Mixed poker games are all the rage these days as players look for more ways to add variety to their poker experience and to increase their skills at the various games. With this in mind however, some of the various names and acronyms for the games can be quite confusing. We have created a guide that should help you keep all of the different games straight. This guide contains a list of every mixed poker game played online. New mixed games seem to be popping up quite often these days (e.g. 8-game mix). Once you learn what the letters in the name of a mixed game stand for its pretty easy to connect the dots with other mixed games. This page has grown considerably since I first wrote it. Thus far in 2013 Pokerstars and Full Tilt Poker have started offering 7 new mixed poker variations.
Table of Contents:
I have added a brief summary for each mixed poker variant below. Each summary lists the specific card games that are played in each mixed game, where it can be played and some information on traffic/popularity. Sites like safeonlinecasino.org can help you find the safest USA online casinos.
h.O.R.S.E poker
The most popular of the mixed game formats; HORSE poker is a combination of Texas Hold’em, Omaha Hi Lo, Razz Poker, 7 card stud and Seven Card stud Hi Lo. In most popular ring game situations the games of poker change each time the button has done a complete rotation on the table. We have a full list of HORSE articles ranging from low stakes strategies to high stakes as well as tournament strategies. H.O.R.S.E is available at Pokerstars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker. Ring game traffic and tournament action is the best at Pokerstars but Full Tilt isn't very far behind. Full Tilt offers much better bonuses and promotions plus I like the software better. Absolute Poker may be a distant third but they have a lot to offer as well including more 6-7 reload bonuses a month and the best loyalty program in the industry. We offer exclusive bonuses at all three rooms to players that enter our special bonus codes. Read the reviews for more information.
- Reviews: Pokerstars
8 Game Mix Poker
8 Game Poker is basically a combination of every popular form of poker available today! This is a new mixed poker game offered by Pokerstars. It has been less than a year since it was first offered and it has grown into the #2-3 most played mixed poker variant. Pokerstars host huge 8-game poker tournaments including a $5,000 GTD every Sunday. 8-Game Mix is the toughest mixed game to master, or even play for that matter, in the world. The one game that really stands out is 27 Triple Draw. Not too many people know how to play it and not many of them know how to play it properly. 27 Triple Draw has an extensive history at the WSOP but is only offered at one other poker room. The blinds in the no limit and pot limit games are adjusted to make sure the games remain consistent. Each game will be played for 6 hands. Please read our 2014 Pokerstars review for more info.
8-Game Mix Rotation:
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7 Game Poker
7-Game Poker is a new mixed poker game available at Full Tilt Poker. It combines the following games in the following order: FL Holdem, FL 7 Card Stud H/L, FL Razz, FL Omaha H/L, FL 7 Card Stud, NL Holdem and PL Omaha. Each game is played for 10 hands. This is Full Tilt Poker's answer to Pokerstar's 8-Game mix. After only a couple months this game is dominating the mixed game traffic at Full Tilt Poker. They are offering a wide range of 7-Game sitngo's and tournaments including a huge guaranteed MTT's in the FTOPS. Visit our FullTilt.com Review 2014 for instructions on how to claim a seat at our bi-weekly $1,000 private freerolls plus a 100% bonus up to $600.
H.E.R.O.S Poker
H.E.R.O.S Poker is a newer mixed poker game offered only at Full Tilt. This is just a slight variation from HORSE. Maybe players prefer HEROS over HORSE because the two stud games are separated. This originally was only available at Full Tilt's numerous (and busy) high stakes mixed game tables. At the small to medium stakes level players will mostly be playing HORSE but at all the $2,000/$4,000 tables have been switched to HEROS. Visit our FullTilt.com Review 2014 for instructions on how to claim a seat at our bi-weekly $1,000 private freerolls plus a 100% bonus up to $600.
HA Poker
This is a mixed game format combining the games of pot limit Texas Hold’em and pot limit Omaha hi. HA poker has been so successful that Pokerstars came out with their own version called PLH/PLO (see below).. HA poker is one of the most commonly played mixed poker games. You won't have any trouble finding active HA poker tables or tournaments at Full Tilt. HA poker sit and go's are also quite common. Visit our FullTilt.com Review 2014 for instructions on how to claim a seat at our bi-weekly $1,000 private freerolls plus a 100% bonus up to $600.
Mixed Hold'em
In Mixed Hold’em the games rotate between limit Hold’em and no limit Hold’em. The blinds are adjusted when the game goes to no limit to make sure that the two levels are consistent with the bankrolls the players bring to the table. Holdem Mixed seems to be more popular as a tournament game than a cash game. Every Sunday Pokerstars hosts a $10,000 guaranteed Holdem Mixed tournament and a full lineup of regular HM MTT's. I see this mixed variant becoming very popular amongst hard core players in the coming years. Sign-up now for a 100% bonus on your first 3 deposits up to $600, read our 2014 Pokerstars review for more info.
Triple Stud Poker
Stud Poker players have their own mixed game at Pokerstars, Triple Stud Poker. This new mixed game includes all three major Stud poker games; 7 Card Stud, Razz Poker and 7 Card Stud Hi-Lo. Ring game and tournament action is already available for this new variant. You'll find juicy overlays for the Triple Stud tournaments. Sign-up now for a 100% bonus on your first 3 deposits up to $600, read our 2014 Pokerstars review for more info.
