As 
a somewhat inconsistent but ravenous cardshark,
I always enjoy a friendly round of Texas Hold'Em.
The game of poker fascinates me, and the fact
that some people have the guts to compete
for thousands of dollars in exotic locales
across the world adds to the daydreams that
I have at the table when I'm playing against
my friends.
The glory of victory and the agony of defeat
are sure to send a rush of adrenaline through
your veins, and the World Poker Tour has made
it their goal to bring all the action to you
on the TV screen, usually flipped through
around 3am on any given weeknight.
Developers Backbone Entertainment and 2K Sports
decided it would be a good idea to put you
in the driver's seat through World Poker Tour
for the Game Boy Advance, a game sure to bring
out the inner compulsive gambler in anyone.
Now to be sure, it doesn't take much to make
an effective poker video game.
Like I said before, the biggest thrill you
should get out of it is through the game itself,
a contest that focuses on making the best
combination possible from your hand and the
community cards.
And with a game that bears the World Poker
Tour name, you'll be thrust into the action
from the get-go.
Start a career mode, and you'll put in your
name, select one of many avatars, and be turned
loose with the choice of four games, Quick
Draw, Casino, Satellite, and Tournament, where
you will compete against the best of the best.
Not only is the standard No Limit Texas Hold
Em available, World Poker Tour offers Limit
Texas Hold Em, Limit Crazy Pineapple, and
Limit Omaha High, the last two of which I
am somewhat familiar with, but nonetheless,
it's a good thing that the developers wanted
to offer more options to more adventurous
players.
The layout for each game is reflective of
the layout of the TV show, a combination of
red, blue, and shades of gray as the color
theme, and the card font also sharing that
of WPT.
The distinctive noise of stacking chips, the
sound of the cards flopping, the smattering
of commentary from Mike Sexton, and the applause
given at the end of a good hand are all that
is needed.
But the most important question you must ask
of any poker video game where you aren't up
against human players is the type of AI you'll
be up against.
It can be either tough or extremely easy to
compete when you are a natural bluffer in
real life, but when the AI is more prone to
calling or raising to make things interesting,
you may have to change your style as well.
Still, this doesn't take away from the excitement
you feel from raking in a pot worth thousands
of dollars.
It's not like it's a bad thing if you win
a lot, right?
The only thing that's really missing from
WPT for the GBA is probably extra content.
There's nothing like busting an opponent and
seeing his reaction in real life, but due
to the limited design of this game, you'll
just see the word BUST written diagonally
across the poor schmuck's face.
WPT is worth the small amount you'll pony
up for it nowadays, great for on-the-go poker
action.
It doesn't necessarily stand out in terms
of polish, but the games move fast with no
BS and will satisfy the thirst of your inner
cardshark like flopping a straight draw when
your opponent goes all in.
