Another incredible week of mixed-game merriment is in the books at Resorts World Las Vegas as Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival VII wrapped up by crowning Joe Santagata of Las Vegas the $300 H.E.R.O.S. Main Event champion.

Congratulations to Joe Santagata of Las Vegas, who wins $3,345 and a $3K+ NAPT prize package courtesy of @PokerStars.

Joe defeated 35 players in our $300 HEROS tournament here at @PokerRoomRWLV.

Thanks to everyone who came out to support us at Mixed Game Festival VII! pic.twitter.com/3uvSrzWhoE

— Cardplayer Lifestyle (@PokerLifeMedia) March 1, 2024

Santagata endured his way to the title after an over 12-hour day of play that included a 5-hour plus final table, and over an hour of heads-up play.

“It was a long day, but it was fun,” said the champion.

“We had a long battle at the final table. I was only all in twice all day, and that was at the final table.”

Santagata took home $3,345 for the win along with the added NAPT package courtesy of PokerStars valued at $3,000.

He’ll be flying to an NAPT stop this year, receiving four nights accommodation and entry into a $550 buy-in mixed-game event at that series for his win. The NAPT schedule will be announced soon.

“That’s awesome, very awesome. That’ll be a lot of fun, and I’ll see which places they’re going to have and then I’ll pick.”

Debi Cheek was the runner-up, collecting $2,048 for her second-place finish.

A total of 36 players entered the tournament with our O.E. runner-up and first PokerCoaching.com membership winner John Rozance making another deep run, finishing 6th to go 2-for-2 in cashing our tournaments this week.

PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day: Debi Cheek

Her second-place prize wasn’t all Cheek won on Thursday.

Players were again incentivized to patch up with the Cardplayer Lifestyle logo as they played the tournament, and like Rozance, the last player standing wearing a patch earned themselves a one-year Premium membership to PokerCoaching.com.

Debi Cheek at Mixed Game Festival

PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day Debi Cheek

As the last patched-up player Thursday, Cheek earned the prize valued at over $1,700.

Already a proud member of Jonathan Little’s outstanding training site, she’ll have her membership extended one year for her accomplishment.

Thanks again to PokerCoaching.com for being a generous sponsor of the Mixed Game Festival and providing these outstanding prizes.

Banana Game of the Day: Drawmaha 2-7

While not the wildest game played at MGF VII, Drawmaha variants are always a popular selection among players. A couple of notable hands in the same orbit earned Drawmaha 2-7 the honor of being our Banana Game of the Day.

Unfortunately for Carmen, one of the fine dealers here at Resorts World, he was on the wrong end of insane coolers in these hands.

First after holding quads, his share of the pot was taken away by a player who rivered a straight flush (yah, it was me – what can I say, I’ve been running real good this week), then just a couple of minutes later after making a full house, he was again denied any part of the pot as his opponent (not me – that would be a bit ridiculous) rolled over quads to take the pot.

While those were a rough few minutes for Carmen, we wanted to make sure to send him some love for being a great dealer and one of our favorite people to play with this week.

Bonus Banana Game of the Day: The Evolution of Oh No! Omaha

Oh No Omaha plaque

As promised, a streamlined version of our Day 4 Banana Game of the Day (you’re just going to have to read the recap for the details. I’m not trying to explain that s*** again) was played to much greater success.

While there were a few detractors, (hey, not everyone likes to gamble), playing this game as Limit Omaha high-only proved to be much more popular and less confusing.

A couple more rules were ironed out, including clarification that any players remaining in the hand were eligible to have their hands killed by that final post-showdown “death card”.

Of any game played Thursday, what has now evolved to be dubbed ‘Oh No! Omaha’ garnered the most reaction from players.

Oh No! Omaha has now earned its place as the third side of the “Death Triangle” rotation along with Murder Razz and Squid Game.

Onward to Mixed Game Festival VIII

That does it for us from Mixed Game Festival VII at Resorts World Las Vegas!

A huge thank you to all the players for making this another successful edition of the MGF!

Equally huge thanks to the staff at Resorts World and all of our amazing sponsors!

Keep your eyes peeled here at Cardplayerlifestyle.com for details about the next edition of our Mixed Game Festival coming to you soon!

*Our coverage of Mixed Game Festival VII has been brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

As ClubWPT continues to grow, so do the opportunities for players, along with the size of the prizes available to be won. ClubWPT is the only subscription-based poker platform to offer players the opportunity to win their way into live World Poker Tour and WPT Prime festival championship events with the WPT passport, and they’re about to offer up the biggest March in site history!

ClubWPT Monthly Preview March

No fewer than 31 live WPT Passports (that’s one each day!) will be awarded across VIP, Diamond, and the new Super SATurday membership level, which will award 25 of those Passports.

That’s not all, as on top of that is the launch of qualifiers for the $125,000 WPT World Championship Challenge.

Last year, ClubWPT sent a healthy crew of winners to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, and starting in March they’re doing it again with $12,500 packages to be won. Stay tuned to ClubWPT for full details on that!

The World Poker Tour continues to travel the globe awarding some of the biggest prizes in poker along with the chance to etch your name in history on the Mike Sexton Cup, and ClubWPT members will have their chance to earn their way to a pair of premier WPT Main Tour events in March.

