There is something refreshing about being one of the first players to walk into a poker room as the day’s activities are getting started. There is something beautiful about being one of the first players to arrive knowing that multiple mixed games are about to take place. Day 3 of Mixed Game Festival VI started off all the excitement, laughter, and joy that you have with your friends around the kitchen table when someone draws perfectly to the most impossible one outer that you have seen!
As the players began trickling in at 11:30 AM (yes… AM), the conversation took off to discussing different variants of mixed game poker. Rules were explained as players shared stories of different games that were popular among their respective social circles. Strategies on how to play quickly followed. Conversations soon turned to the topic of the Poker Trivia that was about to begin. Some players were hesitant to join but were met with overwhelming support and encouragement to opt in and have fun!
The competition was fierce as the lead changed multiple times among the participants. Every player had a “bounty” on them as everyone battled for poker knowledge supremacy. Cardplayer Lifestyle founder Robbie Strazynski did not make it easy for anyone to run away with the lead. He even made sure to load the questions and multiple choice answers with red herrings in hopes of tricking folks into selecting the wrong answers. Soon a winner emerged, and the top three leaders were each given a prize.
“Unscoopable” TJ Reid came in first place and was given first choice among the prizes being offered for the Poker Trivia game. He selected the BBO Poker Tables portable poker mat. Jim Basham took the mystery bag that came with a full year subscription to PokerGO. Ed Walker received the last prize available which came with a 6-month subscription to PokerGO. Inside the bags were some books by Jim Donahue and D&B Poker, as well as a 2-deck Faded Spade playing card set up.
Scenes from this morning’s poker trivia competition on Day 3 of our Mixed Game Festival VI.
Congratulations to overall winner @tjreidpoker, who takes home a @BBOPokerTables portable table mat. pic.twitter.com/ULxZwPT313
— Cardplayer Lifestyle (@PokerLifeMedia) November 29, 2023
The first cash game started as soon as the poker trivia competition concluded. We kicked off with one cash game table, but that would soon change. TJ Reid who was on site covering the festivities for Poker.Org let me play over his stack and by the time he came back a second game was getting ready to start. Neither one of us were sure which game we wanted to go to so we settled on playing another game called “Lodden Thinks”, the winner would choose which game they would play in. What we didn’t know is that this would quickly catch on and soon all the players present at the festival were sitting there playing “Lodden Thinks” in between hands.
As the afternoon turned into evening, players came and went as the day’s festivities continued. Day 3 of the festival turned out to be a day of cash games and relaxation. The buzz among most of the players in the room was about the fabulous new ice machine that Resorts World had installed at the self-service kiosk 😉. Leon Wheeler the Director of Poker Operations was even spotted at the tables discussing something, I think it might have had something to do with mixed games but could not confirm.
Caption contest… Go 😁
CC: @Pkrboss1 @FirstLadyPoker pic.twitter.com/agUIpfTUSd
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 29, 2023
Both games ran until 1 AM before they were consolidated into one table. The late-night cash game appeared to be on its last legs when a new player who had never played mixed games before arrived and joined, with play continuing well into the wee hours of the morning.
This is where you can appreciate what the Mixed Game Festival has brought to the poker community; namely the opportunities for a random player to walk up and give mixed games a shot for the first time if only because there was no other poker available for them to play at that exact moment.
We’ve had two tables of $4/8 dealer’s choice going since noon at @PokerRoomRWLV, as Day 3 of @PokerLifeMedia Mixed Game Festival VI rolls on.
Come join us! Use @PokerAtlas or call 702 676-7680 to get your name on the list. pic.twitter.com/3LNEPkuqUi
— Robbie Strazynski (@cardplayerlife) November 29, 2023
Pokercoaching.com Player of the Day – Ed Walker
Traveling across the country to play poker takes some dedication. Traveling across the country to play mixed games because you can’t get enough poker back home deserves some recognition. Ed first heard about Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festivals back in 2022 while he was in Vegas. He decided to show up and play and ever since he’s tried his best to come the festivals once upcoming dates are announced.
Ed is a marine surveyor. His job keeps him very busy and he doesn’t always have the free time to go out find a mixed game. Because of this, he really enjoys planning his vacations around poker so that he can relax and play a game that he enjoys. When you take the time to talk to him about poker you can hear the enthusiasm in his voice as his eyes light up with glee.
He can tell you about “the good old times, back in the day” when you could find stud games everywhere, and he’ll readily admit that he misses playing Razz. His favorite variant of poker is almost any Omaha game. He prefers this genre because he says you can still get reads on people when they try to chase in a hand. Always willing to play any variation of poker, Ed says that is what makes poker fun; the opportunity to learn a new game and figure out the strategy on how to play.
Don’t miss out on the poker book signing with Amanda Botfeld set to take place as action kicks off today for Day 4 of Mixed Game Festival VI. And, of course, there’s the grand finale $260 HORSE tournament on Day 5 that will award a $5,000 WPT Voyage prize package to the winner. The World Poker Tour’s Tony Dunst and Matt Savage will be on hand for the festivities, so it’ll be a true can’t miss occasion.
Cash games will start at noon and run until the game breaks… which may or may not actually happen 🙂 .
Our Daily coverage of Mixed Game Festival VI is brought to you, with much appreciation, courtesy of WPT Voyage.
