Not to boast -- well, maybe just a little -- but my regular readers on this great website may recall that more than six months ago I predicted Omaha High-Low would catch up to Texas Hold'em in popularity.
Excuse me if I blush. It's starting to happen.
Poker room managers in Arizona, California, Nevada and New Jersey are receiving more and more requests from people who want to play Omaha High-Low, seven card stud high-low and other mixed games.
The number of mixed poker tables at Talking Stick and Wild Horse Pass in Arizona have doubled in the past six months. A female player who is an executive secretary said she never played poker before she heard about Omaha High-Low. She practiced the game with a friend and then headed out to Talking Stick Casino to try her luck at the eight or better game.
'It's a blast,' she said. 'Very challenging and not at all boring like Texas Hold'em. I love playing it.'
In the past, Talking Stick Casino was lucky to have two Omaha High-Low tables operating on an average night, $4-8 and the $8-16 OE mixed game (Omaha High-Low and Seven Card Stud High-Low. Now the average night has four tables going, with more people asking about the game all the time.
The new breed of mixed game players includes business owners, executive secretaries, retirees and other up-class people. Some of them never played poker before learning how to play Omaha High-Low and the other mixed games.
Poker dealers say it's more difficult to deal the mixed games and they get in fewer hands per shift than Texas Hold'em. But some of them admit they would rather deal mixed games than Hold'em.
'The players are more animated and seem to actually enjoy mixed games more than they do Hold'em,' one dealer told me. 'And when the players are happy and joking with the other players, that makes me happy.'
There is another reason Omaha High-Low is becoming more popular. Players hit far more bad beat jackpots in mixed games since there are far more hand combinations that can be hit.
One dealer said she has dealt twice as many Omaha High-Low jackpots as she has Texas Hold'em jackpots.
The next step would be for poker rooms to increase the number of mixed poker tournaments as they currently have.
'People are ready to play mixed poker in cash games and tournaments,' said a player in his 60s. ''They are just waiting for the poker rooms to catch up to what they want.'
If you like mixed poker games, especially tournaments, tell the poker room supervisors and dealers in your favorite poker room your feelings. They will get the message and if they hear from enough of you, don't be surprised to see some changes being made.
Texas Hold'em will always be around. It's a favorite game for no limit players because of its fast action. But players who really love poker will continue to push for mixed games. That is where the real action and poker intellect exist. Watch these games grow and become part of the growth. Let the games begin.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
