Texas Hold'em King
{{Orphan|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = Texas Hold'em King Franchise
| image = THKLive Thumb.jpg
| caption = Texas Hold'em King LIVE logo
| developer = Magmic Games
| publisher = Magmic Games
| producer = Marco Cultrera (THK2)
Phil Giroux (THK2,THK3)
Kevin Leduc (THK3)
Nick Tremmaglia (THKLive)
| designer = Marco Cultrera (THK3)
| programmer =
| artist = Tony Monorchio (THK2)
Erin English (THK2,THK3)
Nathaniel Dart (THK3)
Kenji Toyooka (THK3)
Rod Zylstra (THKLive)
Anthony Trager (THKLive)
| released = THK - 2004
THK2 - 2005
THK3 - 2008
THKLive - 2010
THK - 2013
| genre = Card Games, Texas Hold'em Poker
| modes = Multiplayer, Single player
| platforms = BlackBerry OS, Android, J2ME, iOS
}}
The Texas Hold’em King franchise is a series of games for mobile devices based on the popular version of poker, Texas Hold 'em. Developed by Ottawa-based Magmic Games, the titles have been ported to a number of devices all leading to the latest version with varied features taking one version a step up from the last.
Released in June 2004,{{cite web|url=http://www.magmic.com/ |title=THK Release |accessdate=2011-12-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040612015310/http://www.magmic.com/ |archivedate=June 12, 2004 }} Texas Hold’em King was the first instalment in the THK franchise. It was ported to multiple devices, including BlackBerry and J2ME devices{{cite web|url=http://magmic.com/texasholdem.php |title=Texas Hold'Em King Device List |accessdate=2011-12-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040605151621/http://magmic.com/texasholdem.php |archivedate=June 5, 2004 }} and offered players a poker experience unlike most others available. Primarily a single player game it served as the foundation for the next version, Texas Hold’em King 2.
Texas Hold'em King 2
THK2 was Magmic's first foray into multiplayer poker, offering tournaments and head to head play right from the user's device.{{cite web|url=http://www.gamesondeck.com/feature/1538/interview_john_criswick_and_.php |title=THK 2 Head-2-Head play |accessdate=2011-12-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719165201/http://www.gamesondeck.com/feature/1538/interview_john_criswick_and_.php |archivedate=July 19, 2008 }} Using servers hosted by Magmic, players were able to play games of Poker with up to 5 other people live, at the same time. Like the previous version it was available on a variety of devices and is still being played due to it being pre-loaded on a variety of BlackBerry handsets.{{cite web | url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO-jUAQD2Qg#t=206s | title = THK 2 Preloaded on BlackBerry device | website = YouTube | accessdate = 2011-12-20}}
Magmic also hosted a tournament in late March 2007 which the winner received an all-expenses paid trip to Orlando in May of the same year.
=Features=
- Ring game, Tournament and World Series modes{{cite web|url=http://www.magmic.com/game/THK2 |title=THK 2 Features |accessdate=2011-12-20 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061015163411/http://www.magmic.com/game/THK2 |archivedate=October 15, 2006 }}
- Standalone and Multiplayer modes
- Online Buddy Lists and Friend Finder
- 4 Color Deck for suit visibility
- Customize with dozens of avatars and 7 different designed decks
- In game chat and chat macros
- Tournaments for real prizes.{{cite web | url = http://crackberry.com/review-texas-holdem-king-2-magmic-games | title = Bplay's LIVE poker tournament at WES | date = 16 April 2007 | accessdate = 2011-12-20}}
=Reception=
The BlackBerry blog BlackBerry Cool wrote a review of THK2 in August 2005{{cite web | url = http://www.blackberrycool.com/2005/08/12/texas-holdem-king-2-reviewed/ | title = THK2 Reviewed by BlackBerry Cool. | accessdate = 2011-12-20 | url-status = dead | archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20091209165747/http://www.blackberrycool.com/2005/08/12/texas-holdem-king-2-reviewed/ | archivedate = 2009-12-09 }} saying “Like we’ve said before, the graphics in this game are sweet. Everything is crisp and well defined, with vibrant colours. The overall graphical feel to the game also perfectly suits the Las Vegas poker aesthetic.”
