Las Vegas Going All In on Mixed Game Poker in 2026?

^{Robbie Strazynski welcomes players to his Mixed Game Festival, now at Bellagio. (Photo: courtesy of Robbie Strazynski)}

LAS VEGAS – When I started playing poker, all I wanted to play was Stud. I wanted no part of a game my mom wanted to teach me called “Texas Hold ‘Em.” I’ve since learned that I was wrong and really did want to play that. 

When I started attending Robbie Strazynski’s Mixed Game Festivals a few years ago, I saw Stud reemerge as a contender alongside Razz, H.O.R.S.E., Dealer’s Choice, and Badugi, amongst others. Mixed game poker is where the game rotates between multiple formats rather than just one type of poker played at the table.

A feeling of nostalgia and overwhelm washed over me as I saw over 50 variants of poker being offered at Strazynski’s Mixed Game Festivals. Placards with the names of the variants are placed on the poker table, to be decided on by players and dealers. 

Both Robbie and Allen Kessler are passionate advocates for mixed games. Allen just finished his Mixed Series of Poker at Caesars Palace, and Robbie’s Mixed Game Festival is set to run during June at the Bellagio.

‘Chainsaw’ Approved

Allen Kessler is a poker player with over $4.5 million in total live earnings according to Hendon Mob, and a slots player who won $1.2 million on a Buffalo Slots Jackpot in July 2024. He just wrapped his Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker, which ran from May 8 through May 19, with buy-ins ranging from $600 to $1,100. 

Kessler told Casinos.com that he got into mixed games for two reasons. “I've always played mixed growing up, and I find Hold ’em so tedious and boring.”

Kessler earned the moniker “Chainsaw” from a running joke on a poker road radio show, saying he was “cutting through the competition.” 

He ended up winning the H.O.R.S.E. Championship on May 17, taking home $11,906 and a trophy shaped like a chainsaw that he helped to design. He said it felt great to win the championship and that he “really wanted to win one.”

“I had already been heads up twice this week with pretty big chip leads both times, but wasn't able to close either one,” Kessler said. “It was nice to finally seal the deal, especially on one of the championship events.” 

Don’t Call Razz on Robbie?

Robbie Strazynski's Mixed Game Festival is in its 14th edition and its third consecutive summer at the Bellagio, running May 31 through June 4 and again June 7 through 11. 

Robbie's love affair with mixed games began early in childhood, when his father taught him to play poker at eight years old.

“The first poker games I learned were 5-Card Draw and 7-Card Stud,” he said. “In later years, he sometimes let me sit next to him during his home games, during which he and his friends played all sorts of ‘wacky’ poker variants.” 

The festival has a running inside joke worth knowing before you attend. One poker variant that he might be ok missing is Razz. Ever since he exclaimed during a “dumb hand” that he hated Razz, it’s led to a rallying cry at his festivals: “Don’t call Razz on Robbie.”

The team that makes it happen: Bellagio Poker Director Craig Larson, MGM's Sean McCormack, and Mixed Game Festival founder Robbie Strazynski. (Photo: courtesy of Robbie Strazynski)

The Bellagio partnership came through Sean McCormack, Executive Director of Poker Strategy and Development at MGM Resorts International, who has been “an ardent supporter of the Mixed Game Festival” since its first event and suggested the venue. 

Bellagio Poker Director Craig Larson has also been instrumental in making the festival work year after year. Robbie says it has been “an absolute privilege and pleasure to work with him” in this collaboration.

The festival runs mostly cash games at $4/8 and $8/16 with options for higher stakes, and this year, BetMGM Poker returns as the presenting sponsor for the second consecutive summer.

$4 Million Guarantee and Free Seats Up for Grabs

Beyond the cash games, the festival is also giving away three $3500 BetMGM Poker Championship seats on June 2, 7, and 11. The championship will be held June 29 to July 4 at the Aria, with a $4 million guarantee. 

Poker broadcaster Norman Chad, content creator Joey Ingram, and Robbie Strazynski. (Photo: courtesy of Robbie Strazynski)

Both Robbie and Allen agree that mixed games poker deserves more attention for how it can make the game more “social and talkative.”

“Playing infinite consecutive hands of the same poker variant just gets boring and repetitive,” Robbie said. “When you change the game every orbit, it keeps you on your toes.”

For anyone curious about poker beyond Hold'em, or just looking for a reason to spend time at the Bellagio’s poker room this summer, the Mixed Game Festival is a great place to do it. Robbie has a multitude of festivals under his belt, and there are no signs of slowing down.

“I love that we’re 14 festivals in and I’m just as excited in the buildup to it as I was the first time around,” Strazynski said. “I feel like I could do this forever.”