Yes, thats right its coming tomorrow folks and I have all the info on IGN.
August 21, 2006 - If ESPN is to be taken as the authority, poker is apparently a sport. Far be it from us to shy away from a little athletic activity, especially if it's in the form of a videogame. Thankfully, we've got a new workout partner coming in the form of Texas Hold 'em without even leaving our house. Microsoft plans to release the Xbox Live Arcade game this Wednesday, August 23.
The main draw of Texas Hold 'em is clearly the online multiplayer gaming. Your bankroll is tied to your Xbox Live account and stays with you forever, so there is some real incentive to play smart poker. If you have the habit of going all in with a 2 and an 8, you'll find yourself stuck at the bottom of the leaderboards. Play a smarter game and you'll be able to build up your bankroll and play at tables with bigger buy-ins where the true professionals hand out.
Make no mistake, this is straight Texas Hold 'em. You can play in tournaments, limit, pot-limit and the infamous no-limit styles, but you won't be able to adjust any of the rules. Customization features for the table keep with the no frills style. You can adjust the carpet style and the table shape, but that's about it.
Although most people are going to spend the majority of their time playing online against real people, there is a surprising amount to do offline to keep you busy after all of your friends have gone to sleep. The single player affair mimics the multiplayer game in most respects, though you'll be playing against some AI opponents. There are numerous different personas, some that actually play intelligent poker. We've seen the AI reraise on powerful hands to push weaker players out, call proper 'all in' bets, and fold out at the right time when you push in big with a clear winner. On the other hand, there were some opponents that would call huge bets that they clearly couldn't win. It was challenging, but not impossible to build up a bankroll and play with larger buy-ins.
In addition to the standard game and tournament modes, you can also spend your time playing in specific scenarios. These include various final table situations, heads-up challenges, and sit and go tournaments. There are seven total scenarios that will test your merit and are a great way to improve your game without having to worry about your bankroll.
The leaderboards keep track of your lifetime score for the single player game, competitive matches, as well as player matches. Maybe you just started and haven't had a chance to build up a big wad of cash. That's fine since there are also boards that keep track of the highest average winnings per hand, monthly current bankrolls, as well as the monthly highest bankrolls.
Without going to the leaderboards, you can analyze past games from the stats menu. Here, you can see how a bankroll is doing for each of the three ways of playing: single, competitive and player. You'll see your highest bankroll, current, and lowest ever. Also viewable are which types of hands you've won with, as well as more detailed player statistics such as your largest wager, average place in tournaments, and which hands you've played and won for every round of betting.
You won't learn any great secrets from playing Texas Hold'em, unless somebody teaches them to you online. The tutorials go over the basics and nothing but. Even then, it's a text only affair. Unlike other poker videogames, this game will test your merit against the world rather than helping you improve your game.
The achievements for Texas Hold 'em will take you much longer to unlock than most other Live Arcade titles have in the past. Read below for the full list.
Achievement Points Requirement
Poker Initiation 10 Win 10 hands.
I'm All In! 10 Win an 'All In' bet.
Poker King 15 Successfully complete all of the scenarios in Single Player Scenario mode.
Tournament Expert 15 Finish in 1st Place in all Single Player Tournaments.
Chunk of Change 15 Build one of your bankrolls up to $100,000
Millionaire Club 20 Build one of your bankrolls up to $1,000,000
Winning Streak 20 Win 10 hands in a row.
Tournament Pro 20 Enter and win a Competitive Tournament comprised of 8 players.
Luck of the Draw 10 Get one of every type of hand from High Card to Royal Flush.
Gutsy Move 15 Place a bet of $50,000 or more.
Lucky Day or Crafty Bluffer 25 Win with a High Card of 9 or less.
Card Shark 25 Play 1,000 hands.
Don't forget, Texas Hold 'em is free to download and own for the first 48 hours after its release. The game will be available for the Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, August 23. Check back then for the full review.
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/726/726945p1.html
Texas Hold 'em Hands-on New details inside! 
Linear Mode
