Ace Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) dazzles as a savvy businessman and threatening yet cool customer on "Luck."

I’m aware how reductive it can be to encapsulate a Milch-ian work in one word. It could devalue the razor-sharp perception embedded in his dialogue, it could diminish the thought-provoking choices made with any given shot, and it could disrespect the dedication his actors make to their characters. But it could also serve as a guidepost for the casual fan who wants to understand this man’s mastery with thematic cohesion.

This week, the word is seduction. The track is home to the sirens. Whether lured in by the tune of revenge, the hymns of glory days, or the rhythm of horses’ hooves, men and women from all walks of life pass through Santa Anita hoping to be seduced, or looking to ensnare. This week, as he outlined for us in last week’s ending, Ace is looking to hire his liaison, or “go-between, for dealing with Mike, the underworld boss who was largely responsible for Ace’s sentence. The more I see of Hoffman’s performance the more I’m won over by his command.

For intimidation, he need only a sarcastic quip or a persistent stare. His most powerful weapon is his disapproval, which can causes young derivatives hotshot, Nathan Israel (played by Patrick J. Adams) to tremble while trying to give off an air of confidence. He becomes Mr. Bernstein’s latest victim when he questions the practicality of his financial recommendations. It’s unsettling not knowing if Ace will lose his own reigns, because even flashes of his “temper” forebode violent capabilities. I fear Ace without him ever lifting a finger, and that’s genuine power. His contempt can be so demoralizing that a blow to the head would be welcomed just loosen his stranglehold on your wits.

Israel is asked politely by his superiors to meet with Ace. Once in Bernstein’s penthouse the interrogation begins. Ace grills him about his interjections in the boardroom and what compelled him to question his requests to free up money to buy the Santa Anita track. His skepticism comes from deducing that he dabbles in illegal business that extends beyond the cocaine possession charge he took three years prior. Ace of course dresses him down, makes him sweat. When Nathan retreats to the “lavatory” he clues in Gus on his motives. He’s unimpressed by the kid’s smarts and ambition, as it takes style to thrive in this business. But he also recognizes that he could would make Mike’s skin crawl, making him perfect for the job of “go-between.” He offers him $1 million for a year’s employ humbling the cocky financial guru.

On the track, our four degenerate pals make a play for the horse Renzo lost at the claiming race. Jerry exhibits prowess as a negotiator, snagging Mon Gateau for $27,000 instead of his supposed market value of $40K. He also convinces Escalante to train him. At first, he’s reluctant, reasoning that he got rid of the horse because his legs are weak even after two years of rehabbing. Jerry then cleverly rebukes: “Guy comes to me about a girl I still have eyes for, I tell him she has crabs.” Escalante is a steep price, but the exhausting expenses don’t deter our “four amigos.”

The childlike wonderment in their eyes as they pet and feed carrots to their new investment suggests this venture was as much about fulfilling a dream as it is about the earning potential. Even Marcus, still loud-mouthed and blunt, forces a smile as he becomes acquainted with the elegant beast. Renzo can’t help but boast to complete strangers and Lonnie appears unaffected my the brutal beating he suffered at the hands of the insurance temptresses when he strokes his new animal companion. It’s touching to see these four appreciating majesty as opposed to feigning for their big play.

It’s a tough week for the jockeys as both Ronnie Jenkins and Leon take major spills. Ronnie is thrown from Walter’s horse, Gettin’ Up Morning, when the foal is bumped off the rail. Ronnie resorts to his diehard habits of snorting cocaine and downing whiskey to ease the pain of a broken collarbone (which he has apparently broken before lamenting that he breaks his collarbone more than he gets laid) and shattered pride. Leon smashes his head on the floor when he passes out trying to make weight in the sauna. The dangers and pressures of ushering these horses to the promised land is beginning to take its toll on the rookie and seasoned veteran alike, causing their agent Joey to stammer even more severely as his clients recover. In Ronnie’s case, he’ll be out 4-6 weeks, but as suggested by his relapse, his time might be running out completely.