There will be three passports awarded to the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship on March 9th and 10th, plus three more to the WPT Choctaw Championship on March 30th and 31st.

Mad Cash Available to ClubWPT Members in March

Along with that multitude of WPT Passports, there will be plenty of cash to be spread around to ClubWPT players in March as well.

ClubWPT Diamond will offer members three $10,000 cash-guaranteed Diamond Double Stack tournaments. The first of which is on March 3rd with $2,000 to the winner. March 17th and March 31st are the other dates for these premier online events, with each running at 5:30 p.m. ET.

Throughout the month of March, Diamond members can also satellite into that March 31st tournament which will pay out $2,500 to the winner. These qualifying tournaments will run multiple times each week leading up to that Diamond Challenge Final on March 31st.

Complete details are available via this link on ClubWPT.

VIP level members will also see a healthy dose of cash splashed their way with a pair of $4,000 Cash VIP Giveaway Tournaments.

These events on March 3rd and March 24th will award cash prizes to the top 80 finishers, ranging from $600 to 1st place, $500 to 2nd, through to $20 for 80th place.

Details for these events are available here.

As mentioned, the all-new Super SATurday membership tier will have plenty of opportunities for players to earn WPT World Championship, WPT Main Tour, and WPT Prime Passports.

The top five players in each Super SATurday event in March will receive one of these passports, while the other final table members of each tournament will share $500 cash.

The month of Super SATurdays will be highlighted by the tournament on March 23rd which will award the winner a $12,500 WPT World Championship Passport.

It’s Going to be a Massive March at ClubWPT!

After a fabulous February that saw ClubWPT award multiple WPT Passports to the WPT Voyage, it’s going to be an incredible March for ClubWPT members, with more WPT Passports and plenty of cash to be awarded throughout the month.

Congrats to @ClubWPT member John “metajohnm” McLaughlin, the proud winner of a $6,000 @WPT Voyage Passport! 🎉 We’re excited he’ll be joining the entire WPT® family and the close to a hundred other https://t.co/eiotnrWT6z members on this upcoming #Caribbean adventure on… pic.twitter.com/Oo8TZ83qrE

— ClubWPT (@ClubWPT) February 26, 2024

If you haven’t already, be sure to visit the ClubWPT site for all the details on the new Super SATurdays membership tier, and also check out the info they’ve made available about the upcoming WPT Voyage Series and ClubWPT 2024 Player of the Year race.

It was an early 10 a.m. start for Day 4 of Mixed Game Festival VII at Resorts World Las Vegas, but that didn’t stop it from being the busiest start of the day for the festival thus far.

Students at Mixed Game Festival VII Women's Wednesday

Three tables of players came in to learn mixed game staples Omaha 8 or Better and Razz from a trio of outstanding coaches in Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson, Women in Poker Hall of Famer and LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) founder Lupe Soto, and 2023 WSOP $1,500 Big O champion Scott Abrams.

🎉It’s Women’s Wednesday at @PokerLifeMedia Mixed Game Festival VII.@FirstLadyPoker, @weirdchess1, and @PokerLupe are here giving lessons on O8 and Razz! pic.twitter.com/bwPiZS4PXY

— Poker Org (@pokerorg) February 28, 2024


The field of 22 ladies and 2 men (participation was open to anyone) enjoyed a bakery buffet of muffins, cookies, and croissants provided by Soto before being divided up based on their skill levels.

Players brand new to O8 and Razz made up two tables, while the third table consisted of players familiar with the games, but looking to up their knowledge courtesy of some strategy tips from Johnson.

Linda Johnson and Lupe Soto

Linda Johnson speaks to students at MGF VII Women’s Wednesday

“I felt that the intermediate players really enjoyed it,” said Johnson. “They asked some good questions, they had some ‘uh huh’ moments, and I gave them a lot of strategy tips and they paid attention… I felt like it was really well received.”

Soto praised her beginner students as quick learners and said she wasn’t surprised.

“I find that when women do begin to play mixed games, they will pick up a mixed game quicker than a guy will. Their brains work that way, they’re mixed game thinkers.”

Following the instructional session, the players hopped into low-stakes cash games to practice their newfound mixed-game skills. The beginners played a table of $1/2 limit, while the intermediates played $4/8.

The tables continued to play for over an hour past the scheduled wrap-up time of noon, which added to host Robbie Strazynski’s happiness over the success of the event.

“I cannot think of a single room in maybe the entire world that would have three full tables at 10 a.m. and it’s just such a great partnership between Cardplayer Lifestyle and LIPS. I’m happy that I was able to work with Lupe to make this happen. It was great to see two tables continue even past the instructional period for another hour to play and everyone just seemed really happy to be here and learn non-Hold ‘em games. As far as I’m concerned, a success across the board.”

Lupe Soto Linda Johnson and Robbie Strazynski

Lupe Soto, Linda Johnson, and Robbie Strazynski

PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day: David Boge

As the Women’s Wednesday Razz and Omaha 8 games began, so too did the $4/8 Dealer’s Choice action.

