Online poker platform ACR Poker has launched two new games this week which aim to introduce even more players to the thrills of poker.
Through the use of artificial intelligence, and combining elements from daily fantasy sports (DFS), poker multi-table tournaments (MTTs), lottery sit & go’s and casino games, the new Poker Races and Bounty Hunter games are designed to provide quickfire poker action to a wide market. Casual players and fans of televised poker, in particular, should enjoy the unique features of these new games.
And with their alternative take on poker tournaments, they could also provide a bridge for many from the casino to the poker room, introducing the principles of tournament play to a potential new audience.
Both games are currently in beta, with more features promised in the next few months, but are available to play at ACR Poker now. Let’s take a closer look at each of these new games.
Poker Races - beat the bubble in minutes
The new Poker Races game sees you buy in for a fixed price, after which you are allocated five AI-controlled players - or ‘racers’ - in a simulated MTT.
Cartoon-like graphics then show the progress of your racers as the tournament proceeds in super-quick time. Key hands are displayed which affect the stacks of your players, which are illustrated in an easy-to-read interface which shows the average stack, remaining players to the money, and where each of your racers is placed in the field. While all AI players have different styles of play, it’s claimed each performs the same over a large sample size.
Just a few minutes is all it takes for the tournament to play down past the bubble, at which point the randomized prize pool will be drawn, with prizes for each finisher as per a regular MTT. Bonus prizes are available if more than one of your racers makes it to the money, with their stacks combined into one.
That’s because at this point you are able to take control of your racer and play out the tournament in the usual way.
Much like a flipout tournament, the element of chance can get you into the money, after which it’s up to you to use your poker skills to take it down and win the lion’s share of the prize pool. It’s also possible to let the AI continue to play your stack for you.
Bounty Hunter - stake a player for an instant sweat
The other new game introduced this week - Bounty Hunter - plays even faster and, while it does not reward poker skill in the same way as Poker Races, is another great way to highlight the excitement of tournament poker.
Ideal for those who may have watched poker on TV but never played, Bounty Hunter sees players ‘buy’ a random (virtual) entrant in a 110,000-player tourney, the results of which are predetermined. You can then follow the fortunes of your player in a series of confrontations, and every time they eliminate a player you’ll win part of their bounty, with the other half added to your own bounty as in a progressive knockout tourney. Each player starts with a randomized bounty on their head.
Special jackpots can be won if your player shows down two flushes during the tournament, with bigger prizes available for better flushes. The tournament is effectively a 100% bounty, with no traditional prize pool, giving players many opportunities to grow their bounty as they watch along.
It’s also possible to skip the ‘sweat’ aspect of the game altogether, and reveal the results and any prizes won instantly via a virtual scratchcard.
The verdict
Having tried both games first-hand, there’s no doubt they take an original and immediate approach to making tournament poker more approachable for less experienced players.
Playing poker is great fun, and the popularity of televised tournament poker - as well as staking sites such as PokerStake - shows there are many out there who enjoy the experience of sweating a player in a large-field tourney.
Both Poker Races and Bounty Hunter distill that appeal into a bite-sized, near-instant games which have huge potential to convert poker viewers into poker players, while the former also offers a gentle on-ramp to give newer players a greater chance of making it into the money and testing their end-game mettle.
Both Poker Races and Bounty Hunter are designed by i3Soft, and available now at ACR Poker.