As endeared as I have been with Walter, his story this week came off as a memory wipe. Because of Ronnie’s injury he’s forced to confront his decision to deny Rosie the privilege to be his jockey. His now routine monologue is him practicing what he will say to her, and though this deliberation gave me the warm and fuzzies watching the sweet old man get nervous, it amounted to little more than a complication. Despite Ronnie’s propensity for failure, he always had Rosie in waiting so I was never worried that Rosie would not get her shot. Nick Nolte nails his elderly regret as always, but the circumstances surrounding it were slightly contrived.

I had mixed feelings concerning the relationships that were ignited this week. A woman named Claire enters Ace’s life when she requests he fund her Thoroughbred Retirement Fund, a program that would pair up convicts with broken down race horses, but a spark was evident, and Ace expresses his desire to meet with her to Gus. The other was utterly devoid of chemistry. Jo, (Jill Hennessy) Escalante’s veterinarian, is aghast when he accuses her of mouthing off about Mon Gateau’s condition, resulting in the horse being claimed. She is rightly offended, but when he “apologizes” by hitting on her, she responds by sleeping with him later on. I interpreted their hookup as one predicated on convenience, and maybe even loneliness. But if there was supposed to be romance or affection there was none to be found. I’m okay with loveless sex, but the motivations behind it were absent.

Episode Three, proved to be a continuation of last week, but stood on its own two feet during the character moments. Ace in particular started to feel like a real person, and not just a generic ex-con set on revenge. Our four generates showed sides of their personalities that made them more relatable, and the adorable Rosie is returning! Overall, there was less to jump out of my seat for, and with the horse race sequence shortened the episode lacked that injection of adrenaline that keeps me attentive. Milch, Mann and company executed another fine episode with memorable lines and arresting moments of tension and transcendence, but the pivotal race next week and the introduction of Mike will offer the rejuvenation necessary to keep me and other loyal viewers revved up. For maintaining its stylistic brilliance, and allowing us to view our new friends through windows of delight and mischief aside from the pity and desperation of the past two weeks, despite the lack of thrills “Luck” proved “its got a good head” like Gus’ horse avoiding a collision, with a B+.

More gorgeous horse races, scheming, gambling and intrigue on the second episode of HBO's "Luck."

HBO doesn’t do small-scale. Sure, “The Sopranos” was a family drama embedded in the all-consuming network of the mob, and “The Wire” never neglected the personal struggles within the deteriorating city of Baltimore, but both shows required a steep learning curve (a few episodes) before one could fully immerse themselves in these familiar yet foreign expanses. There was no denying, however, the web of interconnectedness from the get-go. Everyone shared a commonality of experience, the impact of their worlds’s stranglehold, the futility of escape. Whether tied to a family, an occupation, a city or a way of life, these dramas always emphasized the love/hate relationship people have with the place they came from, and how indelibly linked its character is to ours.

“Luck” follows this formula. Last week, it was a universe that seemed impenetrable for outsiders and the unestablished connections between the track insiders had us scratching our heads. I was compelled by the grandeur of this well-oiled, horse racing machine. So many cogs were operating, but the functions of each gear eluded me. Then I remembered the insistence and the infinite wisdom of “Luck’s” predecessor, “The Wire,” “…All the pieces matter.” With that in mind, the labor of the pilot paid off this week. The table-setting paved the way for exploration, and as viewers we begin to recognize where the tragic threads are being woven. Revenge plots are being forged, envy and greed threatens the glory in victory, and opportunities to climb the ladder present themselves.

THIRST was the overriding feeling of the episode. Every one had a compulsion, an overwhelming desire. Some were fulfilled, some were denied, but none subsided. All are bitter about changing world. One woman even mentioned President Obama (referring to him coyly, and farcically, as the Muslim President from Kenya) in creating an analogy about broken promises. These are people set in their singular ways about prosperity and success and they won’t be satisfied with their latest score. They’re going to play the game until they win big or you lose it all.

