I had a chance to test out the Texas Hold em Poker game mode on the Utopia platform and here is my review. The crypto-based poker platform was easy to download and get started into, redeeming the CRP voucher was a breeze as well. After I was ready to get started, there was a bit of a wait to find players to play with. However after a while, I was able to join 2 players and play a few hands of poker.
The Highlights of Utopia Poker:Thoughtful Timer System: One of Utopia's standout features is the default 60-second timer per player's turn. This is a generous amount that allows you enough time to carefully think out your moves. I did not feel rushed at all to make decisions against a ticking clock.
Visual Clarity: To me, Utopia does a great job in giving players a clear view of their hand's potential. As the flop, turn, and river cards are shown, the system shows you the best hand that your two cards make with the common cards. I often don't catch my hand strength with straights, flushes, full houses and it's good that the client shows you what you have. I actually ended up betting big (in my eyes) with a straight that I wouldn't have realized that I had in the first place.
0 Rake: Utopia does not take commissions for bets made in the made, which is very enticing for poker players.
Some Dislikes:Lack of "Sit Out" Option: The biggest con I noticed about the platform was the absence of a "sit out" feature. This can be inconvenient for players who need a short break or wish to observe the game without actively participating. Sometimes when I lose a big bet or win a big bet, i want to sit out the next few hands while watching to re-think strategy. But in this case, my only option was to leave the table. The option to temporarily leave the table while staying in the poker room would be a welcome addition. It seemed like that as long as I am in the room, the dealer will continue dealing me cards, this is a problem if I am afk. So maybe some type of afk time out would be good to implement.
Play History: Once you leave a room, there is no way to revisit and review your past plays. I know that most other poker clients don't have this aswell, but since this one is built on crypto, I figured there must be some time of repository that can be accessed to have this info.
Premove Functionality: For players who like to plan their moves ahead of time, adding a premove function would be attractive, many other clients use something like this.
and I guess here is some proof of my games:
Dealer: Hand: #14851256987232512: taz wins pot (2.7734) with cards Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven
Dealer: Hand: #15149078770609258: taz wins pot (0.05)
Dealer: Hand: #15199070409180768: malcovi2 wins pot (0.05)
Dealer: Hand: #16232226200805789: malcovi2 wins pot (0.196)
Dealer: Hand: #16393894091869646: Zenp wins pot (0.196) with cards Six, Six, Ace, King, Ten
Dealer: Hand: #16693800498057489: Zenp wins pot (5.08816) with cards Queen, Jack, Ten, Nine, Eight
and some screenshots: