Cash Game Mixed Cash Games (it's all about the games!!) (1 Viewer)

[churlbut18]

We've played it with blinds and I think that's preferable if the group has never played a rotating, force bet structure before. Personally I think it would be a boring game with 2 cards and I think the force betting aspect is one of the rules that makes it such an interesting game. Plus most older players will be very comfortable with force bet games as they were much more common in home games before the NLHE explosion. The board plays either way in the original way the game is spread so that's fine. Making it 5 or 6 betting rounds shouldn't make a ton of difference, but personally I prefer 6.

So I suppose if you're trying to adapt it to be more player-friendly, switch to a blind structure and remove the rotation, but keep it at 4 cards per player and keep the force bet.

Re: forced bet, all this means is that first player to act can't check, right? What is the theory behind this? Makes players fold? Increases pot size?

Re: 4 cards down, doesn't this raise the same concerns that @courage raised about Super Hold'em earlier in this thread where if you're allowed to play 3-4 hole cards, cooler hands will become abundant?

 

[jbutler]

Re: forced bet, all this means is that first player to act can't check, right? What is the theory behind this? Makes players fold? Increases pot size?

Re: 4 cards down, doesn't this raise the same concerns that @courage raised about Super Hold'em earlier in this thread where if you're allowed to play 3-4 hole cards, cooler hands will become abundant?

Re: forced bet, yes, means players can't check. If the game is good it definitely doesn't make players fold! Increases action and grows the pot.

Re: 4 cards down, in a way, yes, you can get coolered, but really the player pool will just adjust to hand values after not too long. People will also begin to regard the game as a pure gamble fest flip. This is a good thing for the game!

There should be no problem with any of the above, but if you're concerned about the stakes, just lower the limits for the game relative to the other games spread.

 

[churlbut18]

Re: forced bet, yes, means players can't check. If the game is good it definitely doesn't make players fold! Increases action and grows the pot.

Re: 4 cards down, in a way, yes, you can get coolered, but really the player pool will just adjust to hand values after not too long. People will also begin to regard the game as a pure gamble fest flip. This is a good thing for the game!

There should be no problem with any of the above, but if you're concerned about the stakes, just lower the limits for the game relative to the other games spread.

Ok. This helps. Thanks for all of your input.

 

[ohio3302016]

Curious how many people play kill games.

My home limit game is typically 3/6 with a full kill (HORSE plus Badugi).

 

[churlbut18]

My first poker night is almost here and I'm excited. After considering much of the advice given here (thank you!), this is where I've netted out.

Most of my crew is accustomed to NLHE tournaments, so I need to break them into mixed cash games slowly. Therefore, I'm going to hold off on the stud games and stick to the flop/community games with variants of hold'em. No high/low split (at least to start), no draw, no wild cards. Keeping it simple.

All games based on $2/$4 fixed-limit structure, dealer's choice, orbit +1:

- 2 card game: Limit Hold'em
- 2 card game: Double-Board Hold'em
- 2 card game: Criss-Cross (or 4 card version per @jbutler)
- 2 card game: Chowaha
- 3 card game: Pineapple
- 3 card game: Crazy Pineapple
- 3 card game: Tahoe (Lazy Pineapple)
- 3 card game: Super Hold'em
- 4 card game: Omaha High
- 5 card game: Big O (5-Card Omaha)

10 variants in total...

 

[jbutler]

My first poker night is almost here and I'm excited. After considering much of the advice given here (thank you!), this is where I've netted out.

Most of my crew is accustomed to NLHE tournaments, so I need to break them into mixed cash games slowly. Therefore, I'm going to hold off on the stud games and stick to the flop/community games with variants of hold'em. No high/low split (at least to start), no draw, no wild cards. Keeping it simple.

All games based on $2/$4 fixed-limit structure, dealer's choice, orbit +1:

- 2 card game: Limit Hold'em
- 2 card game: Double-Board Hold'em
- 2 card game: Criss-Cross (or 4 card version per @jbutler)
- 2 card game: Chowaha
- 3 card game: Pineapple
- 3 card game: Crazy Pineapple
- 3 card game: Tahoe (Lazy Pineapple)
- 3 card game: Super Hold'em
- 4 card game: Omaha High
- 5 card game: Big O (5-Card Omaha)

10 variants in total...

