Good news for #mixedgamesrevolution believers everywhere!
The 2015 World Series of Poker is scheduled to take place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, from May 27th to July 14th. The schedule has just been announced (click here) and there are plenty of offerings for mixed game enthusiasts. Thankfully, the two-tiered mixed game track is back: a lower limit $1500 event paired with a $10K championship event in a variety of non-No-Limit-Hold'em (NLH) disciplines.
In addition, there are a few interesting changes this year:
- The lower limit $1500-$3000 events now have increased starting stacks! THANK YOU WSOP! For example, last year the $1500 events started players with 4,500 in tournament chips (3x the buy-in); this year, everyone starts with 7,500 in tournament chips for the same buy-in (i.e. 5x the buy-in). Mind you, some of last year's first few blind levels have disappeared; however, the addition of a repeated intermediate level(s) more than makes up for this, and in fact, represents a much better structure (if the first few levels are too low, then the pots you win at the beginning of the tournament, especially when playing limit games, become meaningless). The downside -- still no dinner break for 4pm starts (and most of the mixed game events start at 4pm).
- The Poker Player's Championship is now being played as the standard 10-game mix, instead of an 8-game mix.
- The $1500 Eight-Game Mix has been removed from the schedule. However, the $3000 H.O.R.S.E. event has found its way back in!
- The $3000 Omaha Hi/Lo event has been replaced with a $3000 6-Handed Limit Hold'em event.
- The $5000 Pot Limit Omaha event is now a $3000 Pot Limit Omaha event, and a new "high-roller" $25K Pot Limit Omaha event has been added.
- The ever-popular $1500 Dealer's Choice is back on the schedule, along with a new companion: a $10K Dealer's Championship!
- And speaking of Dealer's Choice, the pool of games has changed slightly: Pot-Limit Five Card Draw High has been replaced with No-Limit Five Card Draw High (garnering a little more action), and... wait for it... THREE NEW GAMES have been added -- Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo Regular (a.k.a. Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo No Qualifier -- check out the blurb on page 420 of A Poker Player's Guide to Mixed Games), Fixed Limit Omaha (High Only), and the big-action cash game making its WSOP tournament debut, BIG O! (BIg O = Pot-Limit 5-Card Omaha Hi/Lo). This means choosing from a total of 19 possible games - a record in live play!
Here is a summary of some of the non-NLH events on the 2015 WSOP schedule. You can check out the official schedule or our mixed games tournament calendar for dates and starting times of these, and other events.
- Limit Hold'em: $1500 (Jun 2), $3000 (Jun 7), $10K (Jun 24)
- Omaha Hi/Lo: $1500 (May 28), $10K (Jun 8)
- Razz: $1500 (Jun 1), $10K (Jun 6)
- Seven Card Stud: $1500 (Jun 23), $10K (Jun 11)
- Stud Hi/Lo: $1500 (Jul 2), $10K (Jun 19)
- Omaha Hi/Lo & Stud Hi/Lo: $2500 (Jun 3)
- H.O.R.S.E.: $1500 (Jun 10), $3000 (Jun 16), $10K (Jul 1)
- Pot Limit Omaha: $1000 (Jun 11), $1500 (Jun 17), $10K (Jun 26), $25K (Jun 29)
- 2-7 Triple Draw: $1500 (Jun 15), $10K (May 31)
- 2-7 Single Draw: $1500 (Jun 9), $10K (Jun 13)
- Ten-Game: $1500 (Jun 18), $50K Poker Player's Championship (Jun 21)
- Dealer's Choice: $1500 (Jun 25), $10K (Jul 3)
Just starting out and curious to learn about some of these games? You may not be ready for the World Series of Poker yet, but there's no better time to start learning than now. Check out A Poker Player's Guide to Mixed Games, which covers the games in the Poker Player's Championship and more.