The upside of being unable to sleep...

Dunc if you can't sleep and are willing to stare your 2-7 story, I'd love to hear how you got into it and learned to play. I've tried donking around the Stars micros but I can't really get excited about dimes and quarters. There's no live anything except NLHE and PLO in about a 500 mile radius. TYIA, and congrats on the run!

Managed on the third try and slept for 3 hours. Ambien is probably the answer.

Congrats on the cash in the 2-7 and with all that extra money I am sure you can find something or someone to help you get some rest.

Just left the Wynn and holy **** it’s the nuts. First time playing there and couldn’t believe all the beautiful people walking by to the pool.

Crush the nits!!!

I’m definitely happy to share that story as I’d love for more people to play the mix games. In fact I’m pretty sure most mixed games players would do the same as it seems we all are keen for more poker players to learn other variants of the game.

I have been coming to the WSOP for 9 years now. Only for up to 2 weeks at a time and as far as WSOP events were concerned, I’d fire in 1 or 2 each trip, and only $1K or $1.5K NLHE events. These are always massive field events and I came to the conclusion that you didn’t need to be lucky to win these, you needed to avoid any BAD luck whatsoever. In huge fields, this is very very difficult to do. Every year, my bustout hand would be all in pre-flop confrontations where I either lost a flip, or I had a bigger pair but the villain hit a set. After another bustout with KK where the villain called with 77 and binked it, I decided I had to learn something else, and that something else should be a limit event where I couldn’t bust a 20+ BB stack in a single hand.

In addition to that, I really did (and still do) want to play with the best. Not because I think I can beat them but because I wanted the thrill of doing so, and the story to go with it. And after 6 years of firing these $1Ks or $1.5Ks, I had only played against David Peters, and that was before he had become the high roller superstar that he is now. The Federer in tennis, Tiger in golf, Messi in football analogy from an earlier post wasn’t just a throwaway line - it is what I have been repeating for three years now. Poker is the last “sport” available to me that I can feasibly play against the biggest names in the world.

So, after that KK v 77 beat in 2016, I returned back to Melbourne and tried to get half a dozen poker playing friends together to learn the mixed games. Two of them showed some interest and the rest had no desire whatsoever. So the three of us, and guitarist68 was one, met each Tuesday night to play 3 handed at one of the disciplines played in 8 game. The first Tuesday was 2-7 triple draw, the second Tuesday was Stud and Razz (Razz is afterall just Stud low), the third Tuesday was PLO, the fourth Tuesday Stud8 and the fifth Tuesday was Omaha 8. We figured we knew enough NLHE to get by in limit hold’em.

Before each Tuesday, we all read up on the planned game so we knew the rules. Hand rankings and strategy pages were kept handy and we’d play for ****s and giggles before ending the night with a 25c/50c 3-handed home game for an hour. At the end of each night, we had a basic understanding of the game.

Beyond that, I played play money on Stars. Online poker for real money is not legal in Australia so that was the only way for me to practice full ring. I liked 2-7 and Omaha 8, but struggled with the Stud games. Looking through field sizes and the players that played, it looked as if the 2-7 triple draw event was the one that presented the best opportunity to play against the pros that I had seen on TV.

Before the next WSOP, I badgered the tournament director at Planet Hollywood to include a 2-7 triple draw event in the Goliath series of 2017. He was reluctant but eventually agreed to give it a try and scheduled it to be played the day before the WSOP $1.5k 2-7 triple draw event that year. In return, I scheduled my trip around those events.

Playing in my first 2-7 event at Planet Hollywood, I was a fish out of water. But I watched and learned from players that seemed to know what they were doing. Jon Turner and “Miami” John Cernuto played that event and whilst I didn’t play on the same table as them, it did seem as if this game was drawing names.

The next day I jumped into the WSOP 2-7 TD $1.5k. I played against Phil Hui and Esther Taylor-Brady and felt that i was starting to achieve the goal of playing with recognisable faces. I also lasted a lot longer than the day before but still busted 133rd of the 300+ players. That day encouraged me massively.

Back in Melbourne, my local casino, Crown, started putting on monthly 8 game tournaments, and including them in their 4 major tournament series each year. The first one I played in was the Melbourne Poker Championships 8 Game tournament and I ran well. In fact I ran well enough to bink the event and win my first poker trophy. That really solidified the mixed game hook that was in me!

In 2018, PH again included a 2-7 triple draw event before the WSOP $1.5k. I again scheduled my trip around these two tournaments and in the first event at PH, I played with Oscar Johansson. I played well in the event, hit draws when I needed to and reached the final table. The $$$ were small, but I now had a cash in the 2-7 and an American flag on my Hendon Mob page.

The next day was the WSOP $1.5k 2-7 and it was a disaster. I was abused horribly by Tim Fraizin who had earlier in the series final tabled the HORSE. He was super aggressive and also full of himself and his whole attitude at the table did a lot to put me off. I lasted 4 levels before busting and didn’t enjoy the experience one bit. But Oscar went on to come second in the event (he had an 8:1 chiplead going into heads up play against Hanh Tran ), and that again encouraged me to keep playing. Oscar is a nice guy, and he is quiet and calm, and his demeanour reminded me that you didn’t need to be an arrogant **** to be successful. Everything Tim Fraizin had done to damage my endearment of triple draw was repaired by Oscar’s success.

