Poker on your console or PC? Yes, please.

There’s nothing like a game of poker among friends. Snacks and drinks at the dining room table and a night of chatting and taking your best friend to the cleaners.

But what about those times when your buddies have no interest in coming over or they just don’t want to play the game? Solitaire poker doesn’t even exist, so unless you can teach the dog or cat how to play a few hands, it’s time to turn to your old friend, the video game.

With this in mind, we’ve taken a look at what poker games are currently available for your console and PC, and here’s what we’ve come up with.

You’ll notice that most of these games are, in fact, older titles. The real reason we’re listing older games is because there are so few quality titles out there now that when we look for the best, we actually have to go back quite a few years. Remember though, old school retro games are often the best, right?

Before you go all-in and start throwing your virtual cash all over the place, it might be a good idea to get to know the basics of the game. For example, the best poker strategy guides will tell you to develop your skills and be patient. Poker is not a game that you can pick up as you go along. It’s no MarioKart, it’s a game of serious strategy and that requires a little study. Hate to burst the bubble, but it is what it is. Study up first before you start going all-in.

Full House Poker

First released in 2011, Full House Poker was developed by Microsoft Games in conjunction with Krome Studios. It’s not the best and never was. The game can be glitch at times and the poker gameplay isn’t quite as fluid as some of the other titles on this list, but when it came out it was the only online poker game that allowed you to trade chip stacks. This might not seem like a big deal now, but it was way back in 2011.

Full House Poker is ideal for anyone looking for a simple, easy-to-follow home game. You can play with people all over the world in a variety or tournaments. One of the best features of this game is the Texas Heat matchups. These involve 30-minute games where players are ranked according to their performance over the 30 minutes, not on how much they have won. This makes it perfect for people just picking up the game and spending more time developing their skills than worrying about their stack.

It’s a game that you don’t want to take too seriously and that’s what makes it so much fun. No one who plays it is all that bothered about being the best. They’re all just having fun and enjoying the game. Which is weird thing to find in a video game, right?

Prominence Poker

Prominence Poker is everything that Full House Poker isn’t. It’s slick, fast-paced, and all about winning. Released by Pipeworks Studio and 505 Games in 2016, this is one of the newer titles on the list.

The idea with Prominence Poker is to build your rep and bankroll so you can become the best poker player in town. It’s kind of like an RPG in that you’re playing a character and the in-game AI leads the story.

However, in recent releases, the developers moved away from the RPG aspect and have now adopted something a little more like the multiplayer poker platforms we are used to. It’s free-to-play and has some great in-game rewards that push you to improve your skills, making this another title that is actually quite good for beginners.

World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets

Back when consoles were simpler and sometimes more fun

Yes, there were another two titles in this serie but this is by far the best. Unbelievably, this game still holds up 12 years after its initial release. Once you can get over the ancient graphics (which aren’t all that bad!) the gameplay in this title is pretty good.

The most significant feature of the WSOP series is the ability to play against professional players. Well, their avatars in the game are what we mean. There are 20 pro players that you’ll come up against in your battle for the bracelets, including Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen and Johnny Chan.

The poker is pretty good too, with the in-game AI making it a tough game to beat. As far a poker video games go, this one is a classic and one that will be extremely hard to beat.

Poker Night at the Inventory

We just had to throw in this title for the sheer fun of it. It’s the Donkey Kong of Poker in that it really cannot be taken seriously at all. Sure, it’s fun, but you’ll play it for kicks and nothing else.

Developed by Telltale Games and released in 2010, it remains one of the only poker games to feature characters from other genres. The characters in question are mostly from animated series or comic books such as Sam and Max, and the Homestar Runner web series.

Like we said, this is not a serious poker game but, for that reason, it’s actually the most fun to play. Each character has their own playing style that includes both strengths and weaknesses. And just as you would in any other video game, your task is to exploit those weaknesses to progress.

Great fun to play, but you’ll be lucky to get your hands on it. Unfortunately, the title was discontinued last year, so if you have a hard copy or have it installed on your PC the be sure to treasure it!

So there you have it. As we mentioned earlier, this list is mostly older titles as there are very few solid poker video games out there right now. It seems that people are more interested in playing for real cash through online platforms. Or perhaps that’s because there are no decent titles available. Maybe it’s a niche for a savvy developer to break into.