The term "stacked" no longer applies exclusively to busty women; it's also poker game jargon and now a game, Stacked, featuring Canada's most recognizable poker stud, Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu.

If you're new to the poker world, Stacked holds its own as a solid learning tool. Some people pay good money to get basic poker lessons, but it's all here for the price of a scant rental fee. Daniel's school teaches you everything from the hand rankings to positional play to the beautiful art of bluffing.

When it comes time to sit down at a table and practise what you've learned from the school, Stacked provides a decent semblance of realism--crucial to implementing what you've learned thus far in a real world environment. Though simulated, you see aggressive players, passive players, crazy players, tight players... basically every style of foil needed to improve your play and test your poker skills.

As in real life, however, you're not always dealt aces (if you are, you're cheating) and the game comes up pretty "short stacked" in some categories. Even the smallest tournaments seem to take an eternity to finish, for example. Whether that's because you have to sit and wait while the simulated opponents finish the hands, the lack of audio ambiance, or the scant and repetitive verbal quips the AI characters have - any of these reasons alone would put you to sleep, but all three flaws are going on at once (or aren't going on, as the case may be).

Curious, too, at some points during play when seeking advice from Mr. Negreanu on your own--that is without the "pro tip available" prompt appearing--he'll give you some pretty shoddy advice, which makes you wonder if you should give him some advice about cutting down on the wobbly sauce. (Note: the Xbox version of Stacked has a downloadable patch for this glitch.)

Still, despite its shortcomings, Stacked is one of the best poker games for beginning poker players. With great AI and some solid poker advice, it's definitely worth renting and checking it out. It's priced fairly, too, and greater yet as a pre-played title.