Mason Pye teams up with crusher ‘Senkel92’ for BBZ Poker Mixed Games Bundle

The clue is in the name.

It’s BBZ Poker, not BBZ no limit hold’em.

While the game from Texas remains bread and butter for the vast majority of players, we all know that poker has many variants and disciplines and that if you want to become a well-rounded player who can compete in any format, it’s important you learn them all.

This is particularly true when it comes to a big tournament series, such as the upcoming Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) on PokerStars or the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas. Why limit yourself to only no limit hold’em events when you can play tournaments in every variant and increase your chances of success?

That’s why BBZ Poker is proud to bring you our Mixed Games Beginner’s Bundle, put together by two of Mixed Games’ loudest and proudest champions.

Mason “pyefacepoker” Pye has been streaming mixed games on his Twitch channel for years and has built up a loyal following of fans who prefer games with more than two cards. In that time he’s not only won a SCOOP title (a $109 stud event for $6,729 in 2021) but he’s also enjoyed success live, winning a €550 HORSE event at EPT Barcelona in 2022 for a career-best €17K.

Me and @TobiasLeknes have teamed up with @BBZPoker to present our Mixed Games Beginner’s Bundle.

The bundle covers 7 different variants, including Razz, Omaha Hi/Lo, Badugi and more.

As a new player to Mixed Games, it can be difficult to know where to begin. pic.twitter.com/RGfCe2a2sB

— Mason Pye (@pyefacepoker) April 13, 2023

Pye was a perfect candidate to help others learn and improve at mixed games. But he also brought in one of the most consistent all-round poker players to help him.

If you’re not familiar with Tobias Leknes, better known as “Senkel92” on PokerStars, let us bring you up to speed.

Leknes is one of the most successful COOP players of all time and it’s all down to his mastery of mixed games. He’s got an astonishing nine WCOOP titles (tied for the most all-time), plus four SCOOP titles, with wins in a wide range of variants. Plus, he’s a three-time Norwegian Champion of Poker with $333K in live cashes.

And let us tell you, the bundle these two have put together is simply incredible.

This is some of the coolest news I’ve shared in a long, long time! I have teamed up with my good friend @pyefacepoker to give a chance to people to learn and fall in love with mixedgames in the same way as we have! I must say this is an awesome deal for any mixed player! https://t.co/srk0LL8WHq

— Tobias Jelsa Leknes (@TobiasLeknes) April 13, 2023

There are 19 hours of footage covering all of the mixed games, including razz, omaha hi/lo, and badugi. The bundle covers concepts such as hand selection, positional play, and game theory, and is intended for beginners or for players that have some experience in one or more of the games but want to improve their overall mixed games skills.

To learn more about the bundle and how it was put together, we sat down for a chat with pyefacepoker himself, Mason Pye.

BBZ Blog: Hey Mason. How did the BBZ Bundle come about and what was the process of putting it together?

Mason Pye: The BBZ Bundle came about towards the end of last year and was something BBZ Poker wanted so that they could cover all bases with material for no limit hold’em, pot limit omaha and now mixed games.

As I’m the ‘mixed games streamer’, they reached out to me and presented the idea of the bundle which I obviously was very excited to hear about. However, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to do it on my own, so I pitched the idea of getting Tobias [Leknes, a.k.a. “Senkel92”] to join me and everyone was onboard.

The process of putting the bundle together was relatively straightforward. We wanted to cover as many of the main games as possible and with two of us working on the bundle, we each assigned ourselves individual games to cover. I covered the draw games whereas Tobias focused on the stud and flop games. We then worked and recorded together a review of one of my SCOOP 8-game final tables as well as some other hand examples of the draw variants.

What challenges did that pose and is there much crossover between the games?

There were a few challenges along the way. By covering seven different games, it was quite difficult to keep the duration of the bundle down while covering the rules, the basic strategy and hand examples of each game. As you can see, we didn’t do a good job as the bundle is over 19 hours long, which is not a bad thing as those who purchase the bundle will be getting more bang for their buck.

In terms of crossover between the games, there were definitely some natural overlaps, especially between all of the stud variants and between all of the draw variants. For each of the stud variants, Tobias spoke about concepts, 3rd street and bring-in defence whereas I spoke about pre-draw and the first, second and third draw for each of the draw variants.

Tobias has obviously been a mixed games crusher for years. Could you tell me about your relationship with him?

I was familiar with Tobias many years ago as someone who I’d seen regularly at the Mixed Games tables when I watched Jason Somerville’s streams. I played with him online on a few occasions during the COOPs, but our paths first properly crossed when he popped into my stream a couple of years back. I instantly recognised his name, ‘Senkel92’, but you can never be sure if it’s someone creating an account in their name. Rest assured it was him. We first properly met at EPT Barcelona 2022 and have been on a few poker trips together since then.

Tobias helps me with certain hands when I do ask for his input. He is a very knowledgeable player and someone who I’ve learnt from. Even in this bundle, he has opened my eyes to some new and interesting concepts that I wasn’t familiar with before.

The SCOOP 8-game final table review was the first time we’ve both sat down and let him analyse and critique how I played. It was certainly a learning curve and great material for mixed games players, regardless of their ability.

Can’t comprehend what I’ve just done. Battled for three days in a two-card game with some of the world’s best and cashing for $40300.

The @PokerStars #PSPC is such a special tournament with incredible storylines, and I know @flush11sback and @PredPoker’s are still to be written. pic.twitter.com/aGoqLkiM9X

— Mason Pye (@pyefacepoker) February 2, 2023

There really isn’t much training content for mixed games out there. How excited are you to share this stuff?

You’re right, there isn’t much out there in terms of mixed games training content, especially aimed at beginners who want to try and learn from the bottom up. For under $100, those who purchase the bundle will receive over 19 hours of content covering seven different games which work out to around $5 an hour or around $14 a game.

I often get asked while streaming where I’d recommend someone look who wants to learn a specific poker variant or mixed games in general. Now, this bundle is the perfect resource for all of those players.

It really excites me as someone who is a huge advocate for the growth of mixed games to see whether new players will get involved off the back of the release.

As a mixed game specialist, how familiar were you with BBZ training content prior to joining the fold?

I was very familiar with the work of BBZ Poker and their training material. This was mainly through streamers who had their own bundles such as Lex, Fintan and Spraggy. It’s also part of the reason I was very excited when they got in contact with me about the idea of the bundle.

What would you say to no limit hold’em players who might be interested in learning mixed games?

The one thing I always say to no limit hold’em players about potentially learning mixed games is that they will make you a well-rounded poker player. The best poker players in the world play all the games. Being able to play mixed games is a valuable skill and can actually help the way you think about certain hands and situations to improve your no limit hold’em game as well.

Not to forget, in terms of winning trophies, COOPs and bracelets, mixed games have smaller fields meaning there’s a better chance at glory!