Ace Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) already lost it all. We finally learn the origin story of his three-year prison sentence. He fell on his sword, taking the charge for his grandson at NYU, and an unseen associate, Mike. Mike was stashing his cocaine at a co-op apartment that Ace had purchased for business and entertainment. He allowed his descendant to use the place for raging parties and one night the cops crashed it, arresting the grandson on a lofty possession charge. Ace was offered a deal. His flesh and blood would be set free if he would divulge the name of the supplier. They knew it was Mike, but they required official testimony. Ace had never ratted on anyone his whole life, and though Mike would have snitched on him in a heartbeat he took the fall so both Mike and his grandson would remian free. Nevertheless, all’s not forgiven.

The business dealings of last week come into sharper focus as we learn Ace is planning to buy the Santa Anita track and convert it into a casino. What remains undisclosed is how this transaction will factor into his vengeful scheme, but he’s on the warpath, no doubt about it. Gus, “The Greek,” owning a horse is also a piece to the puzzle, but as far as I’m concerned the slow reveal of the details is earned by Hoffman’s portrayal of a sleeping giant. He exudes a slick poise, but on occasion will unleash a lion’s roar to alarm his partners about his grip on reality post-incarceration. He is dangling the bait, and we’re waiting for for one of his investment “pals” to bite. His bluntness and sarcastic debonair make him both fearful and likable. His sinister unveilings of payback have you rooting for his badass “Bernstein temper” side and his tender reflections with Gus at day’s end bring him down to earth, like a Grandpa with lessons of hard work and determination to impart.

Our four “degenerates” come across some difficulties adjusting to their newfound fortune. Jerry’s gambling addiction runs rampant with the recent influx of funds and his willingness to keep playing despite huge losses reaches dangerous levels. He loses $7,000 in one night only to return the night after. But as he watches his thousands of dollars in chips slip through his fingers, his resolve to win only strengthens. When he barely ekes out the biggest pile of the night he’s floating on a cloud, impervious to harm, but with such a large margin or error and so little willpower to walk away, we might as well start counting the days until either the thrill of the chase overtakes him.

Renzo appears to be the most kind-hearted, if  not the most childlike, of the four, and wishes to repay his gratitude through a grand gesture. Now that he can afford to, he wants to lay claim to a horse. In order to manipulate the odds, trainer Turo Escalante (John Ortiz) enters his horse Mon Gateau (one of the degenerates’ Pick Six winners) into a claiming race. The only hitch is Renzo is eyeing that horse. With all the  good karma surrounding it, after it proved to be key to their jackpot, Renzo figures he should scoop it up as the perfect gift to the group. When Mon Gateau wins the race, validating Renzo’s interest, he’s hopeful that he will capitalize on his investment. But another claim was put in. A man named Mulligan had gathered the same intel and after drawing marbles, Mulligan wins the horse.

Marcus, my favorite of the group right now because of the biting insults and his weathered voice of reason, is disgusted by Jerry and Renzo for flaunting their money. He feels they are asking to be targeted by those willing to resort to violence to obtain their winnings. They are relatively tame in their extravagance, however, compared to Lonnie, who dons a new suit and hat. Marcus has a fit. Lonnie’s stray remark about “having two insurance women pay him to f**k” is also explained. Supposedly, these two women are indeed insurance agents, and they have orchestrated a scam involving Lonnie and a fabricated “slip and fall” (watch out for the irony in this term, I’ll come back to it toward the end of the review). As Marcus had predicted though, they learned of his recent cash infusion and change the plan. They took out a life insurance policy in his name and after seducing him and spiking his drink, attempt to kill him. As (wait for it) luck would have it, during their scrum they break through the motel window and a passerby whisks him away and drops him off outside of Renzo and Marcus’ room.

