Mixed Poker Games In 2010
2009 was a very big year for mixed poker game players in general. Mixed poker variety, at the few poker rooms that even offered them, was limited to H.O.R.S.E poker and H.O.S.E, with the traffic mainly focused at the H.O.R.S.E poker tables. Some very wise people at the internet’s top two poker rooms changed that in 2009. Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker each launched several new mixed poker variants in 2009 and they have both been extremely successful. The two “most played” mixed poker games in 2010 are:
Both of these games include fixed, pot and no limit games. This new concept is called “Mixed Limit”. Below is a breakdown of each mixed game:
- No limit Hold’em
- Fixed Limit Hold’em
- Pot Limit Omaha
- Fixed limit Omaha H/L
- Fixed limit 7 Card Stud
- Fixed limit 7 Card Stud H/L
- Fixed limit Razz poker
- Fixed limit 2-7 Triple Draw – Available only in 8-Game Mix.
So the only real different between these two successful games is that 8-Game Mix includes 2-7 Triple Draw, a game not offered by Full Tilt Poker. The only other difference I can think of is the number of hands per rotation. At Pokerstars you will play each game for 6 hands before moving on to the next and in 7-Game Mix you will play each game for 10 hands. I tend to prefer the 6 game rotation since I get bored with a game quite quickly.
Mixed Poker Games In 2010
Full Tilt Poker is at a huge disadvantage to Pokerstars in the game variety category. Full Tilt Poker’s 7-Game Poker included every card game available on their software so there really isn’t much room for growth unless they think outside of the box and add some new card games. Pokerstars on the other hand could come out with a 9-Game Mix, 10-Game Mix or even 11-Game Mix by introducing 5 Card Draw, Badugi or 2-7 Single Draw. By including different betting limits (FL,PL or NL) they could go well beyond that as well.
I predict that Pokerstars will indeed create a new mixed poker variant in 2010, which will probably be called 10-Game Mix, and will basically be 8-Game + 5 Card Draw.
The only way for Full Tilt Poker to stay competitive with Pokerstars in the mixed game field is to add new card games to their line-up. I can think of several off of the top of my head that would become very successful. If anyone from Full Tilt is reading this the game I have in mind is a variation of Iron Cross.
- Each player gets dealt 4 hole cards, like in Omaha
- The dealer places 5 community cards in the center of the table (face down) in the form of a cross, or plus sign (see below).
- Players bet
- Dealer flips 1 community card
- Players bet
- Dealer flips 1 community card
- Players bet
- Dealer flips 1 community card
- Players bet
- Dealer flips 1 community card
- Players bet
- Dealer flips final community card
- Players bet
Players can use any combination of their four hole cards and the 3 community cards going up and down (2,4,5) or right and left (1,5,3). I play this game at home games and it is very fun. It would also be a huge rake generator as players would be inclined to stay in til the end to see if the middle card (#5) made their hand.
In any event though Full Tilt Poker will have to do something or they will lose this contest of creativity. I certainly hope they add some fresh new mixed poker games to their software in 2010. Pokerstars will certainly not let me down though and I expect something new from them by march of 2010.
