Review by D. R. Jeanclerc for Tournament Poker – No Limit Texas Hold’em
Rating:
Given the recent resurgance of poker’s (specifically Texas Hold ‘Em) popularity, many people are looking to try their own skill online, at home games and in casinos. Many of these people will soon discover that it’s easy to play poker poker from the couch when TV shows you everyone’s hole cards and calculates success odds for you. Playing in the real deal will require practice and that’s where this game becomes a valuable asset.

I had no troubles installing the game on two different XP PCs (one XP Home and one XP Professional edition) – very quick and clean.

When you dive into play, you’ll see that you’re given a lot of control over the structure of the game, i.e. blind structure, re-buys, add-ins, etc. If any of these terms are foreign to you, the help section is adequate to define key terms and teach you the basic rules and flow of a no-limit hold ‘em game. There is a lot of flexibility here, but only within the structure of no-limit hold ‘em (more on that later).

Once play begins, you’re pleasantly surprised with an attractive interface devoid of any unnecessary nonsense on the screen. There are no chatty cartoon opponents or phony animated casino backgrounds – just an overhead view of a ten-person poker table. During play, the game provides just the right amount of visuals: each player’s position displays his/her chip count and an icon indicating his/her most recent action, i.e. fold, check, raise, re-raise, etc. It will help a novice player keep track of what’s going on while no distracting more advanced players.

The opponents’ AI is one of this game’s real strengths. There are three different skill levels you can choose and each are pretty distinct. Unfortunately, there is no “mix” option where you get a table with some sharks and some know-nothings. Players bluff, bully and check-raise when appropriate. You can also turn on any combination of cheats during the game in order to see hole cards and “rabbit hunt” the remainder of the board – this is very helpful for players trying to apply the strategies that they’ve learned and see exactly how they play out in a real hand. Toggling cheats on and off is a bit clunky; I wish there were keyboard shortcuts to do so.

My only true complaint about the game is that it hypes its own tips on strategy. I’ve examined the help file over and over again and can find nothing of the sort. Aside from the game calculating pot odds for you (but ironically not defining what they mean or telling you how to use them), there is no strategic assistance here at all. So, if you’re looking to kill some time at the airport and solitaire just doesn’t do it for you anymore, then this isn’t an issue. But, if you’re looking to take down the competition at your neighbor’s house next Friday night, you’d better throw a couple of books on your order as well (as an aside, I recommend the new Phil Gordon book for absolute beginners through intermediate players and Sklansky/Malmuth’s “The Theory of Poker” and Brunson’s “Super System” for a concise poker library)

A secondary gripe is that the game’s focus is just what the title says – no limit texas hold ‘em. Given the wealth of options when setting up a tournament, I was surprised and a little disappointed to find no ability to create any sort of limit game (after all, if you’re taking your poker act to a casino, this is what you’ll be playing unless you’re hoping to lose everything that you own in one night). Plus, there are no other variations such as omaha or razz that people who have a regular poker night like to throw into the mix.

The game includes a real-time tournament manager that displays a timer and what the current and next blind structure is, but this is a bit of a gimmick. Is it really worth it to hold your poker game in your den or else have a laptop on the table when an egg timer or wristwatch can do the same thing for you?

PROS

* Generally good opponent AI that plays at distinct skill levels

* Straightforward interface with none of the cheesy junk that is typical of PC casino games

* Gameplay is fast-paced addictive fun

CONS

* Very overstated expectations on strategic tips

* Lack of any additional poker variations such as Omaha, razz, etc.

In conclusion, if you’re looking to practice your poker game in preparation for more serious competition, this game is a very good tool to use when applying concepts learned elsewhere. It’s also just plain a lot of fun, so it’s highly recommended in my book.

Review by Pete Rudick for Tournament Poker – No Limit Texas Hold’em
Rating:
you need to play a solid poker game to beat the computer players in this poker game. It is good practice for small casino tourney’s but most likely will not help you much in a home game, due to the fact that most of your friends are probably not well versed in poker theory and will play almost any cards in front of them.
I read another review that said you could go to a play money online site to practice. DO NOT DO THAT! Nobody takes play money sites seriously and someone bluffs on 99% of the hands. Usually in an online fake money tourney, aproximately half of the table will go all in on the first hand. THere is no skill involved in that sort of poker, only luck.
It will take skill and knowledge of poker theory to beat this computer simulation. The computer will bluff(rationally) and try to steal blinds. The computer players will look for patterns in your betting as well. For example, if you try to steal too many blinds, the computer players will soon catch on and begin calling you more often or reraising. Occasionally the computer players will make a bet, call, or fold that doesnt seem to make much sense, but this does not seem to happen very often.
Considering the relatively low cost of the game, I consider it worth the money.

Review by Cindy K. for Tournament Poker – No Limit Texas Hold’em
Rating:
I originally bought this program for my husband since he watches it on TV all the time, but now he has to fight me to play it. I can spend hours playing the game and often find myself yelling at the other “players” for their cunning moves. I think the AI is pretty good and it has taught me a lot about tournament poker. No limit sure is different than the normal poker games we play at poker night. In fact, we used the clock feature to host a tournament and it was a lot of fun. Everybody had a great time. Back to practice… I love the cheat options like looking at the opponents hands. Overall, this is a great game and worth the price, especially given the hours of play you can get out of it. I call it the new solitaire because it is alot more fun, especially going all in!