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Advanced mixed-game poker curriculum

An eight-week path for players already past the basics.

This curriculum is built for players who know the rules and need a harder structure: variant-specific hand review, fixed-limit value, split-pot pressure, stud live-card accounting, draw-game range compression, and rotation exploits.

Start the plan View assessments
8 weeks HORSE and 8-game focus Variant-specific drills Review loop included

Curriculum map

Train decisions that survive the rotation.

Advanced mixed-game study is less about collecting more rules and more about making faster, cleaner adjustments when the game changes. The plan moves from diagnosis to technical blocks, then forces the concepts back into full-rotation practice.

  1. Phase 1

    Weeks 1-2: Baseline audit. Measure where the player is losing edge across split-pot, stud, draw, and fixed-limit rounds before adding new material.

  2. Phase 2

    Weeks 3-6: Variant mastery blocks. Train the highest-value technical decisions inside each game family with drills, hand reviews, and written table tests.

  3. Phase 3

    Weeks 7-8: Rotation integration. Practice changing gears between variants, building opponent notes by game, and carrying the right exploit into the next orbit.

  4. Phase 4

    Ongoing: Review loop. Turn session evidence into the next study assignment so advanced work stays connected to real mistakes.

Week-by-week structure

A clear curriculum for advanced mixed-game learners.

Each week has a learning outcome, study agenda, drill, and checkpoint so the work produces evidence at the table.

  1. Week 1

    Mixed-game diagnostic and leak inventory

    Learning outcome

    Build a written baseline that separates rule gaps, speed problems, and strategic leaks.

    Study agenda
    • Tag the last 40 reviewed hands by variant, street, pot type, and decision category.
    • Separate mistakes caused by bad recall from mistakes caused by bad risk pricing.
    • Create one score for each family: split-pot, stud, draw, high-only limit, and rotation play.
    Practice drill

    Replay one orbit of HORSE or 8-game and pause before each game switch to name the next variant's primary mistake to avoid.

    Checkpoint

    The player can name the two variants costing the most bets and the exact decision pattern causing it.

  2. Week 2

    Fixed-limit pot geometry and thin value

    Learning outcome

    Use big-bet street prices to find more value bets and fewer automatic calls.

    Study agenda
    • Review river spots where worse hands can call one bet often enough to justify value.
    • Mark turns where the plan for the larger street was missing on the flop.
    • Compare close calls by pot size, opponent range, and future bet risk.
    Practice drill

    Sort 25 limit hands into value bet, bluff-catch, raise for value, raise for protection, or disciplined fold.

    Checkpoint

    The player explains the price of one bet in relation to the pot, not just the absolute strength of the hand.

  3. Week 3

    Split-pot pressure and quarter-pot avoidance

    Learning outcome

    Identify scoop routes, freerolls, shared-low traps, and counterfeiting risk before investing extra bets.

    Study agenda
    • Compare naked nut-low hands with hands that have backup low, high equity, or board pressure.
    • Review Omaha Hi-Lo turns where a counterfeit card changes the hand from scoop candidate to half-pot defense.
    • Study Stud Eight fifth streets where a low board gains or loses credible high pressure.
    Practice drill

    For 20 split-pot hands, write best high route, best low route, likely share, and quartering risk before seeing showdown.

    Checkpoint

    The player can justify aggression by scoop equity instead of saying only that the hand has nut low.

  4. Week 4

    Stud live-card accounting

    Learning outcome

    Adjust starts, fifth-street calls, and river bluff-catches from exposed cards instead of board appearance alone.

    Study agenda
    • Track dead aces, low ranks, paired cards, suit blockers, and duplicated board cards in every stud round.
    • Discount improvement outs before calling the first big-bet street.
    • Compare your visible story with the opponent's board before betting into resistance.
    Practice drill

    Deal 15 Razz, Stud, and Stud Eight fifth streets; count live improvement cards for both players before choosing an action.

    Checkpoint

    At least one decision changes because a key rank is dead or unusually live.

