Page 6 - June 2005 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Practice and Play Online with Poker Live! WReview by Bill Burton, author of Get the Edge at Low-Limit Texas Hold’em
ant to learn when to hold’em or when to fold’em? With International Poker Tour Poker Live! you can do just that. Phantom EFX is known for their popular and unique software games. ey have nine titles including slots, video poker and all of the Shu eMaster table games. ey are also known
for their exceptional graphics, fun play and low price (around $20.00). eir newest game is International Poker Tour Poker Live! that o ers unique features not found in other poker programs.
Poker Live! Lets users practice either while playing on their computers or logging online to Phantom EFX’s free poker site to play against other live players. In the past if you wanted to practice with a software program and then go online to play live against real players, you were required to sign up at an online poker site. Phantom EFX has created its own online poker room that o ers free play only and has incorporated the site into their Poker Live! software so you can access it with the click of a button from the training program.
Offline Single Play Mode
e single play mode is the tutorial portion of the program. You play against players programmed into the software. ere are seven poker games to choose from: Limit and No-Limit Texas Hold’em, Seven or Five Card Stud, Omaha, Five Card Draw, Chicago, or you can even play a World Series of Poker-style Texas Hold’em tournament.
e tutorial portion consists of showing the percentages for winning the hand. is is called the
“cheat” mode, and you can set it to four di erent levels. e low level shows percentages based on your hand and the board cards. e medium level has the same features as the low level and also allows you to put your mouse over opponent’s hole cards to see what they have. e highest “cheat” level gives you the
percentages but also deals the cards face up.
Online Multi-Player Mode
One of the great features of Poker Live! is you can log on to Phantom EFX’s poker site and play against other players from all over the world. ere are tables for all the poker games that are in the software as well as special online No-Limit Texas Hold’em tournaments. Unlike most online poker sites that have age restrictions, the site is completely free and is open to players of all ages.
e tables online will accommodate eight players. I was pleasantly surprised at the number of players who were online. I was able to join a full game each time I logged on to the site.
The Bottom Line
Poker Live! will teach you the basics of the game if you are a novice and you can get some valuable experience playing online. e graphics are extraordinary, and I found the program played very smoothly. ere is a built-in MP3 player so you can either play the pre- recorded tracks or link to your own PC music les. It is a fun and enjoyable game at a reasonable price. e game is rated“E” for everyone and is available in most stores that o er computer games or on the Phantom EFX website (www.phantomefx.com).
Page 6 June 2005
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