Texas Holdem Software Programs
Most
visitors to this site will recognize Texas holdem software like PokerStars,
Full Tilt Poker, and Party Poker. These are major online poker cardrooms
with massive advertising budgets, and they all offer free or real money
mutliplayer Texas holdem games for players everywhere in the world.
But Texas holdem software doesn't end with online cardrooms. Texas holdem software programs are available in cell phone versions and Internet browser versions too. AOL and Yahoo offer downloadable Texas holdem software where you can play against a computer AI. Other Texas holdem software is available where you can play for pretend chips with friends and/or strangers.
Featured Texas Holdem Poker Software
Own the Cards
Own the Cards is a free 2 MB download that takes 1 minute to download. Own the Cards can set up password protected Texas holdem games with your buddies. Own the Cards can also start or join a Texas holdem game that is open to the public. The Own the Cards interface offers better graphics than some well-known online cardroom sites. Own the Cards offers several table, rail and avatar options to choose from.
Texas Holdem Poker 7.21
Texas Holdem Poker 7.21 is a quick download which enables you to play Texas holdem against the computer. The Texas holdem game offered by Texas Holdem Poker 7.21 is a limit game with limits that range from $2/$4, $4/$8, $6/$12, $8/$16 and $10/$20. Texas Holdem Poker 7.21 also offers AI difficulties that include amateur, expert, master, and genius difficulties.
Texas Holdem Poker 7.21 features rich, sharp-looking graphics. Texas Holdem Poker 7.21 is also a fast program; once you fold your hand, the rest of the hand is played out within a second or two. The speed makes the game boredom free.
As of January, 2010, the Texas Holdem Poker 7.21 download is $6.99. Texas Holdem Poker 7.21 makes a free trial available too, so try it before you buy it.
Texas Holdem Poker on Facebook
Texas Holdem Poker on Facebook is a fun, free, no download Facebook app that plays in your browser. You can play with players from all over the world. As of January 2010, the traffic averages 400,000 players at 9am PST on a Friday.
Texas Holdem Poker on Facebook features several awards, gifts and achievements as incentives to play. For example, the first time win with a certain hand, you're given an award for it. Other achievements include bad beats, winning "x" amount of hands in a row, or achieving a certain bankroll size. Texas Holdem Poker on Facebook has 4 award tiers: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum.
I
enjoy the different variants that Texas Holdem Poker on Facebook offers. You
can choose from 5 or 9 handed tables, and you can choose cash games, sit n
go's, or MTT tournaments. "Shootout" tournaments are available too. Players
usually compete for "play chips," but some contests offer prizes with actual
monetary value. These take the form of a tournament win where your name is
entered into a drawing.
Some people buy gold and/or playing chips through Zynga, the software developer which created the Texas Holdem Poker Facebook app (even though these playing chips have no monetary value.)
Aces Texas Holdem Mobile App
Aces Texas Holdem is a $4.99 mobile phone application that works on most Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony, and Blackberry models. (This price was accurate as of January 2010.)
The Aces Texas Holdem mobile app offers some of the following features:
- The ability to play up to 22 different opponents
- The ability to save games in progress
- The ability to view various statistics about your games
- The ability to adjust the blinds to model something similar to a cash game
- The ability to adjust the speed of the game
Poker Superstars
As of January 2010, Poker Superstars is available in three different versions. All offer similar features and gameplay, and they can be played on sites like MSN or Yahoo for free. The limited version is free, but the full version can be purchased for $20.
Poker Superstars offers different modes of play, some of which are only available in the full version. One mode is a "winner take all" single round mode where you compete against 3 actual poker players. (You start with 00k in chips.)
Another Poker Superstars mode is the challenge mode, in which unique tasks must be completed. examples include having to start with a specific hand win a specific amount money with it. Or you might have to eliminate a specific number of players in a row, or win so much money that you can see your opponent's hole cards.
The full version of Poker Superstars includes ability to track stats, an improved AI, and various in-game tips. The full version also offers more challenges than the free download version of Poker Superstars.
Master Poker
Master Poker is a Texas holdem software program that mirrors what you'd expect from a poker simulator. Master Poker shows you how to identify different kinds of board textures, and it helps with starting hands. But its primary focus is on playing Texas holdem, not teaching Texas holdem.
Master Poker's coolest feature is how the program helps you read the different kinds of boards that you see. It outlines the board in different colors of dancing ants (dashes) to tell you what kind of hands are possible.
Master Poker's hot keys option is also cool. The game was originally designed to solely use a mouse, but the developer decided that using hot keys was a more convenient alternative.
Other Master Poker features include statistics, change-able backgrounds, rabbit cam, and multiple profiles. You can also choose from cash games, sit n go's, tournaments or survivor games. The Master Poker "survivor: option is a battle of stamina where you play until you go broke and see how long you last. The software also has a leaderboard to climb.
As of January 2010, Master Poker is $69.95. No free trial version of Master Poker is available. We offer a more complete analysis of Master Poker software here.
AOL Texas Holdem
AOL Texas Holdem is a download free, flash, browser-based poker game that allows you to play against a table of computers or against real players.
Playing against the computer was interesting. The AOL Texas Holdem computer players look like a mix of robots and aliens. Some of them wear sunglasses or mustaches. The play wasn't difficult, but sometimes the computer would call me down holding the 3rd or 4th best pair, while I held nothing at all.
Play against human players wasn't all too different than that of the computers. Like most free poker games, AOL Texas Holdem is characterized by passive play. You can interact with other players through the chat box, but no one seemed to be in the mood to talk when I tried to start a chat.
I appreciated the lack of ads surrounding the table.
AOL Texas Holdem only offers a few game types. You can choose from 4 different stakes, ranging from low to high. You can also choose cash games or tournaments.
Governor of Poker
Governor of Poker is one of the best Texas Holdem poker software programs available.
Governor of Poker's graphics and sound effects are exceptional. Each player looks at their hole cards, shuffles their chips, and taps the table to "check." Players also talk, saying, "I raise" or "Check".
The coolest feature of Governor of Poker is the RPG style, tournament mode, where you travel from town to town playing tournaments in Texas. You click and point to make your player move throughout the town and choose the saloon where you want to play. Aside from winning money in these tournaments, you also receive different awards for having or beating certain kinds of hands.
It's hard to not appreciate the thought and effort that went into the making of Governor of Poker. The game is available in 7 different languages, making it accessible to Texas holdem players all over the world.
Real money online cardrooms like Pokerstars or Full Tilt Poker will never be replaced by any kind of software that doesn't offer real money play. But with a little research, you can find some excellent Texas Holdem software alternatives to these real money card rooms.
More Texas Holdem Info
You can find more good Texas holdem information at the following pages: