8 Game Poker
Introduction
Over the past few years, a new form of mixed game poker has
become increasingly popular. Called "8-Game",♠ this form of poker rotates between eight
different poker variants: no-limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha, 2-7 triple draw, and then
the♠ five HORSE variants (Limit Hold'em, Limit Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Stud, and Stud Hi/Lo
Eight or Better). This game has surpassed♠ the formerly-popular mixed game HORSE
because, frankly, it's less boring. With HORSE, every game is played with limit-betting
rules. After♠ a while, this just becomes mundane. Players like more action. With 8-Game,
you grind through six rounds of limit-betting and♠ then get two variants where fortunes
can change hands on a single pot (no-limit hold'em and PLO).
As evidence that 8-Game
♠ has surpassed HORSE in terms of popularity, the WSOP dropped theirR$50k buy-in HORSE
event and replaced it with aR$50k buy-in♠ "Player's Championship" 8-Game event in 2010.
As players get more and more proficient at no-limit hold'em, I expect 8-Game to♠ only
increase in popularity. Online players are growing tired of no-limit hold'em since
there aren't as many bad players anymore.♠ 8-Game should serve to rejuvenate online
poker to some degree by giving players a new challenge and keeping things fresh♠ by
mixing up the poker variant every few hands.
8-Game Facts
Most 8-Game tables feature
only six players. This is because only♠ six players can participate in a single hand of
2-7 Triple Draw. Some live poker 8-Game tournaments, such as the♠ WSOP Player's
Championship, has eight players to a table. When Triple Draw is being played, the first
two players to♠ the left of the big blind simply sit out the hand.
The presence of 2-7
Triple Draw forcing games to be♠ played six-handed means the other seven variants are
pretty action-packed. Generally, Stud variants are played with 8 players. In online
♠ 8-Game tables, there's only six to a table during all variants meaning the action is
pretty intense during all forms♠ of poker since you're essentially playing short-handed
for every game except Triple Draw.
8-Game Strategy
Before diving into an 8-Game table,
ask♠ yourself how much experience you have in each variant. If you have outright never
even played some of them, I♠ would strongly encourage you to play at least several
hundred hands of that form of poker before trying an 8-Game♠ table. The decisions you
make in a six (or fewer) player Stud game can sometimes be pretty difficult. If you
♠ have no experience some of the variants, you're probably going to bleed chips hand over
fist. Learn the basics first♠ by playing long-handed versions of the games you're less
experienced at before trying to play these games with just a♠ few players. We have basic
strategy articles for all of the variants played in 8-Game, so try to polish up♠ on each
variant first before testing your skills in a mixed game setting.
Mixed games require a
certain level of proficiency♠ in and of themselves. Not only do you need to be competent
in eight different forms of poker, but you♠ also need to be able to shift in and out of
strategies for different variants. On one hand, you need♠ to be in "Omaha Hi/Lo mode"
and be able to drop that and go into "7 Card Stud" mode in♠ a matter of seconds. These
quick transitions can tend to be overwhelming to new poker players, so again, I would
♠ strongly recommend gaining proficiency at each individual game before trying to play a
mixed game format.
When you do decide to♠ play mixed game format, start out by playing
smaller stakes than you think you're comfortable with. In other words, if♠ you feel okay
playingR$1/$2 Limit Hold'em, you probably shouldn't start out by playingR$1/$2 8-Game.
Try theR$0.25/$0.50 tables first until you♠ get a feel for what it's like to switch
between variants.
Buy-In Strategy
So you're going to sit at an 8-Game table.♠ How much
should you buy-in for? The maximum buy-in is usually the equivalent of 100 big blinds
for whatever the♠ big-blind in NLHE and PLO is. If an 8-Game table is advertised
asR$1/$2, the maximum buy-in will probably beR$50 because♠ the blinds in NLHE and PLO
areR$0.25/$0.50. Whether or not you buy-in for the maximum depends on how you feel
♠ about your NLHE and PLO skills. If you think you are a fairly weak player at NLHE
and/or PLO, consider♠ buying in for a smaller amount. By doing so, you'll keep your
decisions in your "weak" game easier because you'll♠ be playing them on a short stack.
NLHE and PLO are considerably easier games when you have 20-40 big blinds♠ rather than
100+ big blinds.
Competition and Practice
Let's suppose you feel pretty strong in six
of the games played in 8-Game,♠ mediocre in one of them, and pretty bad in one of them.
At smaller stakes, this level of ability could♠ still very well be enough to be a winner
in 8-Game. At no-limit hold'em tables, pretty much everyone is fairly♠ decent nowadays
even at smaller stakes. In 8-Game, some players are just completely clueless in several
of the variants. This♠ is probably because they didn't follow my advice of gaining
proficiency in each game before trying to play 8-Game. If♠ you can learn strong
fundamentals in each of the eight poker variants played in 8-Game, you stand to make a
♠ lot of money on account of the fact that some of your opponents will just be downright
clueless at times.♠ So if you feel good about your decisions in seven games and not so
good about one game, don't sweat♠ it too much. This probably puts you ahead of the curve
in the smaller stakes action.
Let's say you really want♠ to try 8-Game but aren't sure
what areas you should work on the most. Sebastian Sabic, a fantastic high-stakes 8-game
♠ player, suggests you focus on improving in the following areas listed from most
important to least important:
PLO
2-7 Triple Draw
NLHE
Stud Games
Limit♠ Hold'em
Omaha
Hi/Lo
The reason he thinks polishing up on your PLO skills is most important is because
more money changes hands♠ in this game than any other game (except maybe NLHE). With
NLHE, most people probably already know what they're doing.♠ However, many players who
are strong in NLHE still have a fair amount of weaknesses in PLO. For this reason,♠ you
can expect PLO to be your most profitable game in the 8-Game mix if you are a really
good♠ player. By the same logic, 2-7 Triple Draw could be your second most profitable,
etc. The reason Omaha Hi/Lo is♠ listed last is because it's a split pot game that is
fairly straight-forward. In other words, even a bad Omaha♠ Hi/Lo player probably won't
lose too much in this game since the pots are split and decisions are fairly simple.
