Posted by Ryan Johnson on 05 3, 2010

Dogs Playing Poker

Categories: Games, | 8 comments | |

Texas Hold ‘Em poker is all the rage nowadays. Leagues are popping up everywhere and people of all ages are catching the fever. For most, learning how to play the game is the biggest hurdle to overcome, but with the new Dogs Playing Poker app for iPhone and iPod touch, learning how to play is both easy and fun! Created by Candywriter, Dogs Playing Poker takes the exciting and fun game of Texas Hold ‘Em and wraps it with cute cuddly characters oozing with their own unique personalities. The game comes with a thorough tutorial for beginners, the ability to choose your own breed and to create your own custom character, a variety of scenic levels, and intelligent game-play that learns your habits over time and adapts to your style and skill level!

In Dogs Playing Poker you can choose from 18 different dogs, a walrus, and a fox. The more rounds you win the more characters and functionality you unlock. Each round offers it’s own unique backdrop including the dogs favorite Chinese restaurant Chang’s Kitchen, the Junkyard, Train Car, Den, and the universally hated Pound. Functionality wise you can earn the ability to create your own breed, making the game your own, and can interact with your player by rubbing their belly or by poking them until they growl. Each character even has their own tells that once learned can help you figure out whether or not they’ve got a good hand or if they’re bluffing! For the competitively natured players, there’s also a global leaderboard that posts the highest all around score for the day.

After playing Dogs Playing Poker I have to say that I really like this game. Why? Because in my opinion it’s an ideal app for getting people interested in Texas Hold ‘Em that may otherwise not give it the time of day. Other poker apps and online communities can be rather intimidating for beginners, especially for women and children. Typical sites are marketed by poker pros and showcase scantily clad women. Not exactly targeted towards attracting women and definitely not a place where you want your kids going. Dogs Playing Poker is cute, innocent, and teaches and applies the fundamentals of Texas Hold ‘Em well. It’s ideal for beginner and intermediate level players.

Even though Dogs Playing Poker is ideal for newbies it’s still challenging enough for more experienced players. When betting you’re provided with some standard options that help make the pace of the game move smoothly. For example without having to move any buttons or slide any sliders you can fold, call, raise by a predetermined amount (ex. call + big blind), or go all in. If you’d like to customize your bet all you need to do is touch the arrow on the raise button and slide it to the left until it shows the amount you want to bet. One thing I’ll say is it’s easy to overlook this option or to accidentally bet when you’re trying to increase your bet. Just make sure to practice it a couple times so you can avoid accidentally under betting in critical moments.

Overall I’d say if you have even a minute interest in learning how to play Texas Hold ‘Em, have a significant other or child that you’d like to teach the game to, or are a Texas Hold ‘Em enthusiast looking for something different than the typical cookie cutter poker apps then I wholeheartedly recommend you check out Dogs Playing Poker. It provides beginners with a cuddly yet challenging, no pressure avenue for learning the fundamentals and excitement of playing Texas Hold ‘Em, and provides seasoned players with the challenge they’re looking for along with a nice change of scenery.

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