World Series of Poker: Hold ‘em Legend

I have a theory that two of America’s largest trends of recent times have a hidden and really quite terrifying connection. The trends I’m referring to are poker and botox.

Why would wealthy Americans pump their faces full of rat poison, leaving them looking like a bank robber with a pair of tights around their head? It’s simple - they’re after the perfect poker face.

Glu’s latest poker game, World Series of Poker: Hold 'em Legend, focuses on this element of deception (minus the botox). While concentrating on the cards on the table and working out the risks involved with each hand, you must also pay attention to signs that your opponents are being less than truthful.

With each player represented by a small sketch accompanied by their current status, you’ll occasionally see a large question mark or exclamation mark pop up besides them. The former means that they have a relatively weak hand, while an exclamation mark means the opposite.

In truth, it’s a rather crude measure that feels more like cheating than being perceptive. It’s a fairly easy to whack your bet right up when you know they’re bluffing, which usually results in them backing down. Empowering? Yes. Realistic? No.

Another concession to the casual player comes in the shape of a card strength gauge. Looking like the signal strength indicator on your mobile phone, it tells you how strong your hand is at any given time.

While this is handy for getting people unfamiliar with poker up to a point where they can participate, you won’t get too far if you stick to its recommendations slavishly. As such, it can be both a minor irritation to those who understand the game and an ineffective teaching aid to beginners.

Still, the core game of cards at the heart of WSoP: HEL is very slick indeed. Glu appears to have pared the presentation right back from previous efforts, making it into a fast flowing and streamlined game of poker.

Computer-controlled players make decisions quickly and your own inputs are easily accessed through the D-pad. As a result, games rarely tend to drag as they do in certain other mobile poker games.

World Series of Poker: Hold ‘em Legend is a thoughtfully made addition to the mobile poker pile. Hardcore players may not appreciate some of the hand-holding design decisions, but to those new to the game they may well be the complementary chips that get them hooked.