David Boge, who came to MGF VII from his home in Arizona says he gets to play mixed games maybe a couple of times a month at his home casino of Lone Butte. Boge barely left his seat all day, (as he has all week) while having a blast and making the most of his opportunity to play cards for another full day.

Eli Elezra‘s appearance (Tuesday) was my favorite part, but you learn new games, and the table’s been pretty cool as far as camaraderie. Happy and not a lot of drama, so that’s always good. A lot of things that I liked about it.”

David B

PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day David Boge

Boge says he’s been playing mixed games for a few years, since a friendly initial encounter with some mixed game players immediately turned him onto the variants.

“The mixed players were really complaining that they couldn’t get a game started because they needed one more (player), and so I just said if you guys are willing to kind of let me sit through a few rounds, I’ll just sit down so you can start your game, then I’ll play. Now here I am, five years later, playing nothing but mix!”

From just sitting at the table to help players get their game going to exclusively playing mixed games, Boge says he’s become a fan of all mixed games within reason, but he does have his favorites.

“I enjoy the wackier stuff at lower limits. I’m a big draw guy so I love Drawmaha, that’s probably my favorite, all of the different variations of it.”

Boge says he’ll be taking his experiences at MGF VII back to Arizona and his new and improved home game.

“I actually just bought a brand-new home. I’m working on the backyard right now, it’ll be done in May and I’ll start hosting a game, so there are definitely a few of these that I’ll bring back home.”

Banana Game of the Day: “O No 8” / “O-No-Maha”

This one still needs some fine-tuning, but a discussion about how to add a third game to a mini “death” rotation of games led to quite an interesting new variant of Omaha 8 or Better.

Along with Squid Game (where the lowest river card dealt on three completed boards “kills” that board), and Murder Razz (where a king dealt face-up immediately “kills” that player’s hand), an exceptionally painful game was concocted based on Omaha 8 or Better, but with a very dangerous twist at the end of a hand.

Essentially, a hand of Omaha 8 or Better is dealt and completed, but if a hand goes to showdown, the winners’ hands are far from safe.

A pair of variations were tested.

The simplest was as follows:

An even more complex version was tested, where before hands are revealed at showdown and the “death card” is dealt, players would be able to protect one card, leaving only three of their hole cards to potentially “be killed.”

This option reduced variance, but added some questions about when the card would be protected, adding to the confusion of figuring out the subsequent winner(s) of the pot, should any original winners’ hands be killed.

After some further discussion, while it wasn’t tested (yet, there is one more day of the festival to go!), to simplify the conclusion of the hand and ensuing potential carnage, playing the game as strictly a high-only game with just one winner at risk seemed much more manageable.

Ultimately, whichever version is played adds a morbid element of chance at the conclusion of a hand, where your winning cards could end up in the muck based on the turn of one final card.

Not a game for those that don’t have some gamble in them.

Coming up at Mixed Game Festival VII: Day 5 – The Grand Finale

There’s just one day left in the festival and it’s going to be a big one. The week’s marquee event gets underway at noon PT on Thursday with the $300 H.E.R.O.S. tournament.

📢Tomorrow is the FINAL DAY of @cardplayerlife‘s Mixed Game Festival VII at @PokerRoomRWLV!🔥

🎉A @PokerStars NAPT Prize Package will be awarded to the winner of our HEROS tournament!🥳

👉Go to https://t.co/ewYiFLCiWo for more!👍#PokerLifeMedia #MixedGameFestivalVII pic.twitter.com/TgtVC0V2Xw

— Cardplayer Lifestyle (@PokerLifeMedia) February 29, 2024

Not only will the winner take home the largest share of what will be a healthy prize pool, but the bonus of an NAPT prize package courtesy of PokerStars will be awarded to them as well.

The package includes a flight to an NAPT series from any North American airport, a $550 buy-in to any non-Hold ‘em event during the series, and four nights of accommodation at the host venue. The estimated value of the package is over $3,000.

PokerStars will be announcing the locations of NAPT stops a bit later this year.

Stay with us for the thrilling confusion err, conclusion (sorry, still trying to figure out the game of the day) to Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival VII.

*Our coverage of MGF VII is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

The midway point of Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival VII saw peak levels of star power inside the Resorts World Las Vegas poker room.

Multiple WSOP bracelet winners, poker media stars, and one Poker Hall of Famer who has become a regular at the festival (likely because he gets to take a blowtorch to host Robbie Strazynski’s chip stack) all found a seat at one of the two $4/8 Dealer’s Choice tables throughout the day.

Imagine letting Hall of Famer @elielezra1 play your stack at @PokerLifeMedia Mixed Game Festival.

🤔Also, what is Drawmaha 2-7? pic.twitter.com/LWVt9Gf6dK

— Poker Org (@pokerorg) February 28, 2024


Indeed, Poker Hall of Famer Eli Elezra joined the festivities Tuesday mid-afternoon, joining a table with WSOP bracelet winner Scott Abrams. An encore appearance from Nathan Gamble, plus MGF VII debuts from Andrew Yeh and Chad Holloway rounded out the bracelet-holding contingent.

