When most people think about the World Series of Poker, they think of the no-limit hold ‘em Main Event. But from my experience, the best part of the WSOP is all the glorious mixed game events offered. For mixed games players, there aren’t many tournaments that offer such a great structure and a ton of value. So, when the WSOP rolls around, you bet that I am looking to play as many tournaments as I can. Aside from the difference of games in mixed tournaments compared to NLHE, there are many other great things about playing the mixed events. There is a lot of value in them, the community is very close nit, the chance of getting that elusive bracelet is much higher, and you can always enter in a mixed event if you bust out early in an afternoon NLHE event.

The WSOP is much like summer camp for poker players. We all run around hyped up that it’s summer looking forward to a great time with friends and sharing living quarters, and after it’s over we reminisce about (hopefully) the great time we had and can’t wait to go back next year. There are a ton of activities for us in Las Vegas and a wide variety of tournaments to choose from, so why choose mixed games? From the first year that I started playing in the WSOP, I have been grinding the mixed game tournaments with success. I have found that the best reason to play mixed tournaments is the value that comes from them. A lot of recreational players are drawn to the fun array of mixed games and want to jump in the action with little experience. I have seen it all- from recreational players playing the game for literally the first time ever to the pro who still didn’t understand the value of certain hands in razz. To be brash, there are very few people who know what they are doing in mixed games. This, as you can imagine, sets the stage for hundreds of players scrambling for a bracelet in hopes of running good without much experience. I generally like to play the higher buy-in events because the structure is much better for the solid player. The lower buy-in events are great, but are much more difficult to fade the variance of a quick structure. Because there are so few people that really understand the nature of mixed games, the ones that do understand the game generally are familiar with others that understand it.

I have met a great deal of friends through the WSOP. They are mostly mixed game players since I generally stick to playing the mixed game events, and I feel as if there is a great bond between friends who play mixed games. Because there isn’t a lot of info on mixed games out there, the info that is known is kept quiet between those that have done the work on the games. Most people generally don’t like to share unless it is a friend or another person who knows a different game better than them, to which they can share information. I have also made a bunch of friends through coaching stud games and swapping info with other pros. One of the experiences that I enjoy is watching my friends going for a bracelet and getting deep in a mixed tournament. This year I had a few shots at a bracelet in different events, but couldn’t close. However, I had two different friends win a bracelet (Vincent Van Der Fluit and Vanessa Selbst) and a few other friends come very close. It was great watching them and even better celebrating with them. It seems like someone I know wins a bracelet every year and I believe it’s because the shorter fields in the mixed games give the pros a greater chance at winning one.

After Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP, poker had a boom, and NLHE attracted a huge part of that boom because of the television coverage. The mixed games got a bunch of new players as well, but not nearly as many as NLHE. The fields of the NLHE events at the WSOP are huge. Generally, there are at least 1,000 players in the smaller fields, and up to 4,000 in the bigger fields (excluding the Main Event). The mixed games however generally have at most 900 players and can have as little as 100 players.  The 10k NL single draw got 101 entries (yes I was one of them). So, as you can imagine, the chances of beating out 100 players is going to be much better than beating out 4,000 players. This is why you hear about pros that win a bracelet that have never even played the game before; they ran good in a small field. Another reason the mixed game community is pretty close nit is because of the small field sizes; you will often play and see the same people most of the time. Generally when I sit at a table, if I don’t recognize one person at the table, it will be a good day for my chip stack.

For those that aren’t convinced yet to start learning mixed games and get in the tournaments next year, did I mention that all the mixed tournaments don’t start until 5pm? That’s right- you can go out and party the night before, or go out late with friends, and still wake up in time for the tournament the next day. Unlike most NLHE tournaments which always start around noon, the mixed tournaments are on their own schedule. They spread out the mixed games and set them all at 5pm. So if you bust early from a NLHE tournament, you can just hop right into a mixed one. This also attracts some weaker NLHE players and adds to the value. Personally, I love that they are later in the afternoon as I love to sleep in and I don’t think I could resist the nightlife in Vegas in exchange for waking up early.

In my experience, I’ve played a ton of mixed game tournaments during the WSOP and I’ve loved every trip. For the first time, I wasn’t profitable in tournaments this year, but I still had a blast as I enjoyed playing the tournaments, hanging out with friends, partying, and taking advantage of everything Vegas has to offer. The only problems I have every year is figuring out how I’m going to top last year, and how I’m going to fit more mixed tournaments in my schedule.