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Worst Video Games of 2011

Video games, like movies, are suffering from sequelitis. It is rare to find a major video game release today that isn’t a remake, a reboot, or a sequel or prequel.

Taking that under consideration, here are the worst video games of 2011 in no particular order.  Don’t waste your free GameStop coupons on these stinkers, even if the ads make them look really cool.

5. VVVVVV (Windows, Mac, Flash)

This was a cool concept for a game, but one we didn’t really need this year. Designed to look and play like an old Commodore 64 game, VVVVVV is your basic adventure computer game involving gravity shifts and jumping around a lot. The colors are retro, the game plays like a vintage game, and everything about it just screams “hipster nonsense.” If you like vintage games, maybe VVVVVV is for you, but I even hate the ridiculous name.

4. Iron Man 2 (360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PS2)

A huge disaster, like most superhero movie games. Who could possible sit through the three to four hours it takes to beat this interminable, boring, generic, ersatz, and ugly superhero game? Not so much a disappointment as more of the same. Hey kids, guess what? Superhero movies turned into games are crap. Don’t buy them.

3. I’m Not Alone (PC)

This was supposed to be the first really scary game for the PC, a game that horror movie fans could play and enjoy because of how darn scary the thing is. Unfortunately, the game is broken. Reviewer after reviewer complained about glitches, sluggishness, slow-down, and holes in the plot. This is a busted game. It’s a shame that something this broken made its way onto store shelves.

2. Pure Futbol: Authentic Soccer (360, PS3)

Not only are the game’s controls and physics flawed, this could be the most boring sports game in