On the track, Escalante is furious after Mon Gateau is claimed and suspects Leon of loose lips. Preoccupied, he fumes at Gus when he makes a innocuous remark about his horse’s condition. Escalante takes a lot of pride in his expertise and when that authority is challenged, or undermined in anyway, consequences (inadvertent or otherwise) are to be expected. Earlier in the episode, Leon did confide in his agent, Joey Rathburn, wondering whether the horse that was put down last week wasn’t fit to race, and Escalante knew beforehand. It’s a heavy allegation and Joey says that he should just keep his mouth shut and ride exactly as Escalante advises. On a side note, Escalante continues to strain my ears with his thick accent, but David Milch and his writing staff are very aware. Another character references it, “I must need a vacation because I just understood everything you just said.”

Rosie, the ravishing Irish women who’s employed as exercise rider by Nick Nolte’s Walter Smith, makes a bold move and requests that she be Gettin’ Up’s jockey. She has established a strong rapport with the horse who continues to dazzle in workouts, but Walter has his doubts. Evidently, horse racing is a man’s world, but Rosie’s humble perseverance give Walter pause. Wanting the best for his horse he hires a Kentucky Derby-winning jockey, Ronnie Jenkins, who seems like the sure bet. Little does he know that Ronnie has a drinking problem and may have passed up the better candidate. In a kind gesture though, Walter asks Joey Rathburn (also Ronnie’s agent) if he’ll put in a word for Rosie at another track, Portland Meadows, and set her up with a good agent. Yet that wasn’t the moment most worthy of Walter’s highlight reel. During his discussions with Ronnie, he recalls how Gettin Up’s father, Delphi, was murdered. When his owner, “The Colonel,” (it is never made clear if he meant the KFC founder or not) the men who took over his farm spent irresponsibly and killed the horse for the insurance policy. He laments over what he could have done to stop it, and describes the sound of horses’ legs breaking as branches snapping. Nolte’s delicate treatment of this tortured soul has already won me over, along with the easy-on-the-eyes Kerry Condon as the trailblazing Rosie, I wish him the best in the episodes to come.

Some will complain that show moves too slow, but I would argue that with all the pawns being put in place for the endgame, maybe it moves too quickly. Because the intrigue is mounting. Balls are rolling as tensions rise and each character offers their own vibrance and zeal. Milch’s dialogue contains a firecracker wit, that adds a bounce to the deliberate pacing. Much like the horse races themselves, the show is high stakes, and as the characters’ need to quench their thirst becomes more desperate, the more invested we become in their “slips and falls” and who/what else will stumble in the quakes and aftershocks. Like Jerry at the poker table, each loss only drives me to come back and leave with the whole pot. The payoff is nowhere in sight, but my fixation on its possibilities match the yearning that intoxicates the “Luck” universe. The joys quickly fade, giving way to the race that lies ahead. Risk is equaling reward so far, as David Milch goes all in. For the audacious cast, the haunting sense of place, and the commitment to thematic balance (the scores and the failures, the lively thrills and the deathly devastations) HBO’s gamble comes out of the second turn (with seven episodes of ground to cover before we reach “the straightaway”) ahead with an A.*

*As of January 31, HBO showed great confidence in “Luck,” after over 3 million watched the series premiere, renewed the show for a second season.

Rhode Island will lose revenue if Massachusetts passes a law legalizing casinos first, according to supporters of a plan to allow poker, blackjack and other table games at a northern Rhode Island slot parlor.

The supporters claim the state could lose up to $100 million from residents traveling to Mass. to gamble more freely.

State lawmakers voted to put casino legalization on next year’s ballot recently, forging a new step in favor of the plan’s supporters. Voters will be asked to allow the Twin River slot parlor in Lincoln to include table games.

“The threats from Massachusetts are real — just a matter of time before the Commonwealth unveils its own gaming plans,” said Twin River spokeswoman Patti Doyle.

Twin River says that Rhode Island would gain an estimated 650 jobs and $60 million in state revenue if the ballot question is approved.

However, voters recently turned down the motion to authorize casinos in 2006 after the Narragansett Indian Tribe’s request to open a casino. Voters must approve casinos, according to state law.

