Poker Academy V2 (Win/Mac)
by POKERSOFT, LLC
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List Price: Category: Video Games See more product details |
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Video Game Reviews of Poker Academy V2 (Win/Mac)
Customer Review: Just what you need to learn or improve!
Summary: 5 Stars
Great!!! You learn quick and get better everyday. Not completed like the other four I tried.Customer Review: great fun
Summary: 5 Stars
this proved to be a source of learning the game and great fun alsoCustomer Review: Great Online Play
Summary: 5 Stars
I concur with what everyone else has said. The online play is great. Get your friends to get it too so you can play them online anytime of the day or night. It's easy to just hop into a table and play for a half hour or so. Great learning tool.Customer Review: Great for serious players!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a review of Poker Academy Texas Hold'em 2.0.
I became intrigued with Texas Hold'em poker after watching some World Series of Poker (WSOP) games on TV. I bought a book to learn to play the game better (Phil Hellmuth's Play Poker like the Pros, which I have also reviewed on amazon.com), and after that I found that my current casino software did not play well enough to give me a challenge. (I was using Hoyle Casino 3D.) After reading a few reviews, I decided that Poker Academy 2.0 looked like the best available, so I bought it. I have been very satisfied with my purchase!
But this is not the right software for everyone. You need to ask yourself a few questions.
Are you easily intimidated by software that does not have instructions to walk you slowly through its features? Do you want a game with cute features, like cartoon characters who make whimsical chit-chat? Do you want software that plays as badly as your Aunt Enda and Cousin Chuck? Do statistical data (like the "pot odds") make your eyes glaze over?
If you answered, Yes, to any of these questions, then Poker Academy is probably not for you.
Are you the kind of person who likes to explore software without too much guidance? Do you want an attractive but uncluttered interface that just tells you what you need to know? Do you want genuinely challenging computer opponents who will beat you consistently until you improve your game? Are you willing to make the effort to learn from the tools the software gives you?
If you answered, Yes, to most or all of these questions, then you will love Poker Academy.
The main playing interface has a simple ten-chair table on the left, where cards are dealt as you would expect in Texas Hold'em. On the right are stacked windows that you can collapse and toggle for different content. Among the data you have access to are your session stats (such as your win rate for hands played), tournament stats (your rank, total number of players left, average stack, etc.), a "hand evaluator" (what percentage of hands can you beat with your current hand, what are the "pot odds"), and a "transcript" of how play has progressed. (Your hands are all archived so you can review them later.)
The game has several very nice features:
1. a computer advisor, whom you can toggle to be visible all the time, or just when you mouse over him. (As the help file observes, this will mainly be useful if you are a beginner.)
2. the ability to replay a hand. If I lose a hand, I often replay it, to see if and when I made a crucial mistake.
3. an online play option.
4. the ability to automatically update to the latest version of the game. As soon as I installed the software, it asked to access the web, and then updated to version 2.5 (free of charge). (I notice that there is a "professional version," which is different and rather expensive. I haven't tried it.)
I have a couple of minor complaints. I'm surprised there's not a "pause" or "freeze" button to stop during a showdown (for example), so you can think more carefully about what is happening. (But you can adjust the general speed of play.) And I wish I could re-arrange the side windows. (Shouldn't you be able to click and drag them around?) But these are pretty minor issues.
Overall, this is great software for serious players!
Customer Review: poker academy 2
Summary: 5 Stars
Great Sim., My play has allready improved in only one month, I am "In the Money" more often than not, and even in my neighborhood "Home Game" I have improved. The Sim has payed for itself with the winnings from my play. Probably going to download the pro version soon.