Texas Hold 'Em

"This Game is Texas Hold 'Em 101"

If you are new to Texas Hold ‘Em and want a simple method to learn the process of a game, this is a great way to do it for only a few bucks.

Graphics, Sound, Controls: They're all fine. Nothing spectacular, but after all, it's a card game. Some of the graphics can be customized, which is nice if you hate the defaults. The music is a faint loop of, “Green Onions”, by Booker T & The MG's, and most of the sound effects are variations of electric guitar blues riffs used in the song. It doesn't stand out and serves primarily as background, which is nice. Controls are extremely simple and can be done with one hand while playing.

Gameplay Pros:
- The game takes care of all the dealing, chip counting, etc. for you (just like every other computerized card game) so it's very easy to kick back and play some quick hands.

- The game tracks your stats, letting you know how many hands you've won and lost, which hands you've had, how many you've won on the Flop, Turn, and River, how many you've folded, etc. Even if you don't pay attention to how you play, this will let you know if you're being too aggressive, passive, or in the middle based on how much money you have.

- There are a variety of game options that let you simply practice or simulate a tournament. Free Play lets you play hands against nine opponents until you want to quit. There are a few tournament options with various buy in amounts so if you're interested in challenging yourself, you can try to win each one. There are also a few “scenario games”, such as starting in the middle of a tournament with the lowest number of chips and seeing if you can still win.

Gameplay Cons:
- Online play is primarily full of idiot teenagers who will be pushing brooms for the rest of their lives if there's any justice in the universe. Stick to tournament play for more serious games, but anyone that actually wants to play serious poker is probably part of reputable online poker community already, so don't expect a whole lot.

- The computer players make ridiculous decisions sometimes. Some will go All In with a simple Jack, Queen suited during the first round of betting in a tournament, and other computer players will jump in as well with weak pairs. At least once every twenty hands or so, you will find yourself thinking, “No human player would EVER do that.”

In summary, if you want to learn how to play Texas Hold ‘Em by yourself without any commitments to online poker sites, this game will help, but serious poker players need not apply.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 01/06/08

Game Release: Texas Hold 'Em (US, 08/23/06)