Part II

Card Room

Texas Hold ‘Em Poker

Ever since they started airing it on ESPN, Texas Hold ‘Em Poker has become a national craze. Five years ago, who among us could have named a single professional gambler? Today, players like Annie Duke, Phil Helmuth, Chris Ferguson, and many others have become household names. In fact, I am not afraid to admit that I have become quite hooked on the game, even going so far as to spend one night a month helping to fund my friend’s college education fund for his son as I lose hand after hand. It is an easy game to learn, and a quick and fun game to play, which has significantly helped its popularity. A quick check of Handango revealed 67 Poker games, almost as many as Sudoku (88). I have played a number of Poker games on my Pocket PC, and most have their own strengths and weaknesses. One of the best, however, is the next installment of my ongoing look at the games of Real Dice World, MultiPlayer Championship Poker.

[Note: Before reading on, you should read my review of Real Dice World Launcher, which will give you an overview of the environment in which this game exists.]

Installation and Registration: There are two ways to download the game. First, if you have subscribed to the full Real Dice Service, then you can download it over the air using the Real Dice Launcher. Additionally, you can download the desktop installer and install it via ActiveSync. If you are not a Real Dice member yet, there is a limited trial which you can use to test out the game.

Single Player Game: MultiPlayer Championship Poker offers two modes of play: a single player game and a MultiPlayer online game. The single player game is a great way to learn the rules and the action. Any money you win will be useable only for the single player game, and cannot be transferred to other games or to your online profile. This is somewhat unfortunate. I would have liked the single player game to serve as a reserve for the online game, allowing you to dip in and retrieve additional funds if necessary.

The single player game has two basic modes: quick game and career. In quick game, you will have a table of up to ten players. Each player starts with $500. The last player standing will win. Again, however, this is a standalone game. Any money you win will be available only for the current quick game, and cannot be used in any of the career games or online games.

In career mode, you can play games which will increase your account, thus unlocking higher level tournaments. Use the practice game to hone your skills (your earnings and losses in the practice game will not count against you). When you feel ready, join a ring game or one of several tournaments.

A ring game is a standard poker game. You may enter and exit the table at any time, taking any money you have won with you. A tournament consists of a table of ten players or several tables. Each tournament has a minimum buy-in, which you must pay. Each player then begins with a predetermined quantity of chips (typically $1000). You play until you have lost all of your chips and, therefore, are eliminated from the game. The last person remaining wins the entire pot. In some larger tournaments, the second and third place finishers may also win a smaller sum of money. Most of the tournaments involve multiple tables. I found it odd, therefore, that there was no way to view the progress of players at other tables. As players are eliminated from your table, others are moved in from various tables to take their place, however, there is no option to view the other tables or even learn how many players are remaining in the tournament. This information would be extremely helpful, at times, in planning a strategy for each hand. I found it odd that until you are eliminated, you cannot even find out the number of players remaining in the game.

I really liked the variations this game offered. Without even getting to the MultiPlayer option, there are already four different poker games from which to select. Each one offers teaches you a different style of play, utilizing different strategies to prepare you for the online game.

I did notice, however, in the single player game, you are not able to select your position at the table or your avatar on the screen (the screen depicts an exceptionally well drawn rendition of the poker table with ten players sitting around it). It would be nice if you could personalize the game by choosing your seat at the table and unique avatar to represent you.

I was extremely impressed by the artificial intelligence of the computerized players in this game. It felt almost like playing with friends, only without the pigs in a blanket and lectures when I come home empty handed (again!).

Internet Game: One of the great features of the Real Dice games is the online community they create. Logon at any time and join an ongoing game or tournament against people from around the world. You can play in a ring game or a tournament. As in the single player game, many tournaments require a minimum buy-in. As such, you may have to play and win some smaller tournaments or increase your account in a ring game before you may join a tournament.

