The end of this month will be full of action in Las Vegas, as one of the festivals that is set to be played will be the 2025 PGT Mixed Games series, which will take place from February 25 to March 5 at the comfortable and prestigious PokerGO Studio. As usual, a variety of poker formats will be played, with the biggest event coming last: the $25K 10-Game Mix Championship. All events will count towards the PGT leaderboard and the final tables will be streamed live on PokerGO.
Those wishing to qualify for the first 2025 PGT Mixed Games events via a lower investment will be able to take advantage of the prizes to be awarded at next week’s Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival X, where two $750 tickets to the February 24 satellite will be awarded.
The 2025 PGT Mixed Games Schedule
As mentioned, PGT Mixed Games will run from February 25th to March 5th, and it will feature seven events with buy-ins ranging from $5K to $25K for the Championship. The aforementioned satellite for events #1 and #2 will be played on Monday, February 24th at 1 PM in the ARIA Poker Room. It will feature a $750 buy-in, 8-Game format and pay 1 out of every 8 entrants.
The festival events will award points and whoever finishes atop the leaderboard will take home a $10K PGT Passport. There will also be bonus prizes for players who are the chip leaders at the close of registration. The chip leader at the first break in Events #1-#4 will receive $1K, the chip leader at the first break in Event #5 will receive $1.5K, the chip leader at the first break in Event #6 will receive $2K and the chip leader at the first break in Event #7 will receive $2.5K.
These will be the events staged during the 2025 PGT Mixed Games series:
| Event | Day | Time | Buy-In | Stack | Levels |
| #1 H.O.R.S.E. | February 25th and 26th | 12 PM | $5,100 | 150K | 30 min. |
| #2 8-Game Mix | February 26th and 27th | 12 PM | $5,100 | 150K | 30 min. |
| #3 H.O.R.S.E. | February 27th and 28th | 12 PM | $10,200 | 150K | 40 min. |
| #4 8-Game Mix | February 28th and March 1st | 12 PM | $10,200 | 150K | 40 min. |
| #5 Mori’s Mix | March 1st and 3rd | 12 PM | $10,200 | 150K | 40 min. |
| #6 Dealer’s Choice | March 3rd and 4th | 12 PM | $15,200 | 150K | 40 min. |
| #7 10-Game Mix Champ. | March 4th and 5th | 12 PM | $25,300 | 200K | 45/60 |
You can read the general rules of the festival at this link.
The day after the final event of the PGT Mixed Games series, the Super High Roller Bowl Mixed Games will be played, which will cost $100K to enter and will last for three days: from March 6th to 8th. On Wednesday, March 5th at 4 PM, a $10K satellite for this event will be played in the PokerGO Studio.
The PokerGO Studio / Photo: PokerGO
Interview with PGT Commissioner Tim Duckworth
To find out more details about the festival, we got in touch with Tim Duckworth, Director of Live Events & Content for the PokerGO Tour and co-host of the PokerGO Podcast.
What are your expectations for the 2025 PGT Mixed Games festival?
My expectations for PGT Mixed Games are for it to be a great series. What does that mean exactly? From the PGT side, we want to see strong numbers throughout the seven-event schedule, and that to continue into Super High Roller Bowl: $100k Mixed Games (March 6-8). This is an incredibly unique series that isn’t offered anywhere else in the world. High-stakes mixed games with livestreamed final tables. Consequently, we hope to see continued support from the players as many are travelling in from all around the United States, and from overseas.
Although PGT Mixed Games players are always having fun while playing the series, we’re also injecting a little extra for this series to spice up the early action. We’re doing chip leader bonuses at first break in all events, and hopefully the players are receptive of some added value and really go out of their way to win the cash and the surprise trophy we’ll award to the chip leaders.
Which events will be livestreamed on PokerGO?
All the PGT Mixed Games final tables will be livestreamed on PokerGO for free. You will be able to watch PGT Mixed Games on PokerGO.com or the PokerGO YouTube channel. The first six events will all play down to a final table and conclude the following day at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET. The Event #7: 25,300 10-Game Championship will start livestreaming once play has reached the final table, and that is likely to happen around 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET.
Will there be satellites for all events?
