Chris Vitch didn’t “learn mixed games.”
He played hold’em tables with 7 pros and GONEFISHING1964. If grandpa left, the game would die. Until one day, maybe out of boredom, maybe out of curiosity, he followed the mysterious avatar onto another table. A table where everyone got 5 cards, drew 3 times, and the worst hand won. This greener pasture opened his eyes to the beauty (and profitability) of mixed game poker.
If you’re new around here, every week (or so) we yank a gambler straight out of their seat at the table to tell us how they got there, and what they’re up to now.
This week’s episode is a crash course in the mixed-game universe…from the old-school online limit hold’em streets to WSOP bracelets to PokerGO commentary. With a bunch of degeneracy and honesty in between.
Chris (aka “DeathDonkey”) sits down with Art and Justin to talk about why Hold’em is weird training for mixed games, why he used to think tournament players were inferior… and how to end up winning three WSOP bracelets (in 3 different disciplines!).
But first — wouldn’t it be great to clear a 200% deposit bonus and stack some fellow degens over at Phenom Poker?
We might even run another Rake Race promo soon for people who signed up with our link…https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
🧨 Death Donkey, DeucesCracked, and the Mixed-Game Rabbit Hole
Chris’ story starts in Tucson with board games, StarCraft clans, and a nickname that somehow followed him into adulthood…
Then he hits UCSD for grad school…one quarter later he runs into a 3-month online heater worth $150K playing 30/60 limit. GG Grad School.
From there it’s:
Limit → Triple Draw → Stud 8 → every mixed game under the sun → and a full WSOP arc that ends with hardware.
Somewhere in the middle:
He helps build DeucesCracked, which gets punched in the mouth by Black Friday, and later rebuilds himself into a mixed-game coach with solver-driven tools and a new project called DonkeysOnly.
Also: yes…there are Commerce Casino stories.
And yes…one includes a “call” that involved throwing chips on the floor.
🔥 What We Talk About
The “I don’t want a job” moment (and why poker brains are wired like that)
How Chris actually learned mixed games (and why Hold’em isn’t great training)
DeucesCracked: starting it, scaling it, and what Black Friday did to the ecosystem
Cash game “real poker” vs tournaments… and how that opinion changes with bracelets
Commerce Casino degeneracy
Why mixed games are shifting toward cap big-bet games
The DIY HUD / stats obsession that helped him level up triple draw
Winning bracelets in 2-7 TD, 10K Stud 8, and somehow PLO
🎧 If You’ve Ever…
Felt bored with Hold’em
Wanted to dip into mixed games without getting crushed
Or just love hearing how the real poker nerds build an edge…
This one’s for you.
YouTube: https://youtu.be/EcB-SzKxZBg
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0kR1B5QGUpCVOsL3VAg7J4?si=SP77D9xwQ8iUZzeKtWSAMQ
See you next week!
— Art & Justin
🃏 @artparmann & @justinyoung07
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PS: Want to play high stakes in Las Vegas — but in a game that still feels like home?
Come play with us at Table 1.
PPS: Check out our Cardplayer Featured Stories — the best hands, moments, and madness from the pod.
