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Master Poker
Feb. 2nd, 2009 10:30 pmI paid sixty dollars for a poker game. I can't believe myself sometimes, which isn't the same as saying that I surprise myself anymore.
Pop spent a long day in the TV room yesterday watching Superbowl stuff, and I had to make do with my "Best of Poker" program. But I've cleared away many of my e-opponents and the AI continues to annoy me, perhaps being too buyer-friendly, as I watch players throw away aces and kings, giving me the hand when I have nothing.
So, I was feeling restless for another poker game. I started looking for something along the lines of my "World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions (2007)", wanting that virtual-reality feel of full avatars and realistic play. I didn't immediatly go for the 2008 version, "Battle for the Bracelets", which I expect is even better, because I gather that the PC version is plagued with bugs, though I'm looking forward to getting the XBox version later.
Browsing Amazon, I came across "Master Poker: Professional No-Limit Texas Hold'em". A funny choice for a guy who doesn't care much for Texas Hold'em, right? Moreover, it is more like the game I have with it's bare table and cards, instead of the kind of immersion game I wanted.
The deal is that this program is apparently a lot more powerful, though it apparently achieves this power in part by specializing in only one particular kind of game. And what it lacks in avatars and animation, it promises in the realism of the card-dealing and playing styles of the AI-players. I should also be able to save my games at any stage, so that I can do my other Net stuff without always having to start over with a new game whenever I feel like playing a few hands. Besides, I've been playing so much Hold'em, the game has grown on me. I still wouldn't call it my favorite game, but I don't really dislike it anymore either.
Then, while I was on that Amazon page, I saw a poker book that I also want to get, though I'm content to wait until the summer, when my library season is over: "Every Hand Revealed" by Gus Hansen. The draw for me is that this isn't one of those how-to books, or at least it isn't strictly so. I'm not looking to learn, and my brain isn't up to processing technical information anyway. The book seems to be as much of a first-person account of playing in a big poker tournament as anything else, and judging by the excerpt, Hansen does seem to maintain a chatty enough attitude to make it enjoyable for me, and if I should be able to pick up a couple of good tips along the way, so much the better. Who knows, maybe I've found my career path! ; )
Pop spent a long day in the TV room yesterday watching Superbowl stuff, and I had to make do with my "Best of Poker" program. But I've cleared away many of my e-opponents and the AI continues to annoy me, perhaps being too buyer-friendly, as I watch players throw away aces and kings, giving me the hand when I have nothing.
So, I was feeling restless for another poker game. I started looking for something along the lines of my "World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions (2007)", wanting that virtual-reality feel of full avatars and realistic play. I didn't immediatly go for the 2008 version, "Battle for the Bracelets", which I expect is even better, because I gather that the PC version is plagued with bugs, though I'm looking forward to getting the XBox version later.
Browsing Amazon, I came across "Master Poker: Professional No-Limit Texas Hold'em". A funny choice for a guy who doesn't care much for Texas Hold'em, right? Moreover, it is more like the game I have with it's bare table and cards, instead of the kind of immersion game I wanted.
The deal is that this program is apparently a lot more powerful, though it apparently achieves this power in part by specializing in only one particular kind of game. And what it lacks in avatars and animation, it promises in the realism of the card-dealing and playing styles of the AI-players. I should also be able to save my games at any stage, so that I can do my other Net stuff without always having to start over with a new game whenever I feel like playing a few hands. Besides, I've been playing so much Hold'em, the game has grown on me. I still wouldn't call it my favorite game, but I don't really dislike it anymore either.
Then, while I was on that Amazon page, I saw a poker book that I also want to get, though I'm content to wait until the summer, when my library season is over: "Every Hand Revealed" by Gus Hansen. The draw for me is that this isn't one of those how-to books, or at least it isn't strictly so. I'm not looking to learn, and my brain isn't up to processing technical information anyway. The book seems to be as much of a first-person account of playing in a big poker tournament as anything else, and judging by the excerpt, Hansen does seem to maintain a chatty enough attitude to make it enjoyable for me, and if I should be able to pick up a couple of good tips along the way, so much the better. Who knows, maybe I've found my career path! ; )
