Why Mizrachi's 415K Stack Is a Weapon in Razz and a Liability in Stud Hi-Lo

In a no-limit hold'em final table, the chip leader's edge is constant: every hand, same game, same leverage. In H.O.R.S.E., the chip leader's power shifts every eight hands when the game changes. Knowing which rotation favors your stack is the edge nobody talks about.

The $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship (WSOP Event #54) has reached its nine-handed final table, and the stack distribution tells only half the story. Calvin Anderson leads with 2,380,000 in chips. David Bach holds 855,000, Joshua Arieh sits on 805,000, and Robert Mizrachi, a five-time bracelet winner with $6.54M in lifetime earnings across 31 final tables, is near the bottom with 415,000.

That 415,000 doesn't mean the same thing in all five games. Not even close.

That 415,000 doesn't mean the same thing in all five games.

The Fixed-Limit Problem

H.O.R.S.E. rotates through five games in a fixed order: Hold'em, Omaha Hi-Lo, Razz, Stud, Stud Hi-Lo. All five are played as limit (or in the case of Razz and the Stud variants, with structured bring-ins and fixed bet sizes). This means the chip leader can never shove all-in to apply maximum pressure the way a no-limit chip leader can.

At a no-limit final table, a 6:1 chip advantage over a short stack is terrifying. In limit, that same ratio is significant but far less threatening on any single hand. The big stack's leverage comes not from the threat of elimination on one hand, but from attrition over many.

And that attrition rate changes depending on which game is being dealt.

Where Short Stacks Survive: Razz

Razz is the short stack's best friend in the H.O.R.S.E. rotation, and here's why.

First, Razz has the lowest variance of any game in the mix. The best starting hand (A-2-3) dominates more consistently than premium holdings in the other four games. Second, Razz features relatively few multi-way pots. The game tends to go heads-up early in the hand because high door cards face a natural bring-in penalty. Fewer opponents per pot means the short stack's equity holds up better.

Third, and this is the important one: Razz pots stay smaller on average. With fewer raises on early streets (strong Razz hands want to keep opponents in, not blow them out), a short stack bleeds chips more slowly.

For Mizrachi at 415,000, the Razz rotation is where his stack retains the most effective big bets. He can play 15 to 20 hands of Razz and still have meaningful chips. His experience across 31 career final tables matters most in exactly this kind of slow, grinding discipline.

Where Short Stacks Die: Stud Hi-Lo

Stud Hi-Lo is the opposite end of the spectrum. It's where a short stack gets eaten alive.

The pots are bigger because strong hands have both high and low equity, which incentivizes multi-way action. When three or four players see fifth street, the pot balloons. A short stack who enters a multi-way Stud Hi-Lo pot is committing a disproportionate percentage of their remaining chips, often drawing to only half the pot.

The scooping problem amplifies this. In Stud Hi-Lo, you need to win both the high and the low to gain meaningful ground. A short stack who splits a pot after investing four streets of bets has effectively broken even (or worse, after antes and bring-ins). The chip leader, by contrast, can absorb split pots as a cost of doing business while waiting for scoops.

Anderson, sitting on 2,380,000, can play Stud Hi-Lo rounds aggressively, entering multi-way pots and applying exactly the kind of sustained financial pressure that limit poker rewards. Mizrachi, at roughly one-sixth of Anderson's stack, needs to avoid Stud Hi-Lo pots that go multi-way past fifth street.

The Rotation Clock

Here's the practical framework. Think of the H.O.R.S.E. rotation as a clock with five zones. Each zone favors a different stack depth:

• Hold'em: Moderate. Straightforward hand values, fewer streets than Stud variants. Neutral for most stack sizes.
• Omaha Hi-Lo: Dangerous for short stacks. Multi-way pots, split-pot dynamics, and four-card starting hands mean higher variance.
• Razz: The safest rotation for short stacks. Low variance, small pots, heads-up tendencies.
• Stud: Moderate-to-dangerous. The ante structure punishes passive short stacks, but strong door cards can steal antes effectively.
• Stud Hi-Lo: The most dangerous rotation for short stacks. Multi-way, split-pot dynamics with the largest average pots in the mix.

If you're short in H.O.R.S.E., your strategic urgency should spike during Omaha Hi-Lo and Stud Hi-Lo. Those are the rounds where you need to either pick up chips fast or play extremely tight. During Razz, you can afford patience.

The Heuristic

Here's the one-line takeaway you can use the next time you play a mixed-game tournament:

When you're short-stacked in H.O.R.S.E., count the hands until Razz and tighten up in the split-pot games. Your stack erodes fastest in Omaha Hi-Lo and Stud Hi-Lo, where pots go multi-way and you're often drawing to half. Razz buys you time. Play accordingly.

Mizrachi's 415,000 isn't a death sentence. But its real value fluctuates with every rotation change. The players at this final table who understand that will have an edge that doesn't show up in any chip count.