Mixed Omaha Hi Lo
Mixed Omaha Hi-Lo is a mixed game that alternates between limit and pot limit Omaha Hi Lo. This is a very challenging game for most people. Winning strategy is just so much different between the fixed and pot limit formats. Omaha Hi-Lo Mixed hasn't received the amount of popularity Holdem Mixed has but the traffic has been growing steadily. I'm a big fan of Omaha H/L so you'll understand if this game is a little higher on the list then the traffic/popularity would suggest. Sign-up now for a 100% bonus on your first 3 deposits up to $600, read our 2014 Pokerstars review for more info.
HOSE Poker
HOSE poker brings together Hold’em, Omaha Hi Lo, Seven Card stud and Seven Card stud Hi Lo into one unique format. It is similar to HORSE in all respects except for the omission of Razz. H.O.S.E has lost a lot of its luster for some reason so its not very common online or even offline these days. It is still offered at plenty of rooms but players tend to play other mixed poker games. I believe that since Razz has become a main stream poker game H.O.S.E has become obsolete since it was created by HORSE players that didn't like Razz in the rotation. You can play it at all 3 of the big mixed game rooms. Full Tilt offers a $5,000 GTD H.O.S.E tournament every Friday.
- Reviews: Pokerstars
HO Poker
H.O. poker is a simple mixed game variation where the game switches between limit Texas Hold’em and limit Omaha Hi Lo. It is available at Full Tilt Poker but in all honestly- its not very popular. You might find 1 or 2 active tables at any given time. Full Tilt does not offer any HO poker tournaments. It is offered so I felt obligated to listed it. Visit our FullTilt.com Review 2014 for instructions on how to claim a seat at our bi-weekly $1,000 private freerolls plus a 100% bonus up to $600.
PLH/PLO Poker
PLH/PLO has recently been adding to the mixed game line-up at Pokerstars. The only different between PLH-PLO and Full Tilt's HA Poker is that at Stars each game is played 6 hands/rotation and on Tilt they are played 10 hands each. After only a week PLH-PLO has shown surprising growth. Based on the popularity of HA poker I would be willing to bet that PLH/PLO is going to be a huge success. Sign-up now for a 100% bonus on your first 3 deposits up to $600, read our 2014 Pokerstars review for more info.
HOE Poker
H.O.E poker is a mixed game that switches between limit Texas Hold’em and limit Omaha Hi Lo and 7 card stud eight or better. H.O.E is slightly more common at Full Tilt than the H.O. variation but overall its not as popular as it used to be. Texas Holdem and two split-pot games is an acquired taste but know several players that love it. Visit our FullTilt.com Review 2014 for instructions on how to claim a seat at our bi-weekly $1,000 private freerolls plus a 100% bonus up to $600.
OE Poker
O.E poker is a one of the easier mixed game variations to figure out. OE poker is a combination of Omaha Hi-Lo and 7 card Stud Hi-Lo. This game is played in fixed limit an is only available at Full Tilt Poker. You won't find much action at the tables. I just checked and it looks like Full Tilt only offers one OE tournament a day. If you like split-pot games you will like this variant. Visit our FullTilt.com Review 2014 for instructions on how to claim a seat at our bi-weekly $1,000 private freerolls plus a 100% bonus up to $600.
O.A. Poker
Full Tilt Poker recently started offering O.A. mix on a limited scale. O.A. combines both Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo which is bound to be very popular amongst Omaha lovers. It has only been available for about a week so its too early to predict success/failure but there has been some positive talk on the major poker forums about this mixed variation. Visit our FullTilt.com Review 2014 for instructions on how to claim a seat at our bi-weekly $1,000 private freerolls plus a 100% bonus up to $600.
S.E. Poker
Full Tilt doesn't want to offend Stud Poker players so thy also launched SE Poker, which combines 7 Card Stud and Stud H/L. This mixed poker variant is being tested on a limited basis right now. With the increasing demand for new challenging mixed poker games I'm sure this game will do fine. Visit our FullTilt.com Review 2014 for instructions on how to claim a seat at our bi-weekly $1,000 private freerolls plus a 100% bonus up to $600.
Mixed Poker games - Looking Forward
I believe mixed poker games will continue to grow in popularity in the coming years. Online poker rooms will either add them to their game line-ups or be left behind. The growing popularity also provides rooms with a risk free opportunity to come up with the "hot new mix". Over the last 12 months Pokerstars and Full Tilt have went back and forth inventing new mixed variants. Pokerstars is in a very good position though because their game selection (base games) is much larger than Full Tilt's. They could add badugi and 5 Card Draw to 8-Game Mix and rename it 10-Game mix. Currently Full Tilt only offers the standard card games so they are going to have to add some new ones if they want to stay competitive.
Five years ago the only poker games that were common at poker rooms were Holdem, Omaha and Stud. The game selection has been growing steadily and I expect it to keep growing. Most players had never heard of games like 27 Triple Draw, Razz or Badugi until they saw it offered at an online poker room. I'm sure in the next few years even more game will be added and that will in turn create new mixed poker games. I'm hoping that other rooms will start adding more obscure card games, which will in turn give them more to work with when developing new mixed games.