A mixed game (Mix) plays several poker variants in a fixed order. Right after the game changes, it is easy to see your cards through the last game’s eyes. Answer one 3-second question before you look at your hand.
Mixed game formats
| Format | Order | Betting |
|---|---|---|
| HORSE | Limit Hold’em → Omaha Hi-Lo → Razz → Stud → Stud 8 | All fixed limit |
| HOSE | Limit Hold’em → Omaha Hi-Lo → Stud → Stud 8 | All fixed limit (rarely spread) |
| 8-Game | 2-7 Triple Draw → Limit Hold’em → Omaha Hi-Lo → Razz → Stud → Stud 8 → NLHE → PLO | 6 limit, 1 no-limit, 1 pot-limit |
| 10-Game | 8-Game + Badugi + NL 2-7 Single Draw | 7 limit, 2 no-limit, 1 pot-limit |
| T.O.R.S.E. | 2-7 Triple Draw → Omaha Hi-Lo → Razz → Stud → Stud 8 | All fixed limit |
| Big Bet Mix | Big O, NLHE, NL 2-7 Single Draw, PLO8, NL 5-Card Draw, PLO, PL 2-7 Triple Draw | No-limit and pot-limit only. The order depends on the host |
| Dealer’s Choice | The player on the button picks from a list | By game |
Abbreviations: NLHE = No-Limit Hold’em, PLO = Pot-Limit Omaha, 2-7 TD = 2-7 Triple Draw, Stud 8 = Stud Hi-Lo (8 or better).
How often the game changes depends on where you play.
| Where | Rotation |
|---|---|
| Major tournament series | Every 8 hands |
| Live cash games | 8 hands or 30 minutes |
| Live games in general | One orbit (a hand per player), 8 to 10 hands, or 30 minutes |
| Dealer’s Choice | One orbit starting with the chooser on the button |
The shorter the rotation, the more switches you face.
The four pairs that trip people up most
Razz and Stud, 2-7 and A-5 or Badugi, Hold’em and Omaha, Limit and No-Limit. That mistakes cluster right after a switch is standard mixed-game advice.
The questions below are this app’s wording. You don’t need to learn them all; answer only the row for the switch in front of you.
16 switching mistakes and 3-second checks
Between Stud games
| Switch | Mistake | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Stud → Razz | Playing high cards or pairs. Thinking an ace is strong | Are all three of my cards 8 or lower? |
| Razz → Stud | Thinking three low cards are good (A-2-3 is nothing in Stud) | A pair? An ace or king? Three suited? |
| Stud → Stud 8 | Overvaluing high-only hands (KK). Once a low is made, you win only half | Can this hand scoop (win both halves)? |
Example. Cards in ( ) are face down. Razz comes right after Stud. You have (K♠7♦) 3♣; your door card (the face-up card) is the 3. Through Stud eyes, the king makes you want to play. The question is “are all three 8 or lower?” The king makes the answer no.
Between draw games
| Switch | Mistake | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Stud 8 / Razz → 2-7 TD | Thinking an ace is good. Ignoring straights and flushes (in 2-7 the ace is high, and 7-6-5-4-3 is a straight that loses) | Do I have a 2? No ace? Not five in a row? |
| 2-7 TD → Badugi | Reading four cards like five. Missing a shared suit | Are all four suits different? How many of one suit do I throw? |
Example. Badugi after 2-7 TD. You are dealt A♠ 2♠ 5♦ 7♥.
- A♠ and 2♠ share a suit. Only one of them counts
- In Badugi the ace is the lowest card (1), so keep A♠
- It is not a four-card hand but a three-card A-5-7. Throw 2♠ and draw one
Hold’em and Omaha
| Switch | Mistake | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Hold’em → Omaha (O8, PLO) | Forgetting you must use exactly two hole cards. The nut flush you think you have isn’t there | Can I make this hand with exactly two hole cards? |
| Omaha → Hold’em | Wanting the nuts too much. In Limit Hold’em, top pair with a good kicker is plenty, and you fold too often | Back to a two-card game. Is top pair worth betting? |
Limit and no-limit or pot-limit
| Switch | Mistake | Check |
|---|---|---|
| NL → Limit (NLHE → 2-7 TD, PLO → 2-7 TD) | Folding too much. A limit bet is 1/5 to 1/8 of the pot | What equity do I need? (In limit, often 10–15%) |
| Limit → NL (Stud 8 → NLHE) | A tiny one-bet bet, or suddenly all in | What are the blinds now? How many times the pot do I bet? |
| NL → PL (NLHE → PLO) | Saying “all in”. Betting more than the pot (the pot-limit maximum is the pot, and the declaration is cut down to it) | How big is the pot? The max is call + (pot + call) |
Required equity is call ÷ (pot + bet + call). Against a bet of 1/5 of the pot that is about 14%; against 1/8, about 10%.
