There's one thing we can confidently say about the upcoming PS3 Network title, High Stakes on the Vegas Strip: it's a good deal. While other poker games have retailed for full price, this download-only title will be available for only $10 in the new few weeks, and it comes loaded with features.

In addition to the now-requisite 1080p graphics, High Stakes has a few unique features. There's a fast-forward mode, which allows you to cut past any unnecessary action of AI opponents. The "Turbo Fold" function lets you fold without having to wait for computer AI to play their cards. Most excitingly, we saw the EyeToy in action, which allowed you to capture your image while playing the game. Video appears on the screen, showing your opponents' faces as they play their hand. It was surprisingly easy to set up, and will work with most USB video cameras, not just the EyeToy.

High Stakes isn't the most exciting game to come out on the PSN. However, it shows Sony's continued dedication to providing a variety of gameplay options for an affordable price.

A crafty Speedway owner in Sevierville, Tennessee thought she found a way around the state's anti-gambling laws. Inside the diner were four arcade cabinets, two of which contained video poker machines in addition to arcade hardware. The cabinets were rigged to switch from arcade to poker mode by remote control, so if Centipede failed to give you a thrill, perhaps Texas hold 'em would do the trick.

The police got wind of the situation and seized all four machines. Owner Sharon Tarwater was charged with possession of gambling devices. Looks like it's time to break out the old "video games made me do it" defense!

[Via GamePolitics]

Xbox 360 early adopters everywhere were thrilled when Microsoft announced a free, 48-hour download window for Xbox Live Arcade's Texas Hold 'Em Poker. They were less than thrilled when the actual game turned out to be a slow-paced, cheating-riddled, broken mess of a poker game. Oh, well, you get what you pay for, right?

Apparently not. Tomorrow, Microsoft will be uploading a free update for the game that fixes many of the problems that have plagued would-be betters. The most important fix by far is the elimination of some well-known cheating methods and an accompanying leaderboard reset "to eliminate inflated scores as a result of these exploits." Other new features include improved matchmaking and interface, prettied up in-game art, and general speed enhancements.

Will the update be enough to transform Texas Hold 'Em Poker from an unplayable mess into a playable, um, non-mess? We'll find out along with you when the patch is release at 4 a.m. Eastern tomorrow morning.

Deadwood, HBO's stellar, curse-infused western, is returning with their third-season and, as a promotion, they've enlisted Fuel Games to create a browser-based poker game called Dead Man's Hand. As Deadwood is to westerns, Dead Man's Hand is to poker games. The developers describe it thusly:

"Dead Man's Hand is a first-person 3D Texas Hold'em game that allows you to sit down at the table with the characters from the show: Al Swearengen, E.B. Farum and Trixie.  But poker with Al Swearengen is a dangerous game, and he's a less-than-graceful loser.  You'll need more than luck to get out of the game alive.

"Just like real poker, you can raise, fold, call or pull out your six shooter and start shooting bottles, lamps and the people you're playing against.  Just be careful who you point your gun at, lest you end up downing a shot of hot lead."

As much as I want to be called a c*cksucker by Swearengen, I can't get the durned thing to run. The game requires the Virtools plugin to run and Intel Mac owners will need to run a PowerPC-compiled browser under Rosetta; Universal binary browsers don't work. I'll keep tinkering. In the meantime, anyone else sating their Deadwood-desires with Dead Man's Hand?

[Via Wonderland]

Read - I hardly know her! (Fuel Games Blog)
Play - Dead Man's Hand (HBO.com)

After the Microsoft keynote we managed to spend some time with one of the games supporting the 360's camera peripheral, World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions. In this game, the camera is used to take a frontal and sideways shot of the player's head, which is then turned into a 3D representation of the player.

The process takes about three minutes, and is a little rough around the edges, but the immersiveness from seeing your opponents' faces both in 3D and in a superimposed webcam display is undeniable. The PMS Clan ladies demonstrating the game were impressed, describing it as a way to increase the addictiveness and realism of online poker, and wondering when they'd see their own faces in their favourite FPS. However, we find the concept of seeing our own dead bodies disturbing enough without adding our faces to it.

Bill over at Bill's Poker Blog has uncovered a dark secret in the shady underworld of online poker. Using "some highly classified vector digital imaging software," Bill was able to catch the dealer "dealing off the bottom of the deck." Not only that, but many digital players sitting at the digital table had digital cards up their digital sleeves. For shame!

Next time you are playing online poker and start to have a losing streak, just remember: it's not your fault, the computer cheats.