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This game is not worth buying until Activision fixes it with a patch.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 01, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have two PCs, a state of the art computer (2GB of RAM, Athlon FX-60 processor, Vista, decent graphics card), and an older laptop. On my laptop the game is unplayable as others have reported. On the newer computer, the game plays ok but has a couple major flaws: 1) it will not run in the resolution of my monitor (1280x1024), so everything looks a little distorted; 2) in "medium" speed mode, when you make your choice as a player, it sits and waits for 1-5 seconds before reacting, which is super annoying; and 3) there are way too many unnecessary dialog boxes which pop asking you to confirm and reconfirm your choices.

There issues could all be fixed, along with the issues users have reported, if Activision would issue a patch for this game. If they were to do it, the game would be fun (though it has some other minor flaws I could live with, like useless tips that say "Warning, going on tilt is bad for your bankroll." No kidding.).

As the game stands, it's an embarrassment for Activision and any of the poker players associated with it, especially Phil Hellmuth.

Will Activision step up and fix this unfinished game?

Don't waste your money

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Wow what a disapointment! Couldn't even make it through one hand it was so slow. My computer is less than a year old and has about 4x the minimum requirements as reccomended on the box. I have the '07 version for PS2 and that played fine. I read about poor reviews for the '07 pc version so I waited for '08 to come out. I will contact activision to see if there is any updates. The funny thing is they list hours available, a fax number and an email address. I guess they don't want you to contact them by phone. If I make any progress I will update this review.

My friends and I are just looking for a poker game that we can all play online. If anybody has any recomendations let me know.

Unmitigated Disaster

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 16, 2007
Author: Amazon User

My computer has an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.13 GHz, 2 GB RAM, and a NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE video card. It's better than 90% of the computers in use across the U.S. today. The training videos are choppy. The play is incredibly slow. I use a left-handed track ball; this program doesn't recognize my track ball settings. I e-mailed support with these issues. The e-mail delivery failed. I assume their support e-mail box is full. If these problems are fixed it looks like a great game. Were I you, I wouldn't buy it right now. This is a massive bug that makes this game a cup coaster.

I agree with Tim S...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: November 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is very slow going on my computer. My computer is pretty good, and it should be able to play it with no problem, but for some reason it just plain out sucks. It starts fine, and the videos play fine, but as soon as you start a game, it goes down to about 1fps or less, and the mouse...don't even get me started on the mouse. It was so slow it took about two minutes to even exit the game. This game has the potential to be fun, but how can it be without being able to play it. IF you have a $600 graphics card, go ahead and buy this game, it might work decently for you. If you really want this game, and you don't have a $600 graphics card, it would be cheaper for you to go to the store, buy an Xbox 360, and pick up this game for Xbox 360.

Big disappointment

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 19, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I eagerly anticipated this game, however it was a big let down. My computer well-then exceeds the minimum requirements of this game and it runs slower than a slug. I talked to a support guy via email at Activision and they suggested that I lower the refresh rate of my monitor from 75mhz to 60mhz, and make sure that I have the latest drivers installed. All of which helped a little, however, the game is still unplayable.

As for the game itself, the controls are very awkward, not very clear and make no sense at all.

I would stick with the older version of this game.

Great game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: November 20, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I received this poker game as a birthday gift. I am truly impressed with the level of AI that the opponents possess. Each game is a new challenge. I have experienced no slow play or video issues, and I use a 3-year old Pentium with a 510mb video card. The video cut-aways are crisp and clear, the audio tracks are excellent, and the wide variety of game options are excellent. Overall, the best (of many) poker games that I have.

CAUTION: NOT FULLY COMPATIBLE TO MY VISTA OPERATION SYSTEM

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: December 08, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I DON'T THINK THIS IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF MY HAVING RECEIVED ONE DEFECTIVE DVD OUT OF HOWEVER MANY WERE SHIPPED FROM A PRODUCTION BATCH. WHY NOT? BECAUSE FRIENDS WITH VISTA OPERATING SYSTEMS WHO PURCHASED THE SAME PRODUCT HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEMS I HAD.

THAT'S ABOUT AS CLOSE AS I CAN GET TO DESCRIBING THIS OFFERING FROM ACTIVISION. IN THE LONG RUN, YOU CAN RETURN IT FOR A FULL REFUND, AND THAT'S AS IT SHOULD BE, HOWEVER, BUT WHO DO WE SEE ABOUT PAYING US FOR ANY PROBLEMS, OR NEEDED REPAIRS, RESULTING FROM OUR ATTEMPTED USE OF "THEIR PRODUCT", AND FOR YOUR TIME AND MINE; ISN'T OUR TIME VALUABLE TOO?

