wins.

So, for example, a four-suit hand like K-Q-5-3 is a King-low and 3-high and it gets scooped by a four-suit hand like J-T-5-7, which is a Jack-low and 7-high.

Hi-dugi

Category: Draw
Winner: High

Hi-dugi is a draw poker variant played with four hole cards and using the standard betting rules of games with blinds. The goal is to make the best possible high hand where all four cards are of different suits and ranks. Aces are high in Hi-dugi, so the absolute best hand is A-A-A-A (obviously containing four different suits). 4-of-a-kind dugi would be followed in ranking by 3-of-a-kind dugi, two pair dugi, one pair dugi, no pair dugi, 3-of-a-kind no dugi, etc.

A four-card Badugi (four cards of different suits and ranks) always beats any non-Badugi hand.

Flop Games Rules

3-2-1

Category: Flop
Winner: High/Low Split

3-2-1 is an Omaha 8 or Better poker variation with a twist inherent in the name: three flops, two turns, and one river. Players get four hole cards and betting action proceeds the same as in all games using blinds.

Players must utilize any flop + turn + river combo of three cards along with two of their hole cards to make the best hand.

Big O

Category: Flop
Winner: High/Low Split

Big O plays exactly like Omaha 8 or Better, but players are dealt five cards instead of four. They still must use exactly two cards from their hand and three of the community cards to create the best possible hands.

Double-Board Omaha High/High

Category: Flop
Winner: Split Pot

This variation of 5-card Omaha is played with two full board runouts. The pot is split between the best high hand on the top runout and the best high hand on the bottom runout.

Betting rounds follow traditional flop game conventions. Dealers deal two distinct flops, two distinct turns, and two distinct rivers.

At showdown, the pot is split between the best hands on each board. Players must use exactly two cards from their hand and three community cards from the specific board to form the best hand. Community cards from the two boards are completely separate, but players can use different two hole card combinations for each runout.

Double-Board Omaha Ultimate High/Low (Best/Best)

Category: Flop
Winner: Split Pot

In this 5-card Omaha variation, two full runouts are dealt (flop, turn, river), and the pot is split between the best overall high hand and the best overall low (Omaha 8) hand.

Players still must use two hole cards from their hand and three community cards from a specific board to make their hands. However, they may use one runout to make their best high hand and the other to get their best possible low combination.

Hold’em–Omaha (a.k.a., SOHE)

Category: Flop
Winner: Split Pot

Simultaneous Hold’em–Omaha is a game played with six hole cards dealt to all players. Before the flop, all players must split their cards into two hands: a four-card Omaha hand and a two-card Hold’em hand.

Once a player splits their hand, it is locked: the two hands must remain visibly separated until showdown, and you can’t switch cards back and forth.

After the preflop action, the flop is dealt, and the action continues as normal in flop games. At showdown, the pot is split between the best Hold’em hand (made using a two-card hand) and the best Omaha hand (made using a four-card hand).

Omaha

Category: Flop
Winner: High

Omaha is a game played with blinds and the standard dealing and betting rules for blind poker variations.

The round begins with all players being dealt four cards, followed by a round of preflop betting. The first three community cards (flop) are dealt, followed by another round of betting.

The fourth (turn) and the fifth (river) community cards are dealt, with a betting round after each one is dealt. After the final betting round, the showdown follows, where the best hand according to the standard high poker hand rankings wins the entire pot.

Players must use exactly two of their hole cards and three of the community cards to make the best possible hand.

Omaha 8 or Better

Category: Flop
Winner: High/Low Split

In Omaha Hi-Low, the pot is split between the best high hand and the best low hand. The qualifying low hand has to contain five different cards ranking 8 or lower.

If there is no qualifying low hand at a showdown, the best high hand wins the entire pot (scoops).

Dealing and betting rules for Omaha Hi-Low are exactly the same as in regular Omaha.

Pineapple

Category: Flop
Winner: High

Pineapple poker is played exactly like Texas Hold’em, but all players are dealt three cards to begin with instead of two. Players keep their three cards during the preflop betting round, but must discard one of their cards before the flop is dealt. From the flop onwards, the game is then played exactly like Texas Hold’em.