Eli Elezra

Holloway was then joined by his PokerNews Podcast co-hosts Connor Richards and Matt Hansen once the second table of the day opened at about 5 p.m. local time.

Before the night was through, veteran mixed game crusher and MGF VII O.E. 3rd place finisher David Levi joined the fray, bestowing the room with multiple boisterous chuckles while he enjoyed his time in the world’s best kitchen game.

Banana Game of the Day: Drawmaha Pick ‘em

Early in the day, the popular game of Drawmaha became even more popular, as a variant was introduced where before the button is dealt their fifth card, they must select a variant of Drawmaha to play that hand, based on what they see in their first four cards.

Throughout the day, the game was called multiple times with Zero, 49, Dugi, High, A-5, and 2-7 all entering the mix.

The wide assortment of Drawmaha Plaques

Not only did the game provide great action, but great banter as well with lines such as…

“I’m pretty sure that if you look long enough at this many cards and this many boards you’ll find something.”

And…

“I’m supposed to know what to do here, I’m a poker player!”

PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day: Kamo

His full name may be a mystery and he kindly asked that his identity could remain a secret as well, but what’s no secret is our new friend Kamo’s passion for mixed games. Kamo has been a mainstay all week long at the festival after flying to Las Vegas for the first time from Tokyo, Japan, for the sole purpose of playing in the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival.

Kamo

Kamo’s enthusiasm was undeniable as he told us why he made this lengthy journey.

“Because I love mixed games and there are many famous people here who love mixed games. This is a precious place for me. I’m so happy!”

Kamo, who’s been a delight to play with all week because of his joyful personality was never more vibrant than when Elezra joined his table. Kamo happily shared the experience of playing with one of his poker heroes.

“He’s a great player. I’m so happy to play with him and Scott Abrams, and Robbie!”

Japan’s poker scene is an incredibly passionate one, but also very unique, as gambling for real money is illegal there. There are no casinos in Japan, but there are many play-money poker clubs where the game is taken as seriously as if it were for high stakes.

Kamo further detailed to us his involvement in that scene and how he developed his love for poker and mixed games.

“I play with friends and there are many (clubs), where you can’t bet real money but they can play very seriously. The Japanese people are disciplined, so they can play for no real money but very seriously.”

For more on the unique poker scene in Japan, you can check out my own journey to Tokyo in the summer of 2023.

Next up at Mixed Game Festival VII: Women’s Wednesday

Day 4 promises to be a big one as for the first time in Mixed Game Festival history, Cardplayer Lifestyle, in partnership with LIPS (Ladies International Poker Series) presents a unique opportunity for women to learn mixed games.

Women’s Wednesday, hosted by Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson will present a workshop introducing players to a pair of mixed game mainstays, Omaha 8 or Better and Razz. The event gets underway at 10 a.m. and will be followed by an ultra low-stakes $1/2 session at 11 a.m. where players brand new to these games will have a chance to practice what they’ve learned.

Women's Wednesday Mixed Game Festival VII

According to Women in Poker Hall of Famer and LIPS founder Lupe Soto, who will also be helping to run the instructional sessions, 28 women have already signed up for the event, so the start of Day 4 will unquestionably be the busiest of the festival thus far in terms of simultaneously running cash game tables.

Following this special event, regular $4/8 Dealer’s Choice games will get underway with everyone welcome to join in the fun.

Things are heating up at Mixed Game Festival VII as we enter the home stretch, with the $300 H.E.R.O.S. tournament featuring an added NAPT package courtesy of PokerStars on deck for the series finale on Thursday.

Stay with us for continuing coverage of Mixed Game Festival VII brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

The 7th iteration of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival is underway at Resorts World Las Vegas, bringing another fun-filled week of low-stakes, player-friendly mixed game fun to town.

Action got underway just after noon with the first table of play led by host Robbie Strazynski, along with Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson, and Women in Poker Hall of Famer and Founder Lupe Soto.

Lupe Soto at Mixed Game Festival

Lupe Soto

Plenty more partakers of multi-card madness made their way through the Resorts World poker room throughout the day including “The Poker Boss” Sean McCormack and MGF sponsor PokerGO’s Tim Duckworth.

With the opening day pizza party and cupcakes generously provided by Soto, players ate well throughout the day as they partook in a mix of more traditional stud, flop, and draw games.

The @PokerLifeMedia Mixed Game Festival is off and running with two $4/8 dealer’s choice tables at @PokerRoomRWLV

Pizza, giveaways… Good times 😁

Get on the wait-list with @PokerAtlas or call in (702) 676-7680 pic.twitter.com/Y3LYjN4QIW

— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) February 25, 2024

These included Razzdugi, Omaha 8 or Better, and 2-7 Triple Draw, respectively, along with some more exotic fare like Badugi Hi-Lo, Drama-dugi and our Banana Game of the Day…

Banana Game of the Day: Archie 49/0

Like other versions of Archie, this game is a triple draw variant, but hands are determined strictly by the number of pips on the cards, as they would be in Drawmaha 49 or Drawmaha Zero.

Half the pot goes to the player with the most pips up to 49 with a minimum qualifier of 35, with the other half going to the fewest pips down to zero with a maximum qualifier of 10.

