For those in attendance or intending to attend this Festival Series stop in Bratislava, and are new to Mixed Games and want to play, here is a quick rundown of the featured games. All games featured in T.O.R.S.E.S. will be played with a Fixed Limit betting structure, and the flights will feature 30-minute levels.
Triple Draw 2-7 is a lowball variant of poker, meaning the worst hand is the best hand in this game, which is 2-3-4-5-7. Aces are high only in this game, and it is played with two to seven players per table. Triple Draw uses a big blind format, instead of bring in and completes as seen in the Stud games. There are no community cards, and players get three rounds of drawing, patting, and betting. 2-7 Triple Draw is typically played as a fixed-limit game, with small bets and big bets. The big bet is twice the size of the small bet. Small bets are used during the first two betting rounds, while big bets are used during the last two.
If a player is happy with their hand, they can choose to stand pat, which means they draw no more cards.
Omaha Hi-Lo is a split pot game where each player receives four cards. Half the pot is awarded to the best low hand, and the other to the best high hand. The best low is the wheel straight, A-2-3-4-5, and can also be the best high hand. If a player has the best high and low hand, they scoop the pot. Players must use two cards from their hand and three from the board.
Players can also be quartered, meaning they share the same low or high hand, with the other player having a high hand as well as a low hand.
Razz is also a lowball game, like 2-7 Triple Draw. A-2-3-4-5 is the best hand, and this should always be your aim. You get dealt three cards at first (the first two are face down, the third is face-up, like in the Stud games) and strong starting hands are include A-2-3 or A-4-6. Flushes, straights, and pairs count against the hand strength.
In Stud, players receive two cards face down and one face up, as mentioned previously. Stud is played with a bring-in and complete structure, with the lowest card face up being designated as the bring-in for that hand. The goal is to make the best poker hand over seven potential streets of play.
Stud Hi-lo, aka Stud 8, is almost like the lovechild of PLO Hi-Lo and Stud. The same bring-in structure applies in normal Stud, and the same chop pot formula as seen in PLO Hi-Lo. To qualify for a low hand, players must have five cards ranked eight or lower. Half the pot goes to the high hand, half to the low, but players could potentially scoop if making the nut low, A-2-3-4-5, as this also qualifies as a straight.
Sviten Special is a special game. Players are given five cards, and it is a combination of five-card draw and PLO, with half the pot going to the best five-card draw hand and the other half going to the best PLO hand - two cards from the hand, three from the board. After a round of preflop betting, there is a round of postflop betting, before players decide whether they would like 0-5 cards. If players draw one, they get one card face up, which they can choose to accept or decline. If they decline, the player will then receive another card face down.
For more information on the above games, as well as strategy tips, check out this link to learn more. It is worth it!
