Stacked with Daniel Negreanu

by Myelin Media

Product Features

• Play against the best -- face Stacked masters like Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren, Carlos Mortensen, Evelyn Ng, David Williams and 2004 Card Player and ESPN Player of the Year Daniel Negreanu
• Detailed points system that ranks players based on performance rather than pure earnings, and accurately represents position relative to other online players
• Highly flexible multi-table tournament structure allowing any number of players to compete
• Support for voice and text chat ensures that bluffing, boasting and table chatter will all be there in your online game
• Private or public games, providing the player with full tournament customization including game type, betting structure, maximum players, and tournament configuration

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BBODX8
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches ; 4.8 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: May 31, 2006
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,362 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

Stacked is a Texas Hold 'em Poker game designed with participation from poker's most dynamic and successful professionals. The game features a comprehensive poker school in which the player can receive tips and strategies from Daniel Negreanu (multiple Poker award winner and all-time World Poker Tour money winner). As players progress through the game's Career mode, they can apply Daniel's teachings to overcome some of poker's most renowned stars, including Josh Arieh, Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren, Carlos Mortenson, Evelyn Ng, and David Williams. The Poki Artificial Intelligence system adapts its tactics in real-time to exploit the user's playing style, detecting tendencies and deploying appropriate counter-strategies. Players can also organize online games with friends or engage in multi-table tournaments.

Product Description

Stacked with Daniel Negreanu

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Often dull,due to very tight Cpu players., June 7, 2006

By 

Poker Face (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Stacked with Daniel Negreanu (Video Game)

INTRO:
This is an OFFLINE review only(last edited on Aug.14,2006),and for comparisons with the World Poker Tour(WPT) PS2 videogame and mini-reviews of World Series of Poker(WSOP),World Championship Poker 2(WCP2) and yes,even Stacked again,just go to my World Poker Tour PS2 videogame review(on this website) and read the *UPDATE at the bottom of THAT review.

After playing this 9 handed No-Limit or Limit Texas Hold'em only game for countless hours since I first bought it (06/06/06),I have unlocked all the 3 casino's and 3 of the pros(Josh,Evelyn Ng,and Daniel)and still have fun,even though the Cpu bots(even the 7 Cpu pro bots) play too tight for my liking and thus I don't play it as often anymore.It's just too easy to steal the blinds,and thus not very realistic! At least in WPT or WSOP at least one player usually calls,so they're less boring to play (though both still have flaws too).

Also,I decided to cram as much information into this long review, so that those who don't want to try Stacked,but still are curious,can at least learn more about it here than anywhere else.I will also repeat some of the information where I think it's important since I don't expect anyone but die-hard poker fans(like myself) to read this whole review anyway.But,if you prefer to only read the SUMMARY at the end of this review,that will tell you enough.

CONTROL: 6/10
The manual's controller configuration is poorly written,so before you play I must first tell you how to bet with ease or you will be too frustrated and won't be able to enjoy the game as much(Note:I use the default setting).

To make mid-range bets,DON'T bother using the annoying Directional pad because mostly it just moves either too fast or too slow! Instead,USE the Left Joystick.This will give you the ability to make simple precise bets from $1,up to even a huge amount like $100,000 with relative ease(also,the more you press upwards or downwards,the faster the bets will move).You can also use the L2 and R2 buttons for quick jumps in betting amounts.

Once you see the dealer begin to deal(or just before),press the X button to speed the dealing up. After the deal ends, you can only speed up the game when you FOLD, by pressing X.

If you desire,you can also choose to have the Auto Speed-up mode ALWAYS ON(only when possible)instead of having to always press the X button each time you want to speed up the deal and the Cpu bots play,AFTER you fold.

For all of the game settings options,you can set them either before you start your game or even once you're already playing a game.If you're playing a game just press Start to pause the game,which will then bring up a menu with several options.From this menu you can set the option to show or not show your MUCKED cards(for your called losing hand only).The game only asks you if you want to show your cards or not,if you set 'Always muck losing hands' to OFF).

You can also choose to ALWAYS show your Hole cards from this in-game start menu or from the settings menu before you start the game.

You can even choose your action(to call,bet,raise,etc.,specific amounts) BEFORE it's your turn to act(press X to select it or just change bet to cancel it-as usual),just like in internet poker.If someone else raises,then your advanced action will automatically be cancelled.

The square and circle buttons act just like the X button except that they can't speed the game up(the manual says they perform aggressive or tentative action,but they don't).

Also,though Daniel's tips many times are incorrect and he often wants you to bet big with your bad hand-as a BLUFF(even though he doesn't say that-only the X-Box version has a patch that says when it's a bluff),if you're still curious and want to access them with three fewer button presses overall,just press right on the direction pad(only when it's your turn to act)to access the awkward sliding menu and then press right on the d-pad once more.Then press X to hear him and then press X to remove his dialogue box from the screen.Now here's the minor trick: instead of pressing Left twice on the directional pad to close the sliding menu,just wait 5 seconds and it will close itself.

Now,the next time you want to hear Daniel's advice you just have to press Right,on the directional pad, ONCE(instead of twice)because you let the sliding menu previously close itself,so Daniel's advice choice is already lined up,once the menu slides out.You still have to press the X button to hear him and again to close the dialogue box, but I hate that sliding menu so much,the faster I can be done with it the better.Now you're ready to have fun.

