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Games not realistic!!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: April 16, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I played the tournament Texas Hold Em poker and there is no way you can get pass the second round. You can have 3 of kind, and the other player would have 4 of a kind. You can have a flush, 2 other players would have a straight flush. This is what it is like almost every hand. Anyone who plays poker knows you don't see that many good hands out there.
Blackjack is way to unrealistic. If you have a 20 and the dealer has a 5 face up, he seems to always to get a 6, then a 10 to get 21. I played 10 straight hands, the dealer had 4 blackjacks and 6 20's. That is almost impossible for a dealer to get that lucky. And if you see the dealer has a king faced up, just surrender unless you have 21 because the dealer ALWAYS has another king down.
If you want to learn how to play the game, you should get this, but if you already know how to play, don't buy this, it is a waste of money!

I would give this game 3 1/2 stars

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: March 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game for under $10 bucks which also included shipping. For that price, You can't lose! I was reading the reviews for Hoyle Casino 2004 which had all the worse reviews I've seen yet. The reason I bought Hoyle casino 2003 instead of the 2004 version is the fact that there really isnt much a difference. Plus with the 2003. I can play without having the cd in my drive. Which is a BIG PLUS! I was hoping to see if the Texas hold'em tournaments were gonna be like the world poker tour. SADLY ENOUGH IT'S NOT. They dont have a NO LIMIT game. It would of been exciting to go all in and see if anyone or a computer match it. But still can't knock sierra just yet. Because it is still fun. I want to try out the new drink system but only if they improve two minor issues. One: They have a no limit texas hold'em tournament and Two: CD optional if people want it in the drive. If you are in the market for a casino game. Get this version because you would save money. But still waiting to see what newer version will bring. So if Hoyle casino 2005 comes out. I'm reading reviews before I buy. Don't want to make the mistake by buying the 2004 version.

Hoyle's Casino 2003 - Best Ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I recently purchased this from Amazon and received a manual along with it that I find very helpful as I'm new to Poker and Blackjack. The characters are so realistic and it's fun to listen to their conversations.
The first time I clicked on the AutoPlay screen to start playing I could hear sound but my screen went black. I have Windows XP Home Edition with DirectX 9.0. I was sure this was the latest version of DirectX, but when I went to Microsoft's Help & Support Center, on the list was the question did the screen go black. I then went to Microsoft.com and found there was an update called DirectX 9.0B. It took a little over 30 minutes to download this version. When I clicked Play on the AutoPlay Screen this time, the place where you hear what seems to be a frog croaking, it worked fine.
When some of the reviewers blame Hoyle for problems it could be Microsoft has an update that will make everything go smoothly. Hoyle creates extremely clever games and I'm very happy I bought this CD. The only games that can even compete with this are the Bicycle Card and Board Games which I also own. None of the other Casino games can even begin to compare to Hoyle's Casino 2003 in my opinion.

Lot's of fun and good practice

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 10, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The table games are great and the play is very realistic. The players voices are a turn-off after a while so I play with the sound off. It is a great way to sharpen your skills before a trip to Vegas or AC. I had never played Pai Gow Poker but I learned from this software and look forward to trying it in a casino. The craps and roulette are fun too. I don't play slots in a casino so I don't use the slots on this either.Overall I think this is a good buy for some fun on the PC.

Fun Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Very nice game. Graphics are well done. Facemaker is fun, and it uses the face I created in Card games without me having to tell it to go find it. The table games are well done, the speed of play is easily adjusted, graphics and audio are clear and crisp. There are so many gmes it is difficult to tire of this game. The slots could be a tad better, in that none of them are copies of real machines. Also the "feel" while playing them is not quite right. They are certainly playable though, as these faults are minor. I gave 4 stars out of 5, because the characters comments get annoyingly redundant very quickly. Of course, you can turn the character speech off if you want.

FAR FROM REALISTIC!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: October 26, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have played Hoyle Poker games for many 100s of hours. Its programming is NOT realistic. Until SIERRA's programming sort out the randomness do not spend any money on it. You are just funding sloppy, poor programming. There are too many good hands in Poker - this just does not happen. When you believe you have a winnable hand more often than expected someone has something better. Also, with so many good hands you cannot bluff readily. This is not credible. Its AI is non-existent. It is not realistic!

Great Game, but some of the finer points of poker are wrong

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is a great game to learn the basics of most of the games, but I have found that some of the rules don't play right in a texas hold'em game. It doesn't count flushes correctly, it breaks a tie with a kicker, when it should split the pot.

A complete and excellent game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: October 14, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Where to start? The casino has just about everything you'd want, including real large debts! They have tournaments available for about every casino card game. They have computer blackjack, poker and multi-game poker where you can play 50 games at once. Even the slots are eclectic. You can also increase or decrease the speed of a game. When playing poker with 7 computer players, being able to increase the speed of the game is very valuable.

I suppose the players talking could be a negative. It gets old after a while, but you can turn those voices off.

All in all, though, I have not seen a better casino game.

Great emulation of a real casino

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: October 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Depending on what you're looking for, Hoyle Casino 2003 can be anything from mildly interesting to engrossing. (This is definitely the software for Mac users, since Hoyle 2004 in incompatible with OS9 and OSX.)

Your screen will show a wide-angle shot of a virtual casino -- but when you click on a particular section, you're led into a world of different games, from poker and roulette to blackjack and all sorts of video variations. If you're a novice at any game, you may refer to the books that come with the software; or, simply pay attention to the onscreen hints.

Casino 2003 excels at card games like blackjack, offering hints on basic strategy, savvy computer opponents, and a user-friendly interface. Poker is equally challenging, but if you go to the slots, it's up to you to find the machines that are "loose" -- just like at Vegas.

Roulette doesn't have quite the visual spark of the original (though it proceeds more quickly) and the horserace game is a disappointment. The pace for all the games is snappy, and there's such variety that you can easily be engrossed for hours in, say, a poker tourney. A tour of the slots can give you a good feel for the real thing (without losing any cash).

This may be a new standard for casino game software.

The Facemaker is a total bust

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: September 27, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game for the use of the facemaker. After all you can play it for nothing on Flipside, but I wanted to be able to use the facemaker. It has to be possible because I see others have used it but it will not work for me. It tells me it has been successfully downloaded but thats about it. It takes me nowhere and I am totally unable to make a face. I consider it a waste of money

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