There is a satellite scheduled on Monday, February 24, at 1 p.m. from inside the ARIA Poker Room. It will be a $750 buy-in and played as 8-Game. It pays one in eight players, and each satellite winner can use their ticket to enter Event #1: $5,100 H.O.R.S.E. or Event #2: $5,100 8-Game.
Mixed games are growing in popularity and Brad Owen won a H.O.R.S.E. event in December. Do you think you can achieve higher entry numbers than last year?
My goal with any PGT series is to set records in attendance, both total entrants and unique players. After running PGT Mixed Games twice in 2023, we reduced to just once a season from 2024 onwards. Hopefully that gives the mixed game player pool an itch to come down to the PokerGO Studio and play the entire series. We also trimmed the series a little bit to help reduce potential burnout, so there is a chance we can eclipse the numbers we had last year.
However, I don’t think those numbers are the key indicator of success. There are a lot of variables when it comes to scheduling poker events, and we’re going against Triton Jeju where we will be losing a couple of players who would likely have played every PGT Mixed Games event.
What reasons would you give our readers to play mixed cash games and tournaments?
Four words … it’s way more fun! I know it sounds cliché, but I began in poker playing No-Limit Hold’em and transitioned to mixed game cash when I moved to Las Vegas. More variety, ever-evolving strategy, and you can develop some great friendships with the players you play with day in, day out. You may likely be able to make more money playing No-Limit Hold’em, but if you ever feel like poker is getting stale, then come over to mixed games.
In what ways would you recommend studying mixed games?
Unlike No-Limit Hold’em or Pot-Limit Omaha where there are a plethora of books, guides, and access to solvers, mixed games is in a world of its own when it comes to studying and improving. I think the best way for new players to get involved in mixed games, is first understanding what each game is and what the best hand is. Secondly, get in and play!
Cardplayer Lifestyle’s Mixed Game Festival is the perfect opportunity for players to dip their toe in the mixed games waters and get a feel for the games, the rules, and some developing their own baseline strategy. Volume playing low stakes mixed cash games will go a long way to a new player becoming a seasoned veteran. The PGT is happy to show its support for great initiatives like these as the presenting sponsor for Mixed Game Festival X.
2024 PGT Mixed Games Highlights
The 2024 PGT Mixed Games series featured 10 events with buy-ins ranging from $5K to $25K and winners included renowned circuit players such as 7-time bracelet winner John Hennigan, Dan Shak, John Racener and PokerGO President and Poker Hall of Famer Mori Eskandani. Max Hoffman clinched top spot on the 2024 PGT Mixed Games leaderboard with 5 final tables and 2 runner-up finishes for $374K in earnings. He earned the PGT Gold Cup and a $10K PGT Passport.
Max Hoffman / Photo: PokerGO
These were the winners of the 2024 PGT Mixed Games series:
| Event | Buy-In | Entries | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
| #1 H.O.R.S.E. | $5,100 | 87 | $435,000 | Maksim Pisarenko | $117,450 |
| #2 8-Game Mix | $5,100 | 89 | $445,000 | John Hennigan | $120,150 |
| #3 H.O.R.S.E. | $10,200 | 63 | $630,000 | Mori Eskandani | $201,600 |
| #4 8-Game Mix | $10,200 | 61 | $610,000 | Daniel Zack | $195,200 |
| #5 Triple Stud Mix | $10,200 | 42 | $420,000 | John Racener | $151,200 |
| #6 Triple Draw Mix | $10,200 | 47 | $470,000 | Jerry Wong | $164,500 |
| #7 Dealer’s Choice | $10,200 | 47 | $470,000 | Philip Sternheimer | $164,500 |
| #8 Big Bet Mix | $10,200 | 37 | $370,000 | Dan Shak | $133,200 |
| #9 10-Game Mix Champ. | $25,300 | 41 | $1,025,000 | Alex Livingston | $324,465 |
| #10 NL 2-7 Single Draw | $5,100 | 28 | $140,000 | Walter Chambers | $63,000 |
Who will be the champions this year? Who will finish atop the series leaderboard? We will find out in a couple weeks and you will be able to watch the final tables played out on PokerGO.