“Every time this comes up it’s rejected,” said state Rep. Michael Marcello, D-Scituate. “At some point you have to respect the will of the voters. I think our time would be better spent trying to find other ways to bring more high paying jobs into the state.”

Many believe the attempts are failing because of fear of gambling addiction.

“The people of Rhode Island see it’s a false hope,” Rev. Eugene McKenna, president of the Citizens Concerned About Casino Gambling, told the Associated Press. “So many people know somebody whose life has been ruined or seriously harmed by addiction. People realize casino gambling is not economic development.”

The spirit of competition may well be the driving force in this race. Rhode Island does not want to lose money to Massachusetts, and is determined to be first.

“We’re last in line in everything we do in Rhode Island,” said Tony Mazzotti, 80, of Cranston in an AP interview. “The state needs every penny it can grab. And if we don’t grab it, Massachusetts will.”

Love NASCAR? What about watching the Daytona 500 on over 50 big screen high-definition TVs? Foxwoods Resort Casino’s High Rollers Luxury Lanes wants to give you $50,000 to do just that.

The first 100 NASCAR fans to arrive at High Rollers on Sunday, Feb. 20 can predict the top five finalists in the race. Those who pick the winners in the right order will win a whopping $50,000.

All guests, winners or not, will enjoy food from an extensive menu of appetizers, salads and sandwiches and can chug it all down with ice cold beer and delicious cocktails.

Doors open at noon, so if you want a chance at the big money, you’d better get there right on time!

Details

When: Sunday, Feb. 20, 2011. Doors open at noon. Race begins at 1 p.m.

Where: High Rollers Luxury Lanes and Lounge, Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket, CT

Price: No cover charge!

For lane reservations and more information, call 860.204.6366 or visit www.HighRollersFoxwoods.com.

Blake Eastman holding court (Courtesy of School of Cards)

NEW YORK — Nestled in an industrial strip of Chelsea just a stone’s throw from the Hudson River, a small group of strangers meet to try their hand at No Limit Texas Hold ‘em. The barbed wire and warehouse surroundings give the Saturday evening a clandestine feel. It’s the perfect location for a smoky, dimly lit poker room full of notorious gamblers.

But there’s only one card shark this evening and his name is Blake Eastman. He’s teaching an introductory poker class at the newly formed School of Cards — the first brick and mortar poker school in the United States.

It’s a one-room schoolhouse complete with chalkboard, projector and bookshelves. Instead of basic arithmetic, the chalkboard outlines advanced bankroll management, the textbooks all focus on counting cards and game strategies, and the projector broadcasts live online poker games. The lounge chairs, mini-fridge, boxes of candy and corner bar give the space a sense of a college dormitory more than a sober learning environment. But at the School of Cards, poker is no frivolous pastime – it’s a serious business.

Eastman, a 25-year-old professional poker player and psychology professor, first started playing poker at 18 after seeing the 1998 cult classic “Rounders.” He gave up the game completely after casual play only found him losing money, be he found a renewed focus when he entered graduate school for forensic psychology at age 20.

“I treated the game academically, like I was in grad school for poker,” Eastman said. “I read every book. I talked about it nonstop. I played nonstop. I won and lost enough times because I wasn’t really practicing proper bank roll management, and once I did that I started playing with more stakes and started doing better.”

Eastman did well enough to pay off grad school through poker and earn a living with his winnings as his primary source of income.

“I wasn’t making incredible money, I was probably doing better than most 20-year-olds of course, but I wasn’t playing as significantly,” he said. “The plan was that I was supposed to go to law school, … but poker was bringing so many opportunities and I knew that I could make more money playing poker over the three years that I would be in law school.”

Born and raised in New York City, Eastman said he always had a desire to be an entrepreneur and playing poker gave him the freedom and the funds to invest and create his own start-ups.

“I realized I wanted to start doing more things than just playing poker, because playing poker is really like a grind,” he said. “You are always playing, always playing, you’re up and you’re down. And I wanted to hedge my poker playing abilities, so I started teaching.”

