Linux game review: pokerTH

I am huge on Linux and open source software that targets the Linux OS. So I thought I would spend some time reviewing games that I have played and loved on my Linux box.

Poker TH

That is Texas Hold'em Poker for you. Its a sweet and nicely designed game that breaks it down to no real big animations and simple layout that is easy to get. The winning hand combinations are shown and if you are a real mathematics nut, the probabilities of winning are also shown. The game is simple and easy, fast, very light on the system resources. If you want to learn this great and popular variant of poker, this game is a good place to start on Linux.

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Pros

1. Single player mode (is awesome, I must admit)
2. Multi player mode (online and network games)
3. Speed of the game can be adjusted
4. Bots in single player mode displays some fine and unique AI.
5. Ability to chat to players in multi player mode.

Cons

1. Lack of animation in the game. This is good for me but I can see how this would be a real turn off for people who are acquainted with gaming on Windows. But even I find that lack of poker chips on the poker table makes the game a bit dull
2. No objectivity on online gaming. You don't win any real money (which I don't mind) but there is no final objective of playing online (other then the fun experience you get from all the Linux users who play the game). Maybe their could be a country rank, or an overall rank or a virtual net money pot from previous games that you won. The online gaming experience of this game has a lot to improve upon. Maybe someone is already working on it ;)
3. A bug in multi player mode, that disables the buttons so that you are helpless as the time runs out for your turn. This noticeably occurs on slower Internet connections.
4. Fewer players in the online tables... well, its a Linux only game. Maybe it should be ported into Windows
5. KDE interface... I use gnome, so this is not really a con to each and everyone. Since its KDE it starts up a bit slow on my laptop. Those who uses KDE wouldn't have this problem

Preview

Game menu

Options to start a single mode game

Single player game started

Online game lobby, where games are created and people chat

You can leave it to a Linux user to come up with more cons then pros even in their favorite applications. I foresee a day when this game would be developed to compete with Windows variants of the game like Texas Hold'em Poker. 

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