I'M NOT SAYING THIS PRODUCT WON'T RUN ON A VISTA OPERATING SYSTEM, I'M SAYING IT'S NOT COMPLETELY COMPATIBLE WITH MINE,OR THOSE OF MY FRIENDS,AS IT WILL EITHER LOCK-UP OR SIMPLY DOESN'T FUNCTION PROPERLY. THE SYMPTOMS, IT SEEMS TO ME, POINT TO A POSSIBLE PROBLEM IN ACTIVISION'S SOFEWARE DESIGN OF THIS PRODUCT, AND, IF SO, THIS RAISES OTHER QUESTIONS TOO.

ALSO, I DON'T TRUST PRODUCTS THAT RECOMMEND YOU OPEN YOUR FIREWALL AS PART OF THE PROCESS RECOMMENDED, AND PROBABILY NECESSARY, FOR PROPER INSTALLATION AND FUNCTION, AND THIS PRODUCT DOES JUST THAT AND, AFTER YOU COMPLY, STILL DOESN'T PERFORM PROPERLY.

realistic poker experience

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I read some other reviews that said this game was slow on their computers. They didn't mention what kind of computer. I bought it anyway, because I am learning poker, and thought it would be a good tool.

I am impressed! It works great on my computer. 1800 Duo Processor Pentium, 2GB RAM, 256 ATI video card...running Vista...it has a rating of 3.

You can play at the speed the game is played in real life and get a very realistic experience. If you are a bad player you will lose, and you do better if you play well. If you plan on playing at a casino, this is great practice. It allows you to speed up the game, so you can play it faster than even online poker, if you want. I like the crowd noise, the real players voices, and Chad and Lon making commentary.

I haven't played it enough to say for sure the AI is good, but it seems to be very good.

You get actual random cards, and the players are programmed to play according to their real life style...very impressive.

You are going to have to fold a bunch of hands in Hold em, because that is realistic. If you want an action video game, get half life or something, but if you want to play and learn poker...get this.

Good job Activision...and thanks Phil Helmuth for advertising this product.

It will keep me busy a long time learning the game, and I won't be losing real money.

These are Pros?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 15, 2008
Author: Amazon User

First off - this game works fine on my four-year old 2.2 MHz P4 running XP Pro. I installed it, it's fine. Gameplay's a little slow (I have it set on "Normal"), but that's more realistic than a lot of online games, frankly. The instructions are non-existent.

But the AI? I've seen reviews that say the players' playing style is just like real life. Umm...not so much. These players all play the same way (so far - I've only had the game for a week.) I've never seen Scotty Nguyen and Johnny Chan check all the way through a hand in a real tournament, and they're not the only ones. All of them are predictable as anything. I had David Williams to my right in my first tournament, and I knew each and every time that, if nobody called and he was in the small blind, he was going to go all in to try to steal my big blind - all I needed was a marginally playable hand to call and bust him. Actually, most of the players do that - go all in in the small blind in a steal attempt. And most of them succeed because the AI player to THEIR left folds every time. In my first tournament, I've been one of the chip leaders throughout and am currently at the final table with six players left. I don't think I'm really good enough to do that well against the REAL pros. If I thought I were really this good, I'd have no problem shelling out ten grand to play in next year's Main Event.

Then there are their lines. If I hear Scotty Nguyen say, "You trying to push me out just because I'm short-stacked, baby?" one more time, I think I'll scream. Other players have equally repetitive lines.

BTW, if you can't see your cards, hit the backspace button. Just like the picture shows.

For better hold'em play, I recommend "Stacked" if you can find it (it's pretty inexpensive these days). But this game includes all of the games included in the real WSOP, which was its main selling point as far as I was concerned.

Disappointment Turned to Anger

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 2
Date: December 22, 2007
Author: Amazon User

After waiting anxiously for my weekend to devote to playing my new game, I went to "options" first to get rid of the gawd-awful music. Not only did I not have a choice on the audio, I couldn't even exit. The usual escape of Ctrl-Alt-Delete was useless and I had to turn off my computer. By then I was pretty disgusted but I really wanted to play the game so I started it up again. But after 10 minutes of utter frustratiion in not being able to see my cards, I decided to exit. Guess what? No exit button. No way for me to exit except to turn off my computer again. This morning I went to uninstall the game and accidently right clicked on the icon and the darn game started up. Guess how I had to exit. Right. This game has been the worst disappointment in my video gaming history.

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