In the last 12 months, I have continued to play the 8 game events at Crown and had some successes. What has become apparent is that I am a good 2-7 player, OK at Omaha 8, PLO, Razz and NLHE, and weak at Stud, Stud8 and Limit Hold’em. The 2-7 rotation in these 8 game tournies would allow me to usually chip up, and convince me that I am not completely out of my depth at the WSOP. I could hold my own against the best Crown had to offer and that included some people who had enjoyed WSOP success before such as Mel Judah.

And then came this year. Planet Hollywood decided to hold their 2-7 the day after the WSOP event this year so there was no “warm-up”. As you know, this year’s WSOP 2-7 event completed some of my poker dreams. I got to play against some of the world’s very best 2-7 players, including Negreanu, Deeb, Monette, O’Dell and of course the eventual winner Robbie Campbell. I have learnt so much watching these players play first hand that it can be nothing but beneficial and I am absolutely in love with it again.

So, if you are tempted by mixed games, go for it. If you want the chance to play against the players you see on TV, this is the best opportunity in my opinion. And even playing the smaller events that happen at the same time as the WSOP, such as the PH tournament, still provides an opportunity to play against a few recognisable faces, so the first tournament doesn’t have to be a World Series event. And absolutely nothing beats the learning opportunity that playing these games live presents.

So, apologies for the long winded response. I’m passionate about these games and very happy to share my experience with them Thank you for asking and giving me the opportunity to share my mixed games story.

DD

Great recap above dunc

I also agree that I like some of the mixed games but in my local area it's nearly impossible to play anything other than no limit, limit, PLO or Omaha08... there's either not enough interest to get a game going or the local casino doesn't have the license to run the game and most likely will not pursue it, due to the limited interest
#mixedgames #ducetoseven #stud #stud8

I'm glad that we played the 8 game tournament this year at Orleans and I also played the deuce to seven at Planet Hollywood in 2017 and ran deep

I get back into Vegas tomorrow to do my work event Monday and Tuesday then I will see you on Wednesday/Thursday for more poker, dice & pai gow

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Nice write up on how you got into mixed games.

A change of pace with some low stakes PLO

Akq7 double suited? Pot pot!


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So holding the cards sideways IS the Pro method?

Ha ha. It is compared to some of the ways people are looking at theirs!!

My favorite method is to clumsily look at them on end like for hold 'em, not be able to see them all without excessively fanning, and forgetting what I have four seconds later.

Omahahaha is not my favorite game.

At a home game on one occasion, in the early hours it was just myself and one friend left. We decided to play heads up 5 card Omaha high, but the rule was that you weren’t allowed to look at your cards again after the flop. We played like that for about 4 hours until 7am and as you can imagine, lots of forgotten hands when suddenly you hope to get to the river cheaply!!

Thanks for the great write up on your 2-7 career. Not long-winded at all, very interesting! About 3 years ago I did a similar thing, looked at entries to see what event I could theoretically go deep in. But with no opportunities to play live, it didn't seem worh it. I'm glad it's been a great ride for you!

Today has been a rough day poker-wise. Last hand of my session before I cash out and get a taxi back to my hotel and I decide to open for $15 without looking. One player min raises to $30 and I decide I’m playing my last hand no matter what. J4 and I make the call.

Flop is QT4 and he cbets $35. He could have AK right? I call. Turn pairs the 4. I check, he bets, I raise, he jams, I call. He has AA. River? Yep, you guessed it. So no cashing out for me tonight.

Taxi for Donk Dunc please.

Maybe he was confused and thought he had A4 since they are both pointy. Otherwise why would he dare challenge the DonkDunc on the turn?

Thank you for continuing to share interesting stories!

Good luck!

I look at mine two at a time. Anybody else do it that way?

Guitarist68’s last day and he has understandably elected to play in the most beautiful room on the strip.

KK < 99. Nice flop for guitarist68, especially when the third player in the hand just cold called the 3 bet with AK.

Thoughts on this one......

Guitarist68 opens, I 3bet, third player flats and guitarist68 flats. Flop is 789, I open jam a pot-sized $136 (KK), third player flats, guitarist68 re-jams and third player is thinking things over and says “I’m getting squeezed by two buddies”, before disappointedly / semi-angrily letting his hand go. Guitarist68 has top set and wins the hand.

As the dealer is scooping the chips, I say, (softly and carefully - no raised voices or anything like that) to the third player “be careful about the insinuation that we are squeezing, colluding buddy. We’re not doing anything at all untoward and those comments can be very insulting and give a very wrong impression”.

Thoughts? Over reaction from me? Bad comment from him?

I think it's fine. If he was being serious, it's uncalled for but I get it. You let him politely know the truth. I play with my husband all the time and run into people who think we are colluding. We never do. I always show my hand against my husband -- and he usually shows his, but he is a LAG and doesn't always want people to know what he's playing

LOL. I look at mine one at a time and almost never look back.

Omahahaha is my favorite game.

Just lost a $1.4k pot to guitarist68- we both flipped the flush.