In “Crazy” Pineapple, players discard one of their three cards after the flop (instead of before).

Squid Game

Category: Flop
Winner: Split Pot

Squid Game plays out like Omaha, with a couple twists. Over the course of the hand, dealers will deal out three full boards with betting proceeding as usual. On the river, the board with the lowest river card gets eliminated, and then there’s one final round of betting before showdown. The pot gets split between the winners of the two remaining boards.

If the river brings two of the same low card, both of those boards get eliminated, and the winner of the remaining board will scoop the pot.

If the river is the same on all three boards, all boards get eliminated and the pot is given to the dealer.

Watermelon

Category: Flop
Winner: Most points

Watermelon is a 5-card Omaha variant. Three full boards get dealt — flop, turn, and river — with the usual betting rounds interspersed.

At showdown, a point is awarded to each player with the highest hand on each board (three points total). If two players tie to win a board, each gets awarded half a point. The player with the most points scoops the pot. If there’s a tie (e.g., three players have 1 point apiece, or two players have 1.5 points apiece), the pot is split accordingly.

Stud Games Rules

7 Card Stud

Category: Stud
Winner: High

The goal of 7 Card Stud is to make the best possible five-card hand out of the seven cards dealt. To start the action, all players are dealt three cards, the first two face-down, and the third one face-up. The lowest up-card posts the bring-in.

The betting action starts with the player posting the compulsory bring-in, who can also choose to “complete” to a full small bet. Action then continues clockwise.

Then, the fourth card is dealt face up, followed by another round of betting. The action on this and all following streets starts with the player showing the strongest hand.

The fifth card is dealt face-up, and for this and the remaining two rounds of betting, the big bet is used.

The sixth card is dealt face-up, a round of betting ensues, followed by the seventh card dealt face down and the final betting round.

On the showdown, the best five-card high hand wins the whole pot. If two players have the exact same five-card hand, they split the pot. Additional cards they hold in their hands don’t come into play to act as tiebreakers.

7 Card Stud 8 or Better

Category: Stud
Winner: High/Low Split

7 Card Stud 8 or Better plays exactly the same as 7 Card Stud High except that at showdown the pot is split between the best high hand and the best qualifying low hand.

The qualifying low hand has to contain five cards of different ranks that are 8 or lower. The hand with the lowest card at the top end always wins the low portion (i.e., A, 2, 3, 5, 8 loses to 2, 3, 4, 5, 7). If there is no qualifying low hand, the best high hand scoops the entire pot.

Action Razz

Category: Stud
Winner: Low Only

Action Razz is a Razz variation that follows the rules of the original game with one important exception. For a player’s 5-card hand to qualify at showdown, among the player’s seven cards must be at least one face card (Jack, Queen, King). The qualifier itself doesn’t need to be a part of your actual 5-card Razz hand.

Beyond this, the game plays with antes and the bring-in posted by the player showing the highest face-up card.

At showdown, the winner is determined using the usual Razz rules, where the wheel (A, 2, 3, 4, 5) is the best hand. However, for any player’s hand to qualify, at least one of their seven cards must be a face card.

In a scenario where only one player has a low with a picture card, they win the pot by default. If no player’s hand qualifies at showdown, the pot is split among the players who made it to showdown.

Razz

Category: Stud
Winner: Low

Razz is a lowball poker variation where the goal is to make the best possible low hand. Aces are low, and straights and flushes don’t count against you, so the best possible hand is A-2-3-4-5 (the wheel).

The round begins with players being dealt three cards, the first two face-down and the third face-up. This is followed by a round of betting, starting with the bring-in. The fourth card is dealt face-up, and the betting starts from the player showing the lowest hand combination.

The fifth card is dealt face-up, followed by another round of betting, but with the big bet in play for the rest of the hand. This is followed by another face-up card dealt to all players and another round of betting.

The seventh and final card is dealt face-down, followed by the final round of betting and showdown.

