With only a barebones competitor you would think that World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions would run the table with Xbox Live's Texas Hold 'Em. Sadly this isn't the case.
WSOP offers a deep career mode complete with editing your own player, dealer, and poker room. The story starts out with you at a table with a few random opponents and the dealer being the incredible Chris Ferguson. Ferguson is scouting for potential talent and whether win, lose, or draw he takes you under his wing and coaches you throughout the tournaments. With the guidance of Chris you progress through four casinos and compete in four events at each, until finally you arrive at the final casino which is the Rio in Las Vegas.
There is a great roster of professional players and most look like their real world counterparts, but sadly that doesn't carry over in their playing style. All opponents play the same; overly aggressive if they have a decent hand or easily bullied before the flop. Single player pacing is slow but can be sped up, however you'll need to pay attention or you'll find yourself out of the game very quickly. The presentation isn't very impressive, and it's only slightly better than Texas Hold 'Em.
The way the developers have set up navigating your options should keep anyone from accidentally going "All In" which I have seen as a problem in other games. Pressing either the left thumbstick or the D-pad in the four cardinal directions scans through options such as calling, raising, folding, and going all in. The loading screens take entirely too long for a next-gen system. However, all in all the overall single player experience is solid.
Xbox Live is where all of the fun is at. Here you're able to join and/or create custom games either for fun or for increasing your online bankroll. I have experienced lag free games up to this point so that doesn't seem to be a problem. You can choose from several Texas Hold 'em game variants such as Omaha, HORSE, Pot Limit, and many more! The pacing is slow, but the developers have included a pre-move option which allows you to go ahead and make your move ready for execution, so when it comes your turn it automatically completes it for you. This does speed up the game a bit but it can also be detrimental if you don't pay attention.
