Game Modes
Career
In Career Mode, your player can participate in a year's worth of tournaments and private games as a professional poker player.
Online
Online mode allows you to use your character and their winnings to play in online tournaments and matches.
Scenario Mode
Take your character into Scenario Mode to play in 9 different set up scenarios. You can unlock items in Scenario Mode that are unavailable elsewhere in the game.
New Character
Before playing, you must create a character. You can use a randomly generated character or create your own from scratch.
Cash Accounts
You start with $1,000 for both online and offline play. Any progress or winnings are saved to that character's account. Your offline career and online accounts are linked, so you can play offline career games to recover cash if you take a beating online.
To create a character, select an "empty slot" from the character list. Then, choose your player's gender, body type, and personality. Press the Select button for a random selection.
After selecting main attributes, press Start to continue editing your character's face, body, and clothing. You can spend as much time as you want adjusting your character, as defining your look and style can be an important part of your game in the world of poker pros.
To complete your character, press Start. Next, enter a name for your character. Pressing Start again will prompt you to save your character. Once saved, you're ready to play poker!
Quick Play
This is the fastest way to start a casual poker game. Winnings or losses in this mode do not affect your character's statistics.
Quick Play Game Options
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Game Type: Select from various poker games. A detailed description of each game's rules is in "The Games" section.
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Limits: Choose the type of stakes you want to play for:
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No Limit: Players may bet as much as they have in front of them.
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Limit: Bets are set for each round.
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Pot Limit: Player may bet as much as the amount of the pot.
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Stakes: Select the blinds or ante size.
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Tournament: Tournament play allows you to play against a large number of players. Blinds are raised after a set amount of time.
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Max Players: Choose the total number of players for your game. For tournaments, you can have up to 600 players. If tournament play is not selected, the game is limited by table size. Casinos have tables with 8 seats, while other locations have tables with 6 seats.
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Location: Choose where you want to play. Casino locations have a dealer and 8 seats per table, while pad locations let players deal their own cards and have 6 seats per table. •
Time: Select how long players have to make a decision before they are forced to fold.
Career
Your professional poker career begins here. Your poker adventure starts in week one (1), where you can play in 1 of 7 events. As your skills and bankroll grow, you can select different events from the world overview. Some events may initially be too expensive, but you will be able to enter them as you progress.
Each week, a new set of venues opens for play, offering many different game types. Tournaments and Invitationals can have as many as 600 players at one time. These are long games, but the cash prizes are worth it.
Private games are played at home with your friends. You don't need to finish these games; just make more than you bring to the table. These are great games if you are low on cash and need a quick boost. Side games are similar to private games, but these players are more serious. Look out for special side games featuring heads-up matches with poker pros, which are great for testing your skills.
Many side games, tournaments, and invitationals offer bonus prizes in addition to cash prizes. Since many matches overlap, it will take several weeks of play to collect all prizes. Pick the games that suit your style of play.
Your Pad
When you start hosting private games, you will play in your downtown apartment. As you earn money, you will eventually move to bigger homes in various locations. There are five other pads you can upgrade to.
The inside of your pad can also be upgraded with new furniture and prizes. Making your pad look good is important because other players will see it when you host an online game in your house.
Pawn Shop
The pawn shop is where you can buy new items for your pad and sell them back when you need cash. You can also take out a loan from the pawn shop with interest.
Skill Points
As you advance in your poker career, you will become a more astute player and earn skill points. Skill points can be spent on increasing your poker playing skills. Some skills directly help with card playing, while others help with bluffing and telling. The choice of how to spend them is yours.
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Keen Eyes: This skill makes it increasingly easier to notice the bluffs and tells of other players. With a third rank in this skill, after 25 hands, it will tell you a player's play style.
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Hand Strength: This skill will display your hand strength.
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First Rank: Displays pre-flop strength.
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Second Rank: Constantly shows your hand strength.
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Third Rank: Shows your hand strength and pot odds.
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Stare Down: This skill allows you to force a player to play the bluff/tell mini-game.