Game Review: Poker Superstars III

Since I am a big fan of Texas Hold'em, I never pass the opportunity to play poker games, whether real tournaments or virtual PC games. I am no professional, but I have been surrounded by regular poker players in my community of gaming enthusiasts, so I always learn some new lessons every time I play. Because poker involves playing real money, it takes a little bit of skill to be able to go home with more chips than you originally came with. That's why I highly recommend practicing at home.

I have come across Poker Superstars III from Favplay.com. First off, I have a general concept of PC games, especially poker, having almost similar interface and gameplay. If you knew the rules of poker, then you can play one game to the next with ease. Poker Superstars III isn't any different. Yet it does have its special features.

GAME MODES

Poker Superstars III lets you choose between Challenges, Season Play , Single Round, and Limit Play. Of course, each mode speaks for itself. Limit Play lets you bet only with certain amount of chips. Before and after the flop, you can only bet, for example, in increments of $1000. Season Play lets you play 5 rounds against the world's poker superstars, with points breakdown on display. Single Round is the quickest mode to play. In this mode, you play against five poker champs. Each of them are introduced with their photos and a short description of their achievements. You can custom upload your own photo to make the game more realistic. Your introduction will be: (Your Name), Future of Poker?

The Challenges mode is probably the most exciting and unique feature of this game. In this mode, you can only proceed to the next challenge if you are able to win on the first one. The sequence goes: nicknames, all suited up, knock out, x-ray vision, blinded, chip and a chair, american airlines, pairing up, button power, acey ducey, half blind, and heads up. Each challenge has a description and instruction of its own, so you won't get lost. In Nicknames Challenge, for example, you are given 12 hands to play (to represent 12 hand nicknames in poker) that you need to win in order to move on to All Suited Up Challenge.

GAME INTERFACE

Players have the option to click on HOW TO PLAY button for instructions, to CHANGE PLAYER (there are four players you can create), OPTIONS for sound, music, etc. and to QUIT. The game interface also displays your POTS WON, the FLOPS SEEN, and your BEST HAND throughout your game.

TECHNICAL FLAWS

The only flaw that I noticed in the game is probably that when you play the Limit Game, you have to click on the Chips button first before anyone gets to deal cards. Otherwise, Pokers Superstars III is an excellent way to practice Texas Hold'em at home. In this game, the more gold chips you collect, the more great plays you get against the poker champs.

To see how Poker Superstars III Gold Chip Challenge holds up against your stack, you can download a free trial version (80 minutes free gameplay) at Favplay.com. Your computer system should at least have a 500 MHz or faster processor and 256 MB of RAM. The file size is only 14.8 MB. The cost of the full version, which does not require another download, is $6.99.