There are two tournament types available in the online game. Multitable tournaments are large, formal tournaments involving potentially hundreds of players. Sit ‘N’ Go tournaments are generally smaller, less formal tournaments. Usually, these involve a single table or less and have much smaller payouts than a multi table tournament.

Like the single player game, I would have preferred the opportunity to choose my character in the game. Although you can choose whether to be represented by a male or female, you have no choice of the characters within those groups.

Betting: I am just going to come out and say that I found the betting in this game to be much more confusing than it should have been. There are two situations I feel should be discussed here: laying an initial bet and raising. These are the areas which seem to be the most problematic (checking and calling are obviously straightforward).

When you place an initial bet, your total starts at the minimum bet. Thus, if you press $10, and the minimum bet is $10, then your bet is actually $20. In essence you are indicating the amount you wish to best over the minimum (the minimum bet is always equal to the big blind). I found this to be extremely confusing if you are not paying close attention. It would be better if you could simply indicate the amount of your bet. If your bet was below the minimum, then it would be automatically raised to the minimum. If your bet is equal to or higher than the minimum, then your bet would simply be the amount you entered.

Raising is even more confusing. When you choose to raise, the window will show you the total of the call amount plus the minimum raise (again, equal to the big blind). Any amounts you select are in addition to your call and minimum raise. Thus, if the bet is $10, and the minimum raise is $10, then selecting $10 when you raise will actually give you a $30 bet ($10 to call, $10 minimum raise, $10 additional raise). Like your initial bet, you should be able to enter the exact amount of your raise, rather than the amount over the minimum you intend to raise. There were plenty of instances where I frankly lost track of the minimum and was surprised to find that I raised significantly higher than I intended.

Saving: As my frequent readers know, saving is one of the most important features in any game. I was disappointed by the save feature in this game. Let me start off by clarifying that there is, obviously, no way to save an online MultiPlayer game. So this section applies only to the single player game.

Saving occurs when you exit the game. By saving a tournament or game, you can reenter the game at any time, picking up exactly where you left off. Unfortunately, this simply did not work for me. Frequently, I would exit a tournament, only to reenter and find that the last hands were not saved. On many occasions, this meant a several thousand dollar difference in my standings. In order to be effective, there should simply be a save button in the menu, which would allow you to save the game at any time. Adding such an option would be a significant improvement in the game for me. This would also enable Real Dice to add multiple save slots so you can play several tournaments or games at the same time.

Strategy Guide: Poker is a game with a language all its own: check, call, bet, raise, these are all part of the vocabulary of poker. I have used this language throughout my review, without explaining any of it. Some of the readers of this review might be familiar with this language. Some may not. For those of you who are new to the game, feel free to check out the extensive strategy guide which includes sections for beginners, intermediate, and even advanced players. There is more than enough here to teach you the basics of the game, as well as many advanced strategies.

Conclusion: As I mentioned at the beginning, there are a lot of poker games available for the Pocket PC, and I have played many of them. Without hesitation, I can say that the gameplay in the Real Dice version was simply the best. Sure, I would have changed the betting rules and enhanced the save feature, and sure there may have been some other cosmetic improvements I would like to see. In the end, however, the graphics and gameplay are what makes a game enjoyable (for a discussion of the Real Dice graphics, see my overview of the Real Dice Launcher). This one was phenomenal. From the 3D view of the table to the easy to read cards, the high quality VGA graphics were simply stunning. Likewise, the artificial intelligence of the computerized opponents made the game engaging and challenging, without becoming frustratingly difficult. Overall, it presented an extremely realistic environment in which to play.

Vital Statistics:

Name: Real Dice MultiPlayer Championship Poker

Platform: WM 2003 SE

Also Available: WM5, Palm OS, Blackberry, Symbian, PC

Developer: Real Dice

Price: $19.95, or free with a subscription to Real Dice World

Available From: Real Dice

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Technorati Tags: real dice – games -poker – texas hold ‘em – just another mobile monday

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