Poker
is the new Rock and Roll, or so they say, and in the
Land of the RIAA, that certinly holds true. Millions
of dollars of prize money flows in the Professional
Poker Circuit, with the top players regularly playing
for stakes that are ten or twenty times my salary
(which wouldn't be difficult at the moment, but that's
another matter). The game they play is Texas HoldEm,
and Concrete Software's J2ME version is available
for the Series 60 platform.
Poker's
Just a Brand, What's Texas HoldEm?
Everyone is probably familiar with the '5 Card Stud'
version of Poker, where you get dealt five cards,
can exchange cards as you bet, and finally the winning
hand is revealed among the players still involved.
Texas HoldEm is slightly different. You still score
it with pairs, three of a kinds, full houses, flushes
and straights, but the difference is in the deal
and the number of cards used. Every player is dealt
two 'hole' cards, which only the player can see.
At that point everyone starts betting or folding
on the strength of just those two cards. After this
first round of betting, three cards are dealt into
the centre of the table. This is the 'flop' and the
three cards are communal cards – so every player
can now (mentally) use these cards and the
two in their hand to make the five cards you use
to make up a poker hand.
So if you have an Ace and a King in your hand, and the
flop has a two, a five, and a King, then your best
hand is a pair of Kings. Of course, your opponent
might have two Kings in his hand already, and he can
use the communal cards to get Three of a Kind (Three
Kings), which would beat your hand.
After the flop, there's a round of betting,
and a fourth card (the 'turn') is dealt. Now each
player uses only five of the six available cards (two
in your hand, four on the table) to make the best
hand, and there's some more betting. A final fifth
card (the 'river') is dealt face up, there's a last
round of betting, and if more than one player is still
betting at the end of that, then the hands
are compared to find the winner, who takes everything
in the betting pot.
It's fast, exciting, and great on TV, because they
use little micro-cameras so the
TV audience can see what every player's hole cards
are. It's also fast moving and different enough
to make a great computer game. So how have Concrete
Software got on?
Limit or No Limits – It's All About How Much To Bet
The Concrete Software web site has two different
versions of the game, the Limit and No-Limit
versions. In a Limit game of HoldEm, you can only
bet in certain multiples of money, and this is always
strictly controlled. This makes it easier on the
controls (a simple Bet button is all that is needed)
whereas in a No-Limit game – and you
can guess what's coming up here – you can bet however
much you like at each turn, as long as it equals or is
more than the last bet.
From what I can see, the only difference in the
two games are the limits, so you're going to have
to choose which to buy from the site. I really think
this would be best as an option in one HoldEm download,
and you could switch between them... and that loses
Texas HoldEm a few review points.
A game of Limit HoldEm lasts a lot longer when playing
against your computer opponents, while the No Limit
version is much more suitable for those of you
who like to take more risks in your gameplay. It's
also a lot faster. You'll have to judge for yourself
which to get. If you've never played Poker before, I'd
recommend the Limit version.
Lots
of Computers To Play Against
When you first start (either version of) HoldEm,
you'll be faced with five opponents, with classic
names like Maverick, Action Al and Big Slick.
All of these are editable by you, and you can set the A.I. Skill
level on each player to your own tastes. The default
gives a nice spread, but if you want to add or remove
players, then it's very easy. A massive ten player
game, with nine HoldEm Experts in the AI against
yourself? Not a problem.
This is a strong Java MIDP title, but Concrete
Software have not taken the view that one version
of the application can run over everything from
a Siemens SL55 dinky fashion phone, to the business
grunt of a P900, so you'll be downloading a version
specific to your phone.
This means that the Series 60 version (reviewed here)
takes the full screen during the game, and comes back
to a well laid out MIDP Form for the settings –
and there's a lot of settings. Almost everything is customisable
in this game, from the graphics used to the speed
of dealing. The amount you can bet and the 'standard'
bets that are needed to start a game can be chosen.
In fact if it can be changed, it probably will
be (apart from choosing between Limit and No-Limit...).
The gameplay itself is smooth and fluid, and it's easy
to make your move using the pop up menu. Your
opponents are some of the best A.I. I've seen in a
Poker game, and you quickly get to know what various
players will do in a given situation.
They've Done A Good Job
Concrete Software have covered both areas of a game
like this with great skill. The user interface
is uncluttered, but it's not difficult to find
anything. The computer opponents are as strong (or
as weak) as you set them up to be. All in all, there's
not much to fault. Concrete Software, this is a solid
software title and worth a purchase. It's not quite 'AAS
Recommended' material, and two versions could confuse
people, but on the whole, it deserves a solid 73.
