Anthony Zinno believes practicing Mixed Games ahead of the World Series of Poker is the key to success(Neil Stoddart/EPT Photo)

This year, 69 events appear on the World Series of Poker schedule. Of those, 31 are non-Hold’em tournaments, or almost half the schedule. You’ll find Anthony Zinno in many of them, and if he finds success, he can point to hard work and practice ahead of the WSOP.

“I can’t wait for the WSOP,” Zinno said of the annual Las Vegas series, which begins June 1. “I’m going to try my best to work on some Mixed Games prior to the WSOP because I really enjoy those tournaments a lot. The No Limit events, with such large field sizes, it’s really, really hard to make that exciting top 18 or so. Each one is a mini-lottery. But, when you play those Mixed events like the $5Ks and $10Ks with smaller field sizes, you recognize a lot of players, so you’re chatting at the tables and it’s fun. It’s also a better opportunity to make a final table.”

Last year, Zinno had a WSOP to remember. He won his first bracelet in the $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha event and earned $1.1 million. He had four other cashes in WSOP events in 2015; all were final tables and two were in non-Hold’em events. Overall, Zinno has racked up over $2 million in WSOP winnings.

“I think my Mixed Games have gotten a lot better since I started about two years ago,” he said. “You have to keep refreshing, though. Poker is like anything else where you have to play a lot. If you just play No Limit tournaments for two months and then hop into a Stud tournament, you’re going to be rusty for sure. My goal before the WSOP is to play hands of every HORSE game at least, and maybe some 2-7, and then play a very heavy schedule. I’m confident and I’m playing very well, but I’m well aware I have to keep practicing.”

For Zinno, refreshing his mind in Mixed Games does not mean playing nosebleed stakes for hours on end.

“Even if it’s small-stakes, it’s good enough practice. You can find some live games here and there. Foxwoods, for example, which is near my family, always has a Stud game going, so I can practice that there. As soon as the WSOP starts, there are good cash games all over the place. Let’s say I skip the Colossus. If I did, I could play Stud for two days straight and then go play a $10K.”

Zinno celebrates his first WSOP bracelet win

In the middle of the cash game area at the Rio, you’ll typically find a $75/$150 Omaha Hi-Lo game that attracts some of the top Omaha players in town. Last year, Zinno spent a day playing that very cash game just before the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship began. Practice made perfect, as he drove to a sixth place finish for $74,000 in an event won by Daniel Alaei.

“I don’t think you need to play thousands of hands or anything,” Zinno said about getting into the swing of things. “You just need to get back in that groove. My tournament game is always very solid as far as stack maneuvering and things like that. Just the basics of remembering the ebb and flow of, say, Stud High and Stud Hi-Lo, can come back to you even with just a couple of days of practice in a live game with good players. I haven’t played them in a few months, though, so I’m rusty.”

Of the 30-plus non-Hold’em events on the 2016 WSOP schedule, Zinno is most looking forward to the $25,000 High Roller Pot Limit Omaha Eight Max that begins two days after America’s Independence Day.

“The $25,000 PLO is my best chance to win one,” he said. “The structure when I won it before was amazing. You had so many big blinds. The average stack was always a lot of big blinds. You didn’t see much all-in pre. It was a lot of deep-stacked PLO. And that’s the game I have worked on a lot over the past eight years. That’s the one I look forward to the most, but I’m also looking forward to the big buy-in HORSE tournaments because I love my HORSE games.”

Zinno has three WPT titles, including wins at the Fallsview Poker Classic and LA Poker Classic during Season 13. He was just the third three-time WPT winner. He had four cashes last season and promptly found himself in Monaco for the PokerStars European Poker Tour Grand Final. As such, he’s a little burnt out and has even more tour stops on his plate.

“I’m long overdue for a break,” Zinno said with a sigh. “I miss having a gym routine and having a routine where you can cook your own meals – a normal life routine. More time with my family on the East Coast would be nice. I’m yearning for that. For now, it’s going to be Amsterdam and taking some time off before the Series.”