Players receive five cards and a betting round ensues, followed by a round of discards and draws. A second round of betting followed by another draw takes place, then a third of each before hands are revealed after a final betting round.

Archie 49/0 at Mixed Game Festival

Archie 49/0: The left hand wins low with 2, the right hand wins high with 44

PokerCoaching.com Player of the Day: Tim Duckworth

PokerGO Director of Live Events & Content Tim Duckworth is a veteran of the Las Vegas mixed games scene and a longtime supporter of the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival having played in them since their inception in 2021.

Duckworth thoroughly enjoyed his day at the Mixed Game Festival recreating his version of a “Vos”, the term given to his Australian countryman and WSOP bracelet winner Mark Vos, who was known for building sizeably vertical towers of chips.

👀 What’s your @PokerLifeMedia Mixed Game Festival stack of choice?!

Our fave might be ‘The Duckworth’ 🔥 but someone tell @Tim__Duckworth this ain’t a winner’s photo 😂

📍 @PokerRoomRWLV pic.twitter.com/XlqjqL3239

— Poker Org (@pokerorg) February 26, 2024

“It was great. I won money, I got a massage, and then I got free ice cream from Robbie Strazynski. There’s not much that can beat that kind of day.”

Duckworth did however clarify that while he scooped many a pot Sunday, that tasty vanilla / chocolate scoop wasn’t really “free”.

“If you dive really deep into this, I gave Robbie like $60 (losing a pot) and then he gave me the free ice cream, so essentially it was really a $60 ice cream.”

Tim Duckworth at Mixed Game Festival

Tim Duckworth

Duckworth has been playing mixed games for about 10 years and is a strong proponent of them, including adding them to the PokerGO Tour schedule wherever possible. Later this week they’ll be running their own much higher stakes PGT Mixed Game Series starting on Wednesday here in Las Vegas. Duckworth talked about how he developed his love for non-Hold ‘em games.

“It began maybe a year after moving here (to Las Vegas). I used to play $1/3 (No-Limit) non-stop and I hated it. I got sick of No-Limit Hold ‘em and I couldn’t do it anymore. I found a mixed game and I just went there. The first time I was super nervous, I wrote down all the rules on my phone, like Badacey, what wins the high and what wins the low. I didn’t want to ask people, I just went in and played and I enjoyed it so much. I feel like it’s just so much more fun you know, you sit there with everyone, you can play a lot of hands, you don’t get buried in hoodies, headphones, etc. That’s why I like it. “

Duckworth’s advice for players considering dipping their toes into the mixed game pool, potentially at the Mixed Game Festival?

“Do it! If you want to jump into the mixed game world, it’s best to start in as small of stakes as possible, $4/8, whatever your casino is spreading. Maybe you’ll lose $200 but it’s not going to happen in one hand and the people that play these, the dealers, the staff, they’re willing to teach you. I think the beauty of mixed games is that the general population of players want more people playing so they don’t want to scare them off. If you want to try, come down to the Mixed Game Festival, bring a couple hundred bucks, ask as many questions as you can, and just figure it out. Figure out what the best hand is and then just go from there.”

Mixed Game Festival VII Day 2 Preview

Along with another day of cash games, the first of two tournaments during the festival runs on Monday at noon with the $300 O/E event (half Omaha 8 or Better / half Stud 8 or Better).

Players will start with 20,000 chips in this single-day event and registration and a single re-entry will be available until the start of Level 7 at approximately 2:15 p.m. local time.

Complete rules and structure are available here.

*Our daily coverage of mixed Game Festival VII is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of PokerStars.

February at ClubWPT is all about turning the winter freeze into warmer waters by setting sail on the WPT Voyage.

ClubWPT, one of the premier subscription-based online poker platforms — and the only one to offer players the opportunity to win their way into live World Poker Tour and WPT Prime festival championship events with the WPT Passport — is introducing another exciting way to win this coming month.

ClubWPT Monthly Preview February

The all-new ‘Super SATurdays’ membership offers players one tournament each Saturday, with five WPT Passports guaranteed.

This new level is ideal for players who don’t have the time to play on ClubWPT multiple days of the week, with Saturday being the day to make a run at a WPT Passport, including for the upcoming WPT Voyage!

“Super SATurdays stemmed from the notion that not all poker players have the time in their schedule to play multiple days a week,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “This led to the implementation of a whole new way to play on ClubWPT and opens up the possibility for members to play one tournament and end up on the biggest poker stage in the world – WPT events.”

The ‘Super SATurdays’ option can also be added to both the existing VIP and Diamond tiers of ClubWPT membership.

ClubWPT February 2024 Highlights

In all, February will be a huge month for ClubWPT members with the following incredible opportunities up for grabs, highlighted by no less than a dozen WPT Voyage Passports.

When it comes specifically to the new Super SATurday prizes, each of the first three Saturdays in February (Feb 3, Feb 10, Feb 17) will award a $6,000 WPT Voyage Passport to the winner, along with $2,500 WPT Prime Championship Passports to 2nd through 5th place finishers. The final Saturday (Feb 24) will award the winner a $12,500 WPT Championship Passport.

