I’m more old-school than most. However, I believe that you broaden your poker skills by learning games that are completely different than what you’re used to. This forces you to learn 'bottom of the pyramid' skills and principles that will serve you, no matter what version of the game you play. The absolute crushers of poker (think Shaun Deeb, Scott Siever) are able to play and win at whatever game you deal them in.
Fixed limit betting
Don’t even start. Don’t tell me that fixed limit betting is for sissies. For a very long time, the big games held in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio were fixed limit. Of course, when the limits are $1k and $2k, a fair amount of money can move around. The legendary games between Andy Beal and 'The Corporation' were solely fixed limit hold’em. By the end, they were playing $50k/$100k limit hold’em, slinging stacks of $25k 'cranberry' chips at each other as tens of millions of dollars changed hands.
Also, you never know where the 'best game in the room' is going to be. Suppose you’re walking through the Bellagio and see that a giant whale is throwing an absolute party in the $40/80 LHE game. Would you be able to sit down and collect some of that free money? Or do you walk past it and select between the OMCs folding jacks in the $2/5 game and the scarf-wearing hoodie-covered Euros 4- and 5-betting each other in the $5/10 game?
Learning fixed limit betting also teaches you important lessons about pot odds. Specifically to make peace with the phrase, 'Good hand, I call.' That is, to make calls when you don’t expect to win, but the numbers demand that you call anyway.
High/low games
Many of the so-called 'mixed' games (stud/8, Omaha/8) are played high/low, and it’s useful to learn a completely different hand scale. Again, it’s a growth edge that forces you to understand relative hand rankings from a theoretical perspective, rather than just a hard-coded sense that comes from playing the same game over and over again.
Importantly, high/low games force you to learn split pot strategy, which is not obvious to most players. Because you never know when you might find yourself in Texas, playing a double-board PLO bomb pot.
And speaking of PLO, one of my favoritest games is Big O, which is PLO, played with five cards, high/low 8-or-better. The very good news is that most people don’t know how to play it well. If you can find a Big O game, there’s a good chance that it’s an excellent game. If you can play it well, that may well be the most profitable game in the room.
Draw games
Nobody plays straight high 5-card draw anymore, but some draw variants are very popular. For instance, if you peek into the high limit rooms at Aria, Bellagio, or Wynn, you may see them playing 2-7 triple draw or whacky Badugi (also a draw game) variants. One of Doyle Brunson’s favorite games was 2-7 no-limit, single draw. If it was good enough for Dolly, it’s good enough for us.
Spread your wings
There’s no one 'game you should play next.' But find something that looks interesting, and play a few hours of it. You might discover a whole new favorite corner of poker that you didn’t know existed.