Excellent list of games! And you shouldn't have any trouble getting through them all playing one round of each.

Very good decision to avoid stud and draw games for your first time around. People will get much more comfortable much more quickly. Then you can add them in later and they'll be comfortable trying something new.

Two suggestions:

(1) Strike one of the pineapple variants and add something else. Three pineapple games in a row will get a little boring imo.
(2) You really should do the 4-card version of Criss Cross. Much, much, much better game.

More than all that - have fun! Limit mixed games are some of the best home poker available imo.

 

[palindrome]

Curious how many people play kill games.

My home limit game is typically 3/6 with a full kill (HORSE plus Badugi).

We play O8 or mixed games as a $2/$4 with a half kill.

 

[jbutler]

Curious how many people play kill games.

My home limit game is typically 3/6 with a full kill (HORSE plus Badugi).

We play O8 or mixed games as a $2/$4 with a half kill.

Been trying to get my guys interested in a kill game, but so far no dice. I just got invited to a Wednesday night game that plays $10/20 O8, stud 8, and Cross with a full kill to $20/40. I'm not sure how I feel about playing $20/40 Cross........

 

[palindrome]

$20/$40 is above my pay grade.

Why has a kill been a hard sell? Moar action.

 

[jbutler]

$20/$40 is above my pay grade.

Why has a kill been a hard sell? Moar action.

The guys in my game have been playing $5/10/15 for years and recently bumped it "down" to $10/10 (I'll leave it alone for the moment whether $10/10 is actually a lower limit than $5/10/15) because a couple of guys have been getting killed and started bitching about the $15 river/7th street bet.

I'll wait until those squeaky wheels are on an upswing and then try to sell them again on a half kill. We have a couple kill supporters among us.

 

[churlbut18]

Can you guys explain to me how a kill works and what it brings to the game (what value it adds)? And what's the difference between a half kill and full kill?

My understanding is that if the same player wins two hands in a row, the stakes double? Why? For how long? Players like this? Doesn't that throw off starting stack ratios (i.e. starting with 25 big bets but at the original stakes) because now you have chips for a $2/$4 that just turned into a $4/$8?

I'm not likely to introduce a kill at least out of the gate, but I am curious about it for future games.

 

[abby99]

We frequently play 2/4 with a half kill to 3/6, and sometimes we play with overs.

 

[palindrome]

Can you guys explain to me how a kill works and what it brings to the game (what value it adds)? And what's the difference between a half kill and full kill?

My understanding is that if the same player wins two hands in a row, the stakes double? Why? For how long? Players like this? Doesn't that throw off starting stack ratios (i.e. starting with 25 big bets but at the original stakes) because now you have chips for a $2/$4 that just turned into a $4/$8?

I'm not likely to introduce a kill at least out of the gate, but I am curious about it for future games.

It forces a player on a heater to put money back into the game. Think of it as chumming the waters. You will see guys try to steal the kill blind or call along hoping to bust the streak. More money goes into the pot preflop, more action later.

Save the kill for later, once the crew starts to understand a limit betting structure. Introducing it right away is a bad idea.You are correct that you need to sit with more more than 25bb, it makes the game bigger. When in doubt in a limit game, just buy in for more. Limit games are never capped.

 

[churlbut18]

Excellent list of games! And you shouldn't have any trouble getting through them all playing one round of each.

Very good decision to avoid stud and draw games for your first time around. People will get much more comfortable much more quickly. Then you can add them in later and they'll be comfortable trying something new.

Two suggestions:

(1) Strike one of the pineapple variants and add something else. Three pineapple games in a row will get a little boring imo.
(2) You really should do the 4-card version of Criss Cross. Much, much, much better game.

More than all that - have fun! Limit mixed games are some of the best home poker available imo.