GAMEPLAY: 7/10
The Cpu bot A.I.(Artificial Intelligence) adapts its play by learning from both you and the other Cpu bots during each game.However,they will forget everything they learned once the current cash game or tournament ends.So, initially they might go all-in with any hand,but after about 45 minutes of watching me go all-in with mostly only pocket pairs,suited high cards or any ace,they then did the same.The bots only went all-in with bad cards if they were low in chips,falling behind in the tournament and wanted to catch up, or if they were bluffing.That makes beating these bots tougher than all the other PS2 poker games whose A.I. goes all-in with garbage at any time!

The A.I. used for the No-limit hold'em in Stacked is called Zen,and is much newer.The A.I. used for the Limit Hold 'Em is called Poki and it's been around longer and thus these bots play better Limit poker than No-limit in my opinion.However,they still hang around after the flop with nothing but a high card a bit too often,in both Limit and No-limit(so not always that realistic).

Here,only in Limit hold'em, does the minimum bet double on the turn or river,which is different from almost all of the poker that's shown on television(and the WPT videogame), which does it for both Limit AND No-limit hold'em.

Also,it's great that these Cpu bots will sometimes get sneaky,by checking their great hand on the river(when they are first to act),since they believe you have a weak hand(because you just checked or called after the flop),and want to sucker you into making a bet yourself,so that they can then check-raise you.Other times they may make a small bet in that same situation,hoping that you will at least call,or maybe even raise them,so that they can re-raise you.

Sometimes,the bots do make bad decisions,however, like folding on the river when I make a $400 minimum bet into a $3400 pot,even when I show weakness the entire hand,and the Cpu bot has more than a $7000 stack.That's really bad poker playing!Luckily,it doesn't happen that often,though even the games seven pros make some questionable folds(yes,even the Daniel Negreanu bot)!

You can also usually get the Cpu bots to fold bottom pair on the river if you bet more than half their stack.Sometimes,you can get them to fold that same hand(I used saving and re-loading back to that same hand to confirm this)with a smaller bet.Though,they might change what they do each time,even if you bet the same exact amount in the exact same situation(just like the WPT A.I. also does),so you can't always push them around.

Stacked can get very dull at times,because especially when the blinds are low, the bots will usually fold to any raise(in No-limit Hold'em only).Sure,one or two bots might call or raise you every 3rd hand,but then you know they probably have good hands.Often,if I re-raise them they'll also fold(very satisfying).

Thus,you can steal the blinds very easily in Stacked.Though, it's usually harder to steal at the final table or when the blinds are very big.However,it's often better to limp in(just call) with a good hand(especially pocket Aces!) and try to slow play or trap the bots later.Otherwise, the normal one to seven hours it takes me to beat a 9 player, or up to a 90 player(maximum) tournament(with or without cheating) in career mode,would take even longer since the bots would usually fold to any raise,and then I might not get to see the flop,with my already good hand.

Also,due to the tight and also clever All-In Cpu play,it takes longer to win even a 45 player Stacked tournament than a 2000+ WSOP tournament;due to WSOP's dumb all-in A.I.(calls too often with garbage).

In tournaments,the always SMALL starting blinds(even with $250,000 starting chipstacks the blinds start at only $500/$1000,and rise every 15 minutes), rise in REAL time from 2 minutes to every 20 minutes,depending on the tournament,so whether you start with $500 or $250,000 chip stacks,you can play a slower paced game or one that moves quicker with the bots going all-in more frequently,due to the fast rising blinds.You can see what the current blinds are and when and what they will change to,by watching them scroll by in the top right hand corner.(You CAN'T,however,change the blinds to any amount you want,unfortunately).

To see your tournament position and how you compare(chipstacks) to the remaining players in the tournament you can just press start at any time during the game, and scroll through the menu that appears.

Important Note:You CAN save in the middle of a CAREER tournament.Don't worry when it says you'll lose your progress if you leave the table because the very next screens will LET you SAVE).However,to SAVE a FINISHED Career tournament(there's no auto-save function) or a Career CASH game result after you leave the table;choose 'yes' when it tells you that you will lose your progress and then when you get to the next screen after a long load(says Career Mode and shows your character-it doesn't ask you to save yet-but... Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Stacked doesn't even have chips on the table, July 5, 2006

By 

Danny M. Rizzo (Las Vegas, Nevada United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Stacked with Daniel Negreanu (Video Game)

Poker Players beware...if you even played poker before, this game is like Mtv in an old folk's home. The game play is slow, the characters are not that lifelike. It just doesn't make sense to go into it with a 2/3 off suit, and they do! They win with it too! Buy WSOP it is way better!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Very Good Poker Game!, June 21, 2006

A Kid's Review

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Stacked with Daniel Negreanu (Video Game)

Stacked is surprisingly very good and has great graphics. You basically create a character and then play games of Texas Hold 'Em to win new casinos and go to higher rankings. Eventually you get to face Daniel himself! Oh, and they also have online tournaments for those who want to play online. The only things wrong with this game is that the game is confusing at first if you don't know how to play Texas Hold 'Em, the game can be slow at times, and the characters often say the same thing over and over again. (eg)Oh I'm raising. Though there are a few flaws, this game is very good and at $[...], you really can't go wrong with Stacked.