“WPT Passports won on ClubWPT are a great way for players of all bankroll levels to experience the genuine excitement of competing in a major live WPT tournament,” said WPT Commentator Tony Dunst. “The Super SATurdays addition is a great tool for players who don’t have the time to play ClubWPT daily, giving them the option to jump into one tournament a week to pursue a WPT Passport.”

This guy is ready to party on the @WPT @VirginVoyages! #Congratulations @ClubWPT https://t.co/Y0mDM0k3H0 ⚓️ pic.twitter.com/iiBnQaC36T

— Matt Savage (@SavagePoker) January 30, 2024

For those who don’t know, WPT Passports are flexible prize packages giving the holder a flight + accommodation + a seat in a WPT or WPT Prime event of their choice.

Not only do ClubWPT Super SATurday members get great opportunities to win their way to big-time, big-money live WPT events, Super SATurday members get an added bonus courtesy of LearnWPT.

Every Super SATurday member receives complimentary membership to LearnWPT’s CHAMP online training and exclusive live workshop events (a $199/month value).

These training tools are geared specifically toward developing satellite tournament skills which will help players maximize their chance of earning one of those WPT Passports.

It’s going to be an incredible February for members on ClubWPT, with WPT Passports galore throughout the month.

Click here for all the details on Super SATurdays, and also check out these links for info on the WPT Voyage Series and ClubWPT 2024 Player of the Year race.

🏆 Compete for the top spot in our 2024 POY Race!

Join the @ClubWPT Player of the Year award race and showcase your poker skills throughout the year. We’re recognizing consistency and excellence on the virtual felt in ClubWPT tournaments in 2024.

👑 The POY leaderboard… pic.twitter.com/TIgWWReq6r

— ClubWPT (@ClubWPT) January 7, 2024

If, like me, you remember learning how to play poker as a kid, you know that before there was Hold ‘em, there was Stud.

It was the most popular version of poker before Hold ‘em began to grow in the 1980s. Now, while not as prominent as they once were, Stud variants remain an integral part of mixed games. In this section of our Mixed Games Poker Guide, we’ll be covering the classic variants of 7-Card Stud, Razz and 7-Card Stud 8 or Better, as well as some spicy variations that have evolved in the wider mixed games collective like 7-Card Stud high/low with No Qualifier, Super Stud 8 or Better, and Razzdugi.

Stud Games

Also, be sure to check out our other Mixed Games Poker Guide articles on Flop Games and Draw Games.

THE CLASSICS

Three of the staple games in H.O.R.S.E. or an 8-game mix are 7-Card Stud, 7-Card Stud 8 or Better, and Razz. Generally speaking, in these (as well as other stud games), card memory is key. In other words, there’s a ton of information available to you in the form of your opponents’ face-up cards. As they fold, it’s critical you remember what those cards were as they dramatically change the math regarding the likelihood of you and your remaining opponents hitting hands. Knowing with certainty, for example, that there’s just one 6 left in the deck will directly influence whether you should bet, raise, check, call, or fold on specific streets.

Shockingly, many new players don’t pay enough attention to this critical part of the game. This is even worse than a basic level of thinking in Hold ‘em, where players don’t think beyond the strength of their holding. With so much information provided throughout a Stud hand, it makes the puzzles of a hand infinitely easier to solve. The fact of the matter is that you’ll almost always have pot odds to make the call, but that’s not always the correct play.

7-Card Stud

7-Card Stud

As opposed to Texas Hold ‘em, where all players play two hole cards with a board of five community cards, in a hand of Stud, players will begin with two down cards, but then be dealt their own boards face-up as the hand progresses.

The action begins with all players posting a designated ante, followed by the deal of “3rd street”. Specifically, players are given three cards, two face-down (as in hold ‘em), and one card face-up known as the “door card”.

From there, the player with the lowest door card must post a forced bet called the “bring-in”, which will be roughly double the value of the ante. In a $20/$40 cash game for example, the ante could be $2 or $3 with the bring-in being $5.

Action then proceeds to the player to the left of the bring-in, who has the option to call the bring-in bet, “complete” to the lower limit in the game (in that $20/$40 cash game, they can “complete” to $20), raise (to $40) or fold. Play continues clockwise around the table with players able to call the previous bet, raise, or fold, until it comes back around to the bring-in for the same options, and so on until the round of betting is completed. In a standard stud game, up to four raises, or $80 in this case, would be allowed. Stud games can be played pot-limit or no-limit, but generally is not.

At this point the dealer gives each player another card face-up (4th street), with the highest open hand now given the first opportunity to act, and action again continuing clockwise around the table from that player. As a hand progresses, depending on who has the strongest “up cards”, the player first to act in each round can change several times.

With the next round of action, 5th street, the betting amounts change to the larger limit listed. In this case, bets and raises are now in $40 increments. This continues through 6th and 7th street, with players dealt another card face-up until 7th street, where players receive their final card face-down.

At the completion of the hand, the player with the best five card hand from their seven total cards wins the pot.