After giving private lessons and hosting Profitable No Limit Hold ‘em courses at the Grand Hyatt and W Hotel for the past couple of years, Eastman’s teaching turned into full-time work this summer when he rented out space on 28th Street and opened up the School of Cards. The school currently offers an introductory class; a 21-hour profitable class for more advanced players; and frequently hosts private poker parties and free events that allow students to come back and refresh their skills.

Saturday night’s Introduction to Poker class is made up of a hodgepodge of young professionals from New York City and the surrounding suburbs: a military man, a magazine designer, a special education teacher, and a foreign couple. The experience level ranges from not knowing the difference between a straight and a flush to fanatic Facebook poker players and occasional casino gamblers.

Over the course of three hours the session covers the basics of No Limit Texas Hold ‘em – what makes up a hand, what generally you should play and what you should fold, how to responsibly and strategically place bets, and the etiquette and procedure of the game. The goal is to make a novice player feel comfortable enough to walk into a casino and sit down at table.

The class (much like a real poker table) is only as interesting, challenging and fun as the other people at the table. With an absence of stakes, one or two poor listeners can make the lesson draining at times. But everyone gets a chance to show what they’ve learned at the end with a winner takes all tournament round. Those who were listening will last the hour, while those who don’t heed Eastman’s advice are stuck watching for the remainder of the course.

Eastman’s plans for School of Cards include adding Black Jack courses and offering a reputable dealer school program. Eastman said he is open to the idea, but isn’t really interested in offering classes on other casino games. He just doesn’t see the point in playing games like Roulette or slots.

“Why would you want to play a game that you will lose in the long run — it really just doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “Poker is number one in terms of long term profitability, at least in my opinion. Right underneath that is Black Jack.”

Poker has the unique perspective of not having a house edge. The game is played against other players at the table not against the casinos.

“The reason I love School of Cards is because people at [casino] poker tables – at the lower stakes games – they are so bad that we can teach some core fundamentals to teach people to play what we call ABC poker,” Eastman said. “It’s a fundamentally aggressive and tight way of playing poker, and [our students] can make money – if they stick to what I taught.”

Written on every chip at School of Cards is the motto: “We never gamble.”

“If you’re not thinking you’re gambling. I say that we never gamble because we don’t,” Eastman said. “Any given day we are making a gamble, but at the end of the year we’re not gambling. We are making decisions that have positive expectations. [Those decisions] are going to win us money over the long run.”

While many of Eastman’s intro students go on to take his advanced classes and make profit off of online play, the fundamental game play isn’t for everyone. Some people at the introduction class said they missed the thrill of a Roulette wheel or would probably still prefer to play the craps tables on their next trip to Atlantic City.

As one student put it, “If I’ve learned anything today, it’s that you fold a lot.”

The New Jersey Casino Control Commission approved the acquisition of the state’s Tropicana Casino & Resort by an entity owned 46 percent by affiliates of Carl C. Icahn, according to a statement released this week.

According to the Icahn group, this move clears the way for the embattled Tropicana organization to emerge from bankruptcy, in a transaction that is expected to be completed early next week.

Icahn said, in the statement, that “he was extremely pleased that the Casino Control Commission’s approval had been granted and that he wished to thank the New Jersey Casino Control Commission, as well as the Division of Gaming Enforcement, for working so assiduously.”

“There will undoubtedly be tough sledding ahead for Atlantic City, especially in light of the increasing competition from neighboring states,” Icahn said. “However, I believe that Atlantic City, with its beautiful beaches, can again become a premier destination resort. For this to come to fruition, casino hotels must invest capital not only in their own resorts but also in ‘major events’ that will draw gamblers away from competing states.”

Tropicana will emerge from bankruptcy, having erased most of its debts.

One of the most prolific American financiers, Icahn owns more than 11 percent of video game maker Take-Two Interactive. In 2008, he sold American Casino & Entertainment Properties to a Goldman Sachs-backed group for $1.3 billion. Last month, he purchased Fontainebleau Las Vegas, LLC for $150 million.

