When it comes to online poker training, Run It Once Training (RIO) has long been a trusted pillar of the community. Founded by Phil Galfond, the platform’s reputation has been built on a deep library of videos, elite-level coaches, and a commitment to both fundamental theory and practical application. While many training sites focus heavily on No-Limit Hold’em or Pot-Limit Omaha, Run It Once Training stands out for its exceptional coverage of mixed games, the diverse and challenging variants that test a player’s all-around skill.
From high-level theory to hand reviews and live play footage, Run It Once Training offers one of the most comprehensive collections of mixed games content available anywhere. Whether you’re a seasoned player preparing for the Poker Players Championship or a curious newcomer wanting to branch out from Hold’em, RIO’s resources can help you confidently approach formats like Stud 8, 2-7 Triple Draw, Razz, Omaha Hi-Lo, and more.
In this guide, we’ll explore how RIO structures its mixed games training across three main categories — theory, review, and live play — with examples of and links to standout videos in each.
Mixed Game Poker Theory: Building a Solid Foundation
If you want to succeed in mixed games, you need to understand the rules, optimal strategies, and key concepts for each format. RIO’s theory videos break these games down in a way that’s approachable, ensuring you have a strong base before heading to the felt.
Stud 8 Starting Hands
Seven Card Stud Eight-or-Better (Stud 8) rewards careful hand selection, positional awareness, and the ability to read up-cards. In this video, Tom Chambers guides viewers through the fundamentals of why certain holdings gain strength depending on visible cards and the number of opponents. The content details the various hand types to focus on, explaining the properties that make each hand strong in Stud 8.
Stud Hi Starting Hands
While Stud Hi shares mechanics with Stud 8, the hand values shift dramatically without split pots. This video explains why drawing to high pairs, straights, and flushes becomes paramount, and why certain speculative hands rise or fall in value compared to the split-pot variant. Pepe also spends time on strategic third-street decisions, emphasizing the importance of aggression and fold equity in early betting rounds opposed to games with two big bet streets.
Intro to 2-7 Triple Draw
2-7 Triple Draw can be intimidating at first. This introduction video from Brian Hastings strips away the confusion, walking you through the rules, basic strategy, and key pre-draw hand rankings. Hastings also explains the mindset shift required when moving from games like Hold’em into draw poker, where the betting structure and hand-reading process are very different.
Together, these theory videos form the backbone of your mixed games knowledge, ensuring you start with the right habits rather than learning through costly trial and error.
Mixed Game Poker Review: Learning from Real Hands
Once you understand the fundamentals of mixed game poker, it’s time to see how they play out in real-world scenarios. RIO’s review content takes actual hands from online or live events and dissects them with the help of seasoned professionals. This format bridges the gap between pure theory and live execution.
Winning Another 50k PPC
The $50,000 Poker Players Championship is widely considered the ultimate test of a poker player’s all-around ability. In this review series, Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates takes us through hands from a deep run, discussing adjustments made for different game types in the rotation. The breakdown isn’t just about the cards — it’s about stack sizes, table dynamics, and the psychological factors in a long, mixed-game marathon.
2-7 Triple Draw: Seiver and Linde Hands
In this hand review, Pepe examines notable pots played with Scott Seiver and Dylan Linde, two respected mixed game specialists. By analyzing their lines in detail, viewers learn the nuances of betting sequences, draw frequencies, and when to apply maximum pressure, all in the live environment. Seeing elite players navigate complex draw spots offers practical insight far beyond theoretical starting-hand guidelines.
$1.5k Dealers Choice Deep Run
Dealers Choice tournaments put players in the driver’s seat to select which game will be played, a format that rewards versatility and the ability to exploit weaknesses. This final table review goes game-by-game, highlighting how the eventual winner leveraged their strongest formats to apply pressure. This video covers strategic shifts between games and the importance of stamina deep into mixed game tournaments.
These review videos let you peek into the minds of top professionals, revealing how they make decisions when the stakes are high and the game type keeps changing.
Mixed Game Poker Live Play: Strategy in Real Time
There’s no substitute for watching a skilled player make decisions in real time, with no pause button or hindsight influence. RIO’s live play videos put you in the passenger seat during actual sessions, so you can see how the best adapt their strategy on the fly.
$215 8-Game SCOOP Event
In this video, Pepe streams his run in an 8-Game SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) event, offering unfiltered commentary on every decision. The rotation covers everything from Limit Hold’em to Razz to 2-7 Triple Draw, and viewers get to see how the coach transitions smoothly between formats without missing a beat.
Heads-Up Cash Mixed Games
Heads-up poker in mixed formats is a different beast. Aggression levels are high, and mistakes are magnified. This session focuses on exploiting heads-up tendencies in games like Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud, and Badugi. Pepe talks through balance, bluffing frequencies, and reads based on a single opponent’s betting patterns.
$10/$20 Stud 8 Session
Finally, for players specifically interested in Stud 8, this live play video offers a deep dive into single-table play. Pepe points out how visible cards influence betting, when to chase the low versus the high, and how to extract value in split-pot scenarios. Watching iteopepe88 navigate tricky spots reinforces concepts from the Stud 8 theory video, showing the ideas in action.
Live play footage is so valuable because it demonstrates the rhythm of mixed games, helping you get comfortable with quick transitions and decisions.
Run It Once Training: Elevating Your All-Around Mixed Game Skill
Mixed games are the ultimate proving ground for poker skill. They force you to think beyond familiar patterns, adjust to new rules, and master multiple strategic frameworks. Whether you aspire to play in elite tournaments like the PPC or simply want to expand your cash-game options, developing mixed games competency will make you a far more formidable player.
Run It Once offers one of the most robust and well-organized collections of mixed games training in the industry. The site’s coaches aren’t just Hold’em experts moonlighting in other formats — they are seasoned mixed game pros with years of high-stakes experience. From foundational theory lessons to immersive live play footage in formats, RIO covers the full spectrum of learning needs.
If you’re serious about poker, investing in mixed games education is one of the best ways to future-proof your skills and stand out from the competition. And with RIO’s deep content library, you have everything you need to not just learn, but master, the games that challenge even the world’s best players.
Enrollwith Run It Once Training today!