Okay, 4 card version of Criss-Cross it is, players can play all 4 hole cards, and I almost forgot to include the forced bet aspect too... (y) :thumbsup:

 

[churlbut18]

@Phantom

 

[churlbut18]

Two years later and lots of trial and error, our group has pretty much fallen into the following 5 game rotation... $2/$4 limit with half kill to $3/$6... A perfect mix...

Hold’em
Double Board Hold’em

Omaha (High)
Double Board Omaha (High)

SOHE (which combines the 2 games above)

 

[fieldsy]

Two years later and lots of trial and error, our group has pretty much fallen into the following 5 game rotation... $2/$4 limit with half kill to $3/$6... A perfect mix...

Hold’em
Double Board Hold’em

Omaha (High)
Double Board Omaha (High)

SOHE (which combines the 2 games above)

I wasn't on here for the first go-round 2 years ago, which is a shame, I love the mixed games. The most important thing is that all your players like the games and are comfortable with them (hate when someone feels blindsided by a game they didn't understand), so if you guys have your games that's great. I will say, I think you're missing out by staying away from the hi-lo split-pot games. The group I play with tends to play an orbit of NLH, then an orbit of a different game (most popular are Stud/8, PLO, and just getting into 2-7 TD). It seems if you like the double-board games, you might like the hi-lo games too.

 

[Jimulacrum]

Nice to see someone awakened this zombie thread.

1) What are your games of choice?

My top four favorites are easily Big O, SOHE, Dramaha, Double Board Omaha, in no particular order.

2) What are the most popular games in your circle?

The games I listed above are always hits. We also play a lot of Tahoe (5-card Omaha where you can also play all 5 of your hole cards as a complete hand, high or high-low) and a bunch of Draw-type lowball games like 2-7 and Badugi. Players sometimes invent their own variants or bring them in from other games, which is always welcome.

3) Do you change the games per orbit? Do you use dealer's choice and change games as the dealer button moves?

We have a Hi/Lo lammer that we use as a marker. It starts on the player who calls the first game (usually random draw or whatever). We play a full orbit of that game, plus one more on that player's deal, and then he passes the lammer to the player to his left. The player to his left then calls a new game, and on and on it goes. Call it orbit + 1.

4) Do you keep the same betting structure (i.e. limit) for all games or do you change from limit, to pot limit, to spread, etc.?

Usually the same structure, whatever we decided on when the game was being organized. Most of our games are pot-limit by definition, though Hold'em (which almost never get called) and Pineapple variants (same) are no-limit. We get a pink-chip limit game together once in a while too, which is a lot of fun. People call even crazier games than usual.

5) Would you ever introduce a no-limit game into this format for only one orbit or one button? (I wouldn't)

We play with kinda unreasonably deep stacks, so that could be weird. Pot-limit is assumed. You could probably call no-limit if you want, but you'll have to get the host to green-light it. He probably will most of the time, but it's not a popular option.

5) Do you play games with wildcards?

We did like once, during one of the limit nights. Night Baseball. It didn't go over so well. Doesn't really happen anymore.

6) Do you stick to the more traditional games such as HORSE?

Not at all.

7) Do you introduce draw games or non-traditional community/flop games (i.e. baseball, black mariah, criss cross, etc.)?

Basically all kinds of games are welcome. As long as everyone can handle it, and it brings the action, why not? Just, again, not really wild-card games.

8) Do you use antes? player antes? dealer antes?

No antes, unless it's a Stud-type game. Then, dealer antes.

8) and anything else of interest as it relates to mixed cash games...

Mixed cash games are hands-down the best form of poker. Not only are they tons of fun and full of action, but they'll teach you a lot about poker if you let 'em.

 

[Jimulacrum]

Two years later and lots of trial and error, our group has pretty much fallen into the following 5 game rotation... $2/$4 limit with half kill to $3/$6... A perfect mix...

Hold’em
Double Board Hold’em

Omaha (High)
Double Board Omaha (High)

SOHE (which combines the 2 games above)

Nice rotation. I usually tend toward a wilder set of games, but I certainly wouldn't complain about this. I bet you have a sweet mountain of $1 chips on the table by the end of the night.