Long lines reported already

*Reports of painfully long lines are already coming in. With record turnout expected, long lines are inevitable. But The New York Times is reporting of excessively long lines in Virginia and Pennsylvania.

From the Times:

By noon on Tuesday some precincts in Chester County, Pa., were reporting that up to half of their registered voters had already cast ballots, said Agnes L. O’Toole, the county’s deputy director of voter services. She said that voters waited in lines that lasted up to two hours. “This is above and beyond an anomaly” Ms. O’Toole said. “Our phones are off the wall.”

Also, The Times reported that even lines for early voting were excessively long in places like Kansas City and Atlanta yesterday. And things have not gotten better in KC today, according to the Associated Press.

Voters in some Kansas City precincts had to spend extra time in already long lines this morning because poll workers were given the wrong voter registration books.

Voters at All Souls Church at 45th and Walnut Streets and at a polling place in Westport were told by poll workers that they were not on the list of registered voters for that polling place. There also were unconfirmed reports of other precincts suffering similar problems.

The problems caused delays in what was already expected to be a busy day at the polls.

Following the money

*Obama has been leading in each of the last 170 or so national polls, but if you are like many who don’t trust polls, perhaps you can look to the gambling community to better gauge the odds of an Obama or a McCain victory.

BetUS Sportsbook posts the best odds on Senator John McCain with +650 odds (a $100 wager pays out $650) and Sportsbook.com posts the best odds for Senator Barack Obama at -950 odds , (a $950 wager pays out $100). People may lie to pollsters, but in offshore sports books real money is thrown around “" and they may actually be a better indicator that national polls.

As one better told the Lang Report,

Polls can be inaccurate. People may say what is politically correct, the questions may be leading, the pollsters may be biased. A pollster can still bill for an inaccurate poll. Bookmakers must make an accurate line or they lose “" period.

]]> http://blastmagazine.com/the-news/early-musings/feed/ 0 http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/technology/reel-deal-card-games-09/ http://blastmagazine.com/the-magazine/technology/reel-deal-card-games-09/#comments Wed, 29 Oct 2008 20:10:21 +0000 John M. Guilfoil http://blastmagazine.com/?p=4872

I’ve been in a pissy mood lately when it comes to card games.

Since moving to Boston in 2002, it’s been all poker, poker, poker. I like poker. I’ve made money at poker. I’ve paid for a trip to Vegas in the Harrah’s poker room. Though, I’m an awful tournament player (ask Mark Scalia).

It seems like computerized card games have boiled down to solitaire and poker, with every geek’s dream of going to the World Series.

I didn’t learn how to play poker for real until college. Growing up, we had two games: setback with my friends and pinochle with the family.

I’ve been really pleased to see Pinochle making an appearance on more and more commercial products, but no one has gotten it right yet with the rules and the artificial intelligence. (you’ll see an Old Shoebox article in a few weeks about someone who DID get it in 1993)

Reel Deal Card Games ’09 includes but doesn’t at all understand pinochle, but I’m not going to dwell on that fact any longer.

What you do get is more than 80 games and free online multiplayer, which is nice, but there aren’t exactly a ton of people lining up to play.

Phanton EFX, the game’s publisher, did manage to put together a good platform. What they should have done was give it away and just sell advertising on the multiplayer servers.

The artificial intelligence, while cute and often entertaining, is just really stupid. They get the rules wrong a log, they bet, raise and fold without any obvious reason in the poker games, but most of all they just aren’t programmed to understand the subtle nuances of most of the complicated games. (pinochle)

The game, packaged on two CDs, includes Harts, Bridge, Cribbage, Canasta, Golf, Rummy 500, spades, War, Pinochle, Gin, All Fives, Wist, Euchre, Pitch, Old Maid, Spite & Malice, Go Fish, Skat, Pepper, Crazy Eights, Memory Match, seven poker games, Blackjack, and 45 solitaires. As you play the games, you earn points towards virtual prizes, and that’s just ducky.

If you’re looking for a PC cards game, I’ve seen worse, and better.