Tournament Poker 2

The core of the game centers on a card table, with ten players sitting around it, each dealt 2 cards, and a set of up to 5 cards eventually laid out in the middle. This is all depicted very simply, but it's also quite easy to see what everyone is doing. It's easy to see your cards. Bets and folds are clearly marked, and you can see the value of the pot of a glance. There's no particular thrills here, but everything you'd want to be obvious in a Poker game is. There's also some simple ability to change the look & feel of the interface, for example by changing the color of the card table, which is a nice touch.

Somewhat missing from the graphics was a good way to distinguish between the different players. Each does have a unique name, and you could click on them to see what sort of player they were, but none of that helped me keep straight things like who bid wildly and who bid overly conservatively--the types of things that you'd need to learn during a real game. A better player might still be able to learn this sort of thing using this Poker UI, but some sort of visual cue (such as an avatar) would make it easier for everyone.

Audio: There's some simple music as well as ambient sounds. I particularly like the clatter of chips as they're placed on the table.
User Interface: Most of the interface is a pretty simple set of call (or bet), raise, and fold buttons, which is really all you need. I had continued problems making low raises (e.g., when the bet to me was "15" and I wanted to raise by "10"), but I never figured out if this was an interface problem, or a rule I wasn't aware. In any case the interface was generally pretty intuitive and easy to use.

Player Helpers: Where the program really shines is in its using of dialogues, suggestions, and other types of advice that help teach players how to play Texas Hold'em well. The entire left hand column is made up of this sort of thing, showing how often the hand you have wins, what your Poker advisor suggests you do (solely on the basis of your hand; he offers no advice about bluffing), what the pot odds are, etc. In addition there are pop-ups which explains various elements of the game as you first encounter them.