1. I have WPT 2K6. Stacked is not out yet.

WPT has a pretty good character generation system. You can customize your ingame player avatar to look like anything. It's extremely versatile and really adds to the appeal of the game.

Can't comment on the abilities of the AI that much since I'm not that good of a poker player, but I play online mostly anyway. I've dabbled a little bit into the single-player stuff with the WPT season. You can win pretty easily with ultra-aggressive game in the amateur tournaments. Bluffing works very often. But that's the lowest level of competition in the game. The WPT season play seems interesting, but online play is much more exciting, of course.

WPT 2K6 has a very serious bug in its online play on XBox (PS2 version does not have the same problems) though that everyone should be aware. It has two kinds of online games...sit-and-go (tournament) and open table (enter and exit as you wish). Open table games are buggy as hell and routinely lose all your progress, meaning that if you've spent an hour winning money on an open table game, there's a good chance you'll lose all your winnings when you exit the table. 2K Sports is supposedly going to issue an auto-update patch to address the problems within the next week or two. In the meanwhile open table games are to be avoided. Sit and go games work perfectly though.

Posted at 7:35PM on Nov 29th 2005 by Pixelantes Anonymous

2. WPT Video Game – Great game in many ways. Tough competition when squaring off with the pros. My choice for top game out right now.

Stacked with Daniel Negreanu – Not out yet, but looks to be the best. It was supposed to come out a while ago, but should be out in January I think.

World Series of Poker - All the reviewers seem to dislike this game, so it's the one I haven't played.

World Championship Poker 2 - My second favorite though it has some "tells" built into it that seem to be more annoying than fun to me.

Poker Academy - You didn't mention it, but Poker Academy is great for serious players, great AI, differing opponents and stats. Just isn't a "fun" game. No avatars, not online, etc. built for getting better at poker.

Posted at 10:44PM on Nov 29th 2005 by John Nelson

3. I wouldn't even consider Poker Academy to be a game. It's more of a simulator. All of the other games mentioned add more than just the poker experience, such as building characters, fancy graphics, spending money, advancing levels, etc.

The only reason I hold out hope for Stacked is beacuse it will be using the same AI used on Poker Academy. All of the others are just too much style over substance for my taste. If Stacked can pull off substance and style, with style being the lesser concern, I'll be happy.

Posted at 11:37AM on Nov 30th 2005 by elf

4. I have them all and each have elements I like, but I cannot recommend any of them over just playing online which we all know is more fulfilling (mostly)...All I'm talking about is the PS2 versions I've experienced. Actually have WSOP for PSP too.

WPT 2K6- Good character and career system, graphics are nice, Vince and Mike commentary welcome additions, but only presentationwise. Gameplay and AI are closer but still not all there. Emotion system is a nice addition although I'm not sure how it affects anything. Gameplay is too slow for the average online player, I wanted it to move faster. One of the biggest problems I have with this game is one that many may not mention, is that ALL the tables are 6 handed, well, how often does that happen in real life? And how often will one find themselves at an actual WPT 6 handed final table? Only in the game my friends. Overall pretty enjoyable if you're a fan of the WPT brand, but still not the 'full' experience I'm looking for in a videogame.

WSOP-for PS2 - I actually like the presentation, graphics are mediocre at best, but it tries real hard to give you the arriving at the Rio with $10K and what events do I play frame of mind. You can hurry the gameplay to super fast which an online player like myself likes. The AI is horrible though, and that's a key point. The 'Pro' characters representations are pitiful. Every tournament I've gotten high up in, I always get pocket aces, and get sucked out on by a J5 or something ugly like that...it never fails. Usually in the later stages of play, there's like 5-6 raisers at the table that just throw outrageous bets out there. It's the furthest thing from reality but there's some elements I sort of like, career mode is ok. I wish the gameplay was better, but enjoy trying to win bracelets. Playing any game other than Holdem (omaha, omaha8, stud, stud8, razz) bring the speed of the game to a grinding halt, maybe it has to think more, I have no patience to wait through those games.

WSOP for PSP - Same as the PS2, exactly, except with addition of video poker. I actually enjoy playing this game on the go, simply because there's no other poker available for the PSP right now. Again, the career experience and playing the actual WSOP events is fun for the commute, but you need to put the AI, gameplay and unreality aside to enjoy it.

WPC2 with Howard Lederer for PS2 - Just purchased it, I think it has the best AI of all the PS2 games out there, but the problem I have is that you can't just jump into a game with Howard or Greg Raymer right off the bat, you need to work your way from the basement up, and that means playing some games you really don't want to play. The biggest problem I have with this game, and I don't think I'll play it anymore is that the gameplay is super slow, when someone waits a hand you'll find yourself pounding the buttons waiting for it to move on, but it just tests the patience of an online player. It's the one with the greatest potential and better AI formulas of all the videogames, but its slowness really dampens the experience. Also I think the tables are only up to 8 handed. Good plus is that it includes tons of varieties of poker games, Pineapple, stud, omaha, you name it, it's there...but I haven't delved into any of them yet.

There's my reviews, hope this helps, we're still anxiously awaiting Stacked, which is promised to be one of the better ones, but it remains to be seen. With all the month delays on the release of that game, we hope it gets improved after seeing the other available game's shortcomings.

Again, no videogame in my opinion can substitute the vibe or enjoyment I get from playing actual players online or in a cardroom.

Steve P

Posted at 2:57PM on Nov 30th 2005 by Steve P