Mixed games have been all the talk in Prague with the EPT Mixed Games Main Event taking place and PokerStars making serious moves to bring more variety to its live tournament schedule. One of the players who seem to really love this new trend is none other than Parker Talbot, better known to the wider poker community by his online moniker “Tonkaaaap”.
During his recent interview with pokerfuse, when asked if there is an up-and-comer to watch, Talbot snap responded with confidence, “Yeah me, I’m the mixed game up-and-comer, I’m coming for these guys,” he continued.
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Parker caught the mixed games bug a little while ago now, and although Texas Hold’em tournaments remain his bread and butter, he’s been venturing more into non-Hold’em variations, with a bulk of his experience coming from the virtual felt.
“Tonkaaaa” explained that his the mixed game that caught his attention was 2-7 Single Draw, a game that he started playing almost two decades ago now. But at this point in time, Razz is his favorite game as this is the variation that he had the most success with, including his first-ever cash in a live mixed game event at the WSOP.
“I think it was probably the easiest game to get a reasonable handle on at the beginning. I feel like most of the games, I’m still like in there doing guesswork and stuff. But I feel like I have a reasonable grasp on, how I should play Razz.”
His transition into other variations wasn’t specifically planned. Over time, he started venturing into mixes like HORSE and 8-Game. Over the last few years, though, he’s finally started to take it more seriously, and his results are showing it.
Talbot’s confidence likely comes from his success in the most recent World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) where four of his impressive five wins came in mixed game events.
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Adding Some Variety to the Mix
Although his results are very respectable, Talbot primarily made his claim to poker fame as a streamer. He is usually quite active around big series, such as the SCOOP, WCOOP, and the upcoming New Year Series. So, we wanted to know if he noticed an appetite for mixed game tournament streams with his audience.
“I probably wouldn’t say so myself. It’s harder to see, I guess, because the stakes that they would play are probably going to be under $109. And, for the most part. I’m playing a little bit higher than that.”
“I’ll play some lows in $109s and $55s during a series, but I’m not playing like $11s and $22s, which is probably where you would play with a lot of them,” Talbot explained. “So, I’m not really too sure. I haven really felt it in the people that follow are hunting down mixed games. But overall, it seems like they are definitely making waves.”
Although he enjoys the variety of mixed games, Parker doesn’t believe that they’ll ever reach the popularity of No Limit Hold’em. Despite everything, there are certain aspects of Hold’em that other variants can’t replicate, and that’s why the game has been so successful.
As “Tonkaaaa” puts it: “Hold’em is the most beautiful game, I’d say, because it’s the most complex game while also being the easiest one to sit down and learn in five minutes.”
He explains that, with watching streams of this type, there is a certain “barrier to entry,” as people prefer to watch a game they know and certainly enjoy it more when there is big cash up for grabs. This is often not the case with mixed game tournaments, as they tend to attract smaller crowds
“I would say it’s always going to be more of a niche game,” he continued. “If you want a big viewership and more people to follow, you just play No Limit Hold’em because that’s where the big prizes are. Big money. And that’s what really matters the most to poker spectators at the end of the day.”
As Parker points out, it’s not likely for mixed games to ever achieve the same level of popularity or global prestige as Hold’em. However, there are still plenty of people who enjoy them, and that’s a reason enough to give them some more visibility.
And from Talbot’s words and the enthusiasm with which he talks about mixed games, it seems clear that this isn’t just a fad for him. He has serious plans about becoming better and claiming his spot in a perhaps smallish but highly respected community.