Razzdugi

Category: Stud
Winner: Split Pot

Razzdugi is a mix between Razz and Badugi (essentially Badacey in stud form), and the game itself plays exactly like Razz. The only difference is that, at showdown, the pot is split between the best Razz hand and the best Badugi hand.

In the event that no player has a Badugi at the end, half of the pot will go to the best three-card Badugi hand, so the pot is always split.

Razzdeucey

Category: Stud
Winner: Split Pot

Razzdeucey is a mix between Razz and 2-7 lowball poker (essentially Badeucey in stud form), where the pot is split between the best Badugi hand and the best Razz hand, according to 2-7 poker hand rankings. Aces always play high.

Other than this, the game plays exactly as Razz, with antes and bring-in, where the player showing the highest card must post the bring-in.

Drawmaha Games Rules

Drawmaha

Category: Drawmaha
Winner: Split Pot

Drawmaha is a hybrid between Omaha and draw poker variations where the pot is split between the best possible Omaha hand and the best possible 5-card hand made using only the player’s hole cards.

To start, each player is dealt five cards, followed by a round of betting. Then, the flop is dealt, followed by another round of betting.

After the flop betting round, there is a draw, during which players can discard and replace any number of their hole cards (often, this is capped at 3 cards max to help avoid extra shuffling and speed up the game; be sure to clarify with other players in advance).

Players first declare how many cards they wish to draw. The dealer then burns and turns, then deals players new cards, followed by a round of betting. The river is dealt, followed by a betting round and showdown.

At showdown, the pot is split between the best Omaha High hand (using a player’s two hole cards and three community cards) and the best 5-card hand made up of only a player’s five hole cards.

Drawmaha 2-7

Category: Drawmaha
Winner: Split Pot

Drawmaha 2-7 plays exactly like the regular Drawmaha, but the pot is split between the best Omaha High hand (using two hole cards and three community cards) and the best 2-7 lowball hand using only the player’s five hole cards.

Drawmaha A-5

Category: Drawmaha
Winner: Split Pot

In Drawmaha A-5, the pot is split between the best Omaha High hand and the best A-5 low hand made using only the player’s five hole cards. The game uses standard Drawmaha betting rules and procedures.

Drawmaha-Dugi

Category: Drawmaha
Winner: Split Pot

This is a hybrid of Drawmaha and Badugi where the pot is split between the best 5-card high hand (made using the player’s two hole cards and three community cards) and the best four-card Badugi hand, made using only the player’s hole cards.

In terms of betting and dealing, it is played exactly like other Drawmaha variations.

Drawmaha Hi-dugi

Category: Drawmaha
Winner: Split Pot

This is a hybrid of Drawmaha and Hi-dugi where the pot is split between the best 5-card high hand (made using the player’s two hole cards and three community cards) and the best four-card Hi-dugi hand, made using only the player’s hole cards.

Betting and dealing follow the same Drawmaha procedures.

Drawmaha Zero (0)

Category: Drawmaha
Winner: Split Pot

Drawmaha Zero is the “opposite” of Drawmaha 49, as the pot is split between the best Omaha High hand and the hand with the lowest number of points.

Face cards have the value of zero, Aces are worth one point, and other cards are assigned points based on their face values. In all other aspects, this variation plays just like Drawmaha.

Drawmaha 49

Category: Drawmaha
Winner: Split Pot

This game variation plays the same as regular Drawmaha, but the pot is split between the best Omaha High hand and the hand with the highest number of points.

The Omaha hand is made up of the player’s two hole cards and three community cards. For the other half of the pot, only the player’s five hole cards are considered, and the points are calculated according to the number of pips on the cards. Aces are worth one point, sixes are worth six, while all face cards are worth zero points. The highest possible point value is 49 (four tens and a nine).

Sviten Special

Category: Drawmaha
Winner: Split Pot

Sviten Special is essentially Drawmaha with a small, but important, twist. All the rules and betting procedures are exactly the same, save for one: the “One-card Open rule”.

If a player chooses to exchange exactly one card, their new card is dealt face-up. They may then choose to either keep the card or opt for a new card, which will be dealt to them face-down.

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