Talking Mixed Game Strategy with WSOP $50k Players Champion Brian Rast

The man who denied Phil Hellmuth the $50,000 Players Championship shares with us some of his strategy advice for players looking to get stared in mixed games today.

Brian Rast

Brian "tsarrast" Rast is a professional poker player from Poway, California. At the 2011 WSOP he won the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event and the $50,000 Player's Championship.

In the 50k Player's Championship Rast bested Phil Hellmuth heads up to become the only two-time bracelet winner of the year and also took home the coveted Chip Reese trophy. He now has lifetime tournament winnings of over $3 million.

PokerStrategy.com: What’s the biggest mistake you see players making when first diving into mixed games?

Brian Rast: The biggest mistake I made was playing too high. It cost me some money at first, but probably meant that I learned the games faster. So, it was a trade-off... I'd say that's the biggest mistake from a monetary standpoint.

From a gaming stand-point, probably not putting enough time in to studying some of the games more foreign to hold'em, like 2-7 triple draw or stud 8.

PokerStrategy.com: In your opinion, what should NLHE players who are looking to get into Omaha Hi-Lo focus on to make the proper adjustments to succeed in those types of games?

Brian Rast: Well one thing you can do is learn Omaha High first, which will feel more natural to a hold'em player, then move on to hi-low after that. That's what I did, and I'd recommend learning Omaha as a hold'em player's second game first anyways, because it is more popular and there is more money in it.

PokerStrategy.com: What hands are you staying away from in Razz?

Brian Rast: This is a really situation-dependent question. It depends on whether or not the pot's been opened, and if so, how loose is the opener... how many low cards are behind you, things like that.

"Position means significantly less in Limit holdem, and in fact I'd say it's a relatively unimportant attribute"

PokerStrategy.com: How much does position mean in Limit Holdem as apposed to No Limit?

Brian Rast: Position means significantly less in Limit holdem, and in fact I'd say it's a relatively unimportant attribute when compared to how important it is in no-limit hold'em.

You're just never put in tough situations for huge bets, so having to go first doesn't matter too much. It matters a little more in multi-way pots I think in limit than in heads-up situations.

PokerStrategy.com:What skill is more important in Limit Holdem: discipline in the range of hands you play or the ability to read the other player?

Brian Rast: Discipline in the range of hands that you play in limit, and ability to read the other player in no limit... that said, I do think that there is definitely skill in reading the other player, and putting him on the correct hand-range, and then making decisions in limit as to whether to call/fold/etc.

But generally getting 8:1 from the pot, you usually call... and even if you make bad calls here, they are not that bad as compared to these decisions in no-limit hold'em where the bets can be pot-sized or bigger. Thus, inherently your ability to correctly read your opponents hand range in NLHE is more important, and similarly mixing up your starting hand range is more important as you can bluff more effectively.

PokerStrategy.com: Can you give PokerStategy readers a tip or two that will help them in mixed games?

Brian Rast: Practice, practice, practice... just like when you started out playing NLHE. And mix in some studying from time to time... and always play with Hold'em manager, or another tool to run hand equities, so that you can learn!

Remember that in stud games, you have to think about how much it will cost you to call down to 7th street, not your immediate price.

You can follow Brian Rast on twitter @Tsarrast.

by Mike Owens