7-Card Stud Tip: Pay close attention to ‘dead cards’

Stud, like Hold ‘em is a game of incomplete information, but less so because of the information provided by the various up cards throughout a hand. Thus, as mentioned above, the most critical, basic skill needed to succeed in Stud is keeping track of those cards and how they impact a hand.

The simplest example of this is if you start with three cards to a suit in your hand, you should have a playable hand with a chance of making a flush by 7th street. However, if four of the other players show that same suit with their door card on 3rd street, your ability to make that flush is seriously hindered with now only six more suited cards available instead of 10. Those four flush cards are considered ‘dead’ in relation to your hand.

Another basic example is if you start with a pair in the hole (called a ‘buried’ pair). Your hand has great potential to make disguised trips, which could win you a large pot against a player with a strong two pair hand. However, if the other two cards you need get exposed, your pair’s value shrinks significantly since it can’t improve.

These are the most basic of examples, but as you put your opponents on potential holdings, keeping track of what cards are dealt that could impact their hand as well as yours is key. Do your best to memorize which cards have been exposed and how they could impact both yours and your opponents’ hands.

Despite the amount of information available throughout a hand, there are still many nuances and strategies to the game of 7-Card Stud, but as with any poker game paying attention to your opponents, the action, and the information provided will lay a solid foundation of understanding and success in the game.

Razz

Razz

Razz is a lowball version of 7-Card Stud, where the lowest five-card hand wins the pot, with A2345 (a wheel), being the best possible hand. Straights and flushes do not count against you in standard Razz, however in 2-7 Razz, a variation popular in Las Vegas mixed games, they do. For this article, we’ll be discussing standard Razz.

The action is dealt the same as 7-Card Stud, with two down cards and one door card dealt to each player, however the highest door card pays the forced bring-in bet. On 4th street and beyond, the lowest visible hand acts first. Action then proceeds clockwise to that player’s left, as in Stud, with bets doubling on 5th street, and 7th street dealt face-down to players.

Razz may seem like a simple, straightforward game, as players’ boards will largely dictate how a hand is played depending on who “catches good or bad” but there are many intricacies and poker strategies to the game.

Razz Tip: Boards matter; actual hands don’t (as much)

As with any stud game, players’ boards provide a huge amount of information, and no more so than in Razz. There is no excuse for playing passively if your board appears stronger than your opponents. In limit games, you need to be betting aggressively and charging your opponents the maximum so that they don’t catch!

Here’s an example…

You start a hand with A2(5) on 3rd street vs. two opponents with a 7 and an 8 as their door cards. On 4th street, you catch an ace, the 7 catches a 9 and the 8 catches a Jack. While you’ve paired, you can still represent the best hand as you appear to be ‘a card ahead’ of their likely hands.

On 5th street, you catch a 2, while the 7 catches a Jack and the 8 catches a Queen. You now have two pair, which puts you well behind based on your actual hand strength. However, your board appears incredibly strong (5A2), even if your opponents actually have better made hands in J97xx and QJ8xx. The one caveat is that a sticky player could come along with the made J97, but you must bet anyway. If you get called by a sticky player, you will need to do the Razz equivalent of triple barrelling off, unless you actually happen to make a hand on 6th and 7th streets. If you show weakness and allow your opponents to see a free 6th street, their hands could improve enough to justify seeing 7th street (especially if you catch poorly), and you’ll end up likely losing the pot to their jack low or whatever. If it appears that you have the best hand, you must tell that story, and smash your opponents with the book that story is in!

Despite what the poker statistics might indicate, razz is a great game to bluff in. You can fire away with two bananas in the hole if you know your opponent will play straightforwardly or weakly on later streets when you catch good cards. Even so, be careful doing this against competent players or calling stations, or more than one opponent. Shedding one opponent is doable, but banking on two or more to catch poorly enough while you catch good is a big ask.

7-Card Stud 8 or Better

7-Card Stud 8 or Better (a.k.a., “Stud 8”)

‘Stud 8’, as it is commonly known, is a split pot Stud game, where half the pot goes to the highest hand, and half goes to the lowest (with five cards 8 or lower *better* as a qualifier).

The game is dealt identically to 7-Card Stud, where the lowest door card makes the forced ‘bring-in’ bet, and the highest hand opens the action on each subsequent street, with action continuing clockwise from that player.

Stud 8 is the most complex of the classic Stud games, with many who play mixed games proclaiming it as their favorite game in the mix because of the amount of skill required to play it well.

Don’t let this frighten you though. Essentially, it’s just Stud and Razz combined, but the nuances of playing the game well can make it the most satisfying Stud game to play. To be successful though, the most important thing is to play to scoop the pot and not to get drawn deep into a hand chasing half.

7-Card Stud 8 or Better Tip: The Platinum Rule

Todd Brunson wrote the Stud 8 section of Super System 2, which is an outstanding place to form the groundwork for learning this game, and the one thing he preaches above all is “The Platinum Rule”.

Not just the golden rule, PLATINUM. It’s that important.

The basis of it is this: Before entering a pot, or proceeding in a hand, as soon as you can no longer scoop the pot and are playing for half, strongly consider folding. As with any rule, there are exceptions, but for those new to the game this is a concept that will save you a ton of money that would otherwise be lost.

