As its first crack at the PS2 and Xbox, you might be inclined to give World Series of Poker some slack. And coming from Activision's "Value" line, you'd expect some low-rent gameplay simpatico with its budget pricing. Even so, the game falls far short of expectations.

It does have some good points, however. If you're a beginner player or just looking to learn a new poker variant, the AI is diverse enough to give you a taste of the different play styles and strategies that you can reasonably expect to encounter in live situation. At the same time, it'll allow you to learn in the privacy of your own home, solitaire style, rather than sharing your learning curve with real people online or at a card table - a potential ego slayer you might care to avoid.

That said, if you have internet access (and it seems that you do, because you're here) you'd be better off checking the ego at the modem, taking the plunge and hitting any one of the thousands of free poker sites on the web, because you'd learn more and you'd learn it faster than you will with World Series of Poker and a home-alone console. (Note: You can play the PS2 and Xbox versions of World Series of Poker online, but good luck finding anyone willing to yawn with you.)

The graphics are bland and the speed of the game, even if you cut out all the AI thinking and betting animations - which you can, and you should - leaves a lot to be desired. The World Series of Pokey, maybe...

Because of this, it never actually feels like you're playing in a real tournament, much less a global championship. Sure, it has Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, Beth Fischman, and some other name brand endorsers cashing in, but unless you make the final tables, you won't see them. The novice player will find it boring long before that and actual poker players will find it boring shortly after the shrink wrap comes off.