Texas Holdem is the world's most popular poker game, intellectual gambling yielding income to cunning players, and tapping too passionate ones. MS Texas Holdem simulates typical poker games in Las Vegas casinos, entertains and warms up brains. Settings turn Texas Holdem either into a loose family game or into a tough competition. Why not play a round or two, especially when some virtual players around your virtual table do know how to play poker.

There exist 3 types of Texas Holdem Poker. Limit Holdem: there is a specific betting limit applied in each game and on each round of betting; Pot Limit Holdem: a player can bet what is in the pot, and in No Limit Holdem a player can bet all of his/her chips at any time.

Checking/unchecking certain characteristics, you set the rules of the game. Fixed betting limits 10/20, no antes, maximum number of raises for a round or for 2 players are the settings you can abolish and reset.

You play in the company of 9 Auto Players. You can name and rename your partners, and play for several players at once. From my point of view it lessens the interest as you see more cards than in a real game, but tastes differ.

To briefly remind you the game's basic rules: in Texas Holdem, there are two face-down cards (hole cards) for each player and five face-up community cards. The player who, after four betting rounds, makes the best five-card poker hand with any combination of their two face-down cards and the five community cards wins the pot. That's it.

If you somehow have forgotten details of a poker game or poker hands, Help section (Rules and Definitions) provides explanations and combinations, though very short ones. Detailed descriptions are given how to configure and tune Texas Holdem, but the program's interface is simple and intuitive and it takes just several minutes to get the game ready.

Undoubtedly, poker is a game of gestures, postures, bluff and nerves. MS Texan Holdem's developers took it into account. We can set playing styles and playing strategies for all Auto Players. First of all, we set individual requirement for the hand, i.e. with which hole cards to stays on, after what flop to stay on, with which 6 cards to stay on, and with which 7 cards to consider further betting.

But counting is just one side of a game. How tough competitors you will have depends on the Tight, Bluff, Alert, Math, Calmness, Reading, Betting characteristics you determine. And…if you are bored with the present company, just change the table.

What a poker player's never tried to stack the deck? You are welcome to master the art of rigging as the program has special options in the section Rig the Game.

First of all we can rig the cards and certain players will get particular cards. If we enter QH for Player#3 Card#1, and KS Card#2, Player#3 will keep getting Queen of Hearts and King of Spades as hole cards.

Then we can rig the kinds, and it causes particular kinds of hands to be dealt. Look at the shot. Now we know for sure that next game Mr. McClure will enjoy two hole cards to a flush, Ms. Wayne will get two hole cards to a straight…

As you won't be able to cheat secretly, rigging under such circumstances is not likely to drive you into excitement, but it helps practice some particular situations. For example, you may want to practice how you play when you have a pair in the hole.

I have heard winning World Series of Poker makes good money. Even if participation not in your agenda, just life up your mood playing poker. And break a leg.