Example. You move from NLHE to PLO. On the flop the pot is 17 and your opponent bets 17.
- Say “pot” (a declaration that you raise the maximum)
- Put in the 17 call. The pot is now 17 + 17 + 17 = 51
- Add that 51. The maximum is 17 + 51 = 68 in total
Forced bets and the button
| Switch | Mistake | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Limit Hold’em / Omaha → Stud | Forgetting the ante as if you had paid a blind. Watching the button (in Stud, the cards decide who acts) | Did I ante? Is my door card the lowest (in Razz, the highest)? |
| Stud → Hold’em games | Forgetting the button restarts where it was frozen | Where did the button restart? Am I in a blind? |
Two that happen on any switch
| Mistake | What happens | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Mixing up how the pot is won | Celebrating a high hand in Razz. Thinking you beat a low hand in O8 | Is this game won by high, low, or both? |
| Carrying over the last game’s mood | Chasing losses in limit right after a big no-limit loss | This is a different game. Back to the baseline |
When Short Deck is in the mix
| Switch | Mistake | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Hold’em → Short Deck | Treating a full house as the nuts. Counting 9 flush outs (with 36 cards there are 5) | Which is higher, a flush or a full house? How many outs? |
| Short Deck → Hold’em | Keeping Short Deck hand ranks and outs | Which is higher, a full house or a flush? |
The button
Moving from Hold’em games to Stud games, the button is moved on and then frozen; coming back, play restarts from that seat (Rule 11-B of the TDA, the association that standardizes tournament rules).
Example. On the last Omaha Hi-Lo hand, you are the small blind (left of the button).
- If Omaha went on, the button would come to you
- When Razz starts, the button moves to your seat and stops
- Through Razz, Stud and Stud 8 the button doesn’t move. There are no blinds in Stud; everyone antes
- When Hold’em returns, you restart on the button. The two players to your left post the blinds
In HORSE, the button is frozen at O → R (Omaha Hi-Lo to Razz) and play restarts at E → H (Stud 8 to Hold’em).
Stakes
A mix is named by its limit stakes. A common way to set the no-limit and pot-limit blinds is a quarter of those amounts. Tables differ, so check before you sit down.
| Mix stakes | NL / PL blinds | Stud ante | Stud bring-in |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10/$20 | $2/$5 | $1 | $3 |
| $50/$100 | $10/$25 (some tables use $10/$20) | $5 | $15–$25 |
| $400/$800 | $100/$200 | $40 | $130–$200 |
Example. In a $10/$20 mix you move from Stud 8 to NLHE. The blinds are $2/$5. With 20 per bet still in your head, a 3x open ($15) looks small.
Three lines when the game changes
Check how the pot is won, how to read your cards, and the bet sizes before you look at your hand.
| Game | How it’s won | Reading your cards | Betting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Razz | Low only (ace is lowest and best) | All three 8 or lower? Bring-in is the highest card | Ante |
| Stud | High | A pair, an ace or king, three suited? Bring-in is the lowest card | Ante |
| 2-7 TD | Low. Ace is high; straights and flushes are bad | Do I have a 2? | Small bet / big bet. Three draws |
| Badugi | Four cards of different suits and ranks | How many of one suit? | Small bet / big bet. Three draws |
| NLHE | High | Two cards. The usual baseline | Check the blinds |
| PLO | High | Exactly two hole cards. Which way are the nuts? | Max = call + (pot + call) |
Practice in the app
In Casino Edge’s Mix, you can play HORSE, 8-Game and other rotations changing the game every hand (the setting with the most switches). When the game changes, a card shows how the pot is won, the betting and the forced bets. In Training, “Play or fold” is the first decision right after a switch, and “Who wins” and “Amounts” practice mix-ups about winners and bet sizes.