So, you fancy yourself a virtual card shark, eh? Well, hopefully you’ve exhausted all other options because with Sin City Holdem publisher 5280 Funding does pretty much everything that’s already been done before, only not quite as good.
So, you fancy yourself a virtual card shark, eh? Well, hopefully you’ve exhausted all other options because with Sin City Holdem publisher 5280 Funding does pretty much everything that’s already been done before, only not quite as good.
If you’re familiar with Texas Hold’em poker, you’ll be right at home with Sin City Holdem. For newcomers to poker, Texas Hold’em is a simple game with seven cards. The dealer gives each player two cards down, players place their bets, and then the dealer proceeds to deal out the last five cards face up, with bets in between each card dealt. It’s an easy game to jump into and equally enjoyable over long stretches.
Unfortunately, Sin City Holdem does little to keep players around for more than a few minutes each day, and this simply isn’t a game of poker worth paying for. The interface is functional, but the options are sparse. Narrowing down a table that’s to your liking is something of a clumsy process, and the game does a poor job of protecting players from tables with stakes too high for their current level and holdings.
For anyone who’s played Zynga Poker, the actual play options are almost a complete cut and paste here. You enter a room, click on an available seat, and wait for your turn around the horn. A circle timer counts down, giving you a short time to decide whether you want to check, bet, or fold, and a chat window is located just below the table.
If you’re unfamiliar with the mechanics of poker – what the various poker hands are, what constitutes a smart bet, etc. – you’re better off getting your feet wet with Zynga’s game, as Sin City Holdem offers no instruction for newcomers. Of course, once you compare the two games, you’ll likely want to stick with Zynga’s more polished, interactive, and enjoyable game of poker.
As for what the “sin” in Sin City Holdem represents, it’s anybody’s guess, really. You level up as you would in most Facebook games, but there’s nothing particularly new or interesting that distinguishes Sin City Holdem from the glut of other poker games available on the platform. It’s a wholly generic offering that straddles mediocrity on all fronts.
The gameplay system is fairly attractive and easy to navigate. There’s slight variety from room to room, but the visual presentation is less than exciting. You’ll get the obligatory chip sounds, and the dealer makes annoying declarations regarding what’s happening at any given time during a hand.
Sin City Holdem is a competent game of Texas Holdem poker, but it’s lean on features. Your daily allowance can get eaten up far too fast if you simply choose the Play Now option, and the social elements do little to encourage player interactivity. If you’re looking for a fun, engaging game of poker, do yourself a favor and stick with Zynga Poker. Sin City Holdem may have a title that implies a full house, but the game’s a bluff that ultimately goes bust.