  5. Week 5

    Draw-game range compression

    Learning outcome

    Read draw counts, pat timing, breaks, and rough made hands in 2-7 Triple Draw, A-5 Triple Draw, and Badugi.

    Study agenda
    • Track opponents as two-one-pat, one-one-one, rough pat, pat-break, or snow candidate.
    • Separate smooth one-card draws from dominated rough made hands before the final betting round.
    • In Badugi, remove paired ranks, duplicate suits, and rough completions from the clean-out count.
    Practice drill

    Before the last draw, write the hand class each opponent represents and the clean cards that improve your hand.

    Checkpoint

    The player can explain when a rough pat should bet, check, call, break, or fold.

  6. Week 6

    Cross-variant concept transfer

    Learning outcome

    Recognize when the same idea changes meaning across formats instead of forcing one default strategy.

    Study agenda
    • Compare blocker value in stud boards, draw discards, and Omaha Hi-Lo card removal.
    • Map aggression types: value pressure, fold equity, isolation, protection, and freeroll pressure.
    • Review where a high-only instinct becomes a leak in split-pot or lowball rounds.
    Practice drill

    Take one concept, such as blocker removal or thin value, and write how it changes in four variants.

    Checkpoint

    The player gives variant-specific reasons for the same action across at least three games.

  7. Week 7

    Rotation exploits and table profiling

    Learning outcome

    Build notes that change by variant and attack mistakes immediately after the game switches.

    Study agenda
    • Write one opponent note per game family instead of one generic player label.
    • Look for players who carry no-limit habits into fixed-limit pots or high-only habits into split-pot games.
    • Plan the first two hands after each switch around the mistake most likely to appear.
    Practice drill

    During a practice rotation, choose one opponent tendency to test within two hands of every game change.

    Checkpoint

    The player's notes identify a game-specific exploit that can be used in the next orbit.

  8. Week 8

    Advanced review capstone

    Learning outcome

    Prove improvement with hand evidence, not completion of reading material.

    Study agenda
    • Select eight hands, one from each major game or game family, and write a full decision audit.
    • Mark the street where the largest expected-value change happened.
    • Create the next four-week study loop from the two weakest recurring tags.
    Practice drill

    Present three close hands to a coach, peer group, or review journal and defend the decision with variant-specific evidence.

    Checkpoint

    The final review produces a clear next curriculum assignment based on observed leaks.

Practice labs

Repeat the work that makes advanced play measurable.

These labs keep the page useful after the first read by turning curriculum concepts into session habits.

Every session

One-orbit rotation audit

After each game switch, write the first adjustment required by the new format and the opponent most likely to miss it.

Twice weekly

Big-bet street review

Filter hands to fourth, fifth, turn, river, or final-draw decisions where the bet size changed the price of continuing.

Weekly

Two-way equity check

Review split-pot hands where aggression depended on winning more than half, then identify the card or board feature that supported it.

Decision checks

Test whether the curriculum is transferring.

These short checks focus on advanced mixed-game thinking: translating reads, pricing actual pot share, and using draw-count information.

Rotation adjustment

A player overcalls too light in Limit Hold'em, then immediately enters Omaha Hi-Lo. What is the best advanced note?

Pick an answer to reveal the curriculum note.

Draw count

In 2-7 Triple Draw, a tight opponent draws one, draws one, then pats and raises into your rough eight. What should frame the decision?

Pick an answer to reveal the curriculum note.

Split-pot pressure

In Omaha Hi-Lo, your A-2 makes nut low but the high side is weak and another player is likely sharing low. What is the leak to avoid?

Pick an answer to reveal the curriculum note.

Assessment rubric

What advanced progress should look like.

Use these signals at the end of the eight weeks or after any review cycle.

Signal What the evidence should show
Variant precision The player explains why the correct action changes when the game changes, even if the visible hand strength looks similar.
Street planning Reviews include the next-street plan before the current call, raise, pat, break, or value bet.
Opponent evidence Notes are tied to a specific variant behavior rather than a broad personality read.
Feedback loop The next study block is selected from tagged hands and repeated leaks, not from a generic topic list.