There are many elements to the Platinum Rule, but I’ll give you what I feel is one of the most important, which is to not fall in love with Razz hands in Stud 8. Starting hands like 873 or 752 (rainbow or two tone) are very unlikely to end up with a strong enough high AND low hand by 7th street that will scoop you the pot. Your most likely “good” outcome with these starters is a marginal hand on both sides that you’ll be lucky to win half with. Low starting hands that are suited, tightly connected and/or contain an ace are the best to begin with. Low flushes and straights, and lows with a pair of aces, are the kind of hands you want to be making to scoop pots.

THE VARIANTS

7-Card Stud high/low with No Qualifier

Also a split pot game, though it may seem more like Stud 8, this variant is dealt in the same manner as Razz, as opposed to Stud high, with the high card bringing in, and the lowest hand starting the action on subsequent streets.

With no qualifier for low hands, high cards, big pairs, and even rolled up monsters have little value, since it is virtually impossible to win the low half of the pot. In Stud 8 you can get away with playing some high hands since a low hand will not always be made. That isn’t the case without an 8 or better qualifier. As such, the Platinum Rule is magnified.

7-Card Stud high/low with No Qualifier Tip: What once was bad, is now good!

Since those high hands I mentioned are basically useless (unless in a VERY multiway pot – but you’re still only potentially winning half), hands that were marginal in Stud 8 are much more valuable without a qualifier.

Hands with medium pairs such as 88(2) or 73(7), which are troublesome in Stud 8 because they’re most likely to make a one-way hand or at best a marginal two-way hand, are significantly more playable. This is because the value of the pairs grows without higher pairs contesting the pot as well, and the requirement for a low hand is lessened as well without the qualifier. So, starting with two cards to a low along with the pair is now much more favorable than in Stud 8.

The higher your pair the better, but not too high, as making a serviceable low hand to be able to scoop the pot is the priority.

Super Stud 8 or Better

Super Stud 8 or Better

How do you make an already great game better? Super size it of course!

In Super Stud 8 players are dealt four cards along with their face up door card. From there, the high card brings in. A round of betting occurs clockwise from the bring in as per usual, however before 4th street is dealt, players discard two of their four hole cards. The highest visible hand then has first action on each subsequent street. After 7th street, the pot is split as in regular Stud 8 between the highest hand and lowest 8 or better qualifying hand.

Note that there are versions of this game where instead of the discards being made collectively starting in seat 1 after the 3rd street betting, discards are made immediately by each player as they put money into the pot on 3rd street.

Super Stud 8 Tip: More players, stronger hands

With each player receiving five cards to start, the likelihood of more players having a playable hand and seeing 4th street increases. As such, with more multi-way pots likely, you will want a stronger starting hand. Those marginal hands we’ve discussed in Stud 8 and Stud 8 No Qualifier? Now pretty much unplayable, as they’ll get you in a lot of trouble.

This may sound strange to try to play even tighter when more possibilities present themselves, but that’s just it. You’ll get those premium low connected / suited starting hands more often thanks to the extra hole cards. Just be sure as always to give yourself the best chance to scoop that pot and remember the Platinum Rule as a hand progresses!

Razzdugi

Razzdugi

Razzdugi is another split pot game, but instead of a high/low split as in other stud games, this game combines Razz and Badugi (which you can learn about in our Draw games section). The best Razz hand (lowest five card hand) gets half the pot, while the best Badugi hand (lowest four card unsuited hand) gets the other half.

As with all split pot games, the goal is to scoop both halves of the pot, starting with hands that play well in each variant.

The game is dealt identically to Razz, with two down cards and one up (door) card. As with Razz, the highest door card must post a bring in bet with 3rd street action progressing clockwise, and 4th street and later action starting with the lowest Razz hand. As in Razz, aces are low, so the best Razz hand is A2345, with the best Badugi being A234 unsuited. A 2-7 version can be played where aces are high, and flushes and straights count against you (as in 2-7 Draw games).

A ‘Super’ version of Razzdugi can also be played where players receive four down cards and discard two after the betting on 3rd street.

Razzdugi Tip: Prioritize building your Razz hand

You should always be starting with 3 cards that have potential to make both a strong Razz and Badugi hand, but the Badugi hand will be easier to complete than the Razz hand, since unlike a hand of straight Badugi, you do not have to discard and focus on drawing to a specific suit.

In straight Badugi if you had a hand such as Ac 3s 6d 8d, you would discard the 8d and hope to draw a non-pairing heart. In Razzdugi however, you don’t need to discard. If you have a 3-card Badugi like this on 4th street and you receive the 3h on 5th street, you can now pick up another non-pairing spade as well as a heart and use the 3h to make your Badugi. If you receive something like the 4s on 6th street, you’re in great shape with A2468 for your Razz hand and Ac 3h 4s 6d for your Badugi hand.

A big mistake that novice Razzdugi players will make is playing three high unpaired and unsuited cards because they have three cards to a Badugi. They’ll likely make that Badugi, but it won’t be a very good one, and any Razz hand they do make will be quite trashy as well, even if somehow they’re the only player to make a Badugi.

Remember, always play to scoop the pot in any split pot mixed game!