Tournament Poker – Collector’s Edition

Tournament Poker – Collector’s Edition is a no-nonsense No Limit Texas Hold’em game available for PC developed by Eagle Games.

Tournament Poker – Collector’s Edition costs between $1.50 and $45.00, depending upon the merchant. Average price is around $20.

Tournament Poker – Collector’s Edition Summary

Tournament Poker – Collector’s Edition is a poker trainer that allows players to experience poker play with virtual players which play at a number of different levels and in a number of different styles. Tournament poker avoids kitsch and cliches, and provides a very basic interface which is relatively easy to use. It includes some cute “cheats” including rabbit hunt, showing all folded hands, and showing the odds for outs on a hand, which help players learn how to play better. For the price, this is a good basic to intermediate level poker trainer. Advanced players will find that they can easily beat the AI, though.

Our Thoughts on Tournament Poker – Collector’s Edition

There are a number of real pluses to Tournament Poker – Collector’s Edition. For example, it is possible to set up a number of different blind structures. The three different levels of AI are distinct and offer a real learning opportunity. Players can really hone their skills against different levels of opponents based on their level of proficiency. In addition to being able to set blind structures and rebuys manually, players can choose to play a particular tournament in terms of number of players, blind structure, and rebuy rules.

On the other hand, the only game offered is No Limit Hold’em. There is no option for fixed limit or pot limit. This is a definite disadvantage for players who intend to start out in the low level rooms at online poker sites, since generally at the lower blinds, there are more players in the fixed limit rooms and fixed limit strategy is different. Moreover, for players aiming higher, towards big tournaments, the lack of Omaha and Stud is a real deficiency in a poker trainer.

The creators claim that the software’s AI learns from the player’s behavior, but it’s hard to see evidence of this. One real weakness that many players have noticed is that players who play a conservative game can usually beat even the highest level of AI players. As a result, strong players playing a conservative game will generally not benefit much from this game.

For players learning the game, there are a number of options that can help them learn how to play better such as slowing down the pace of the game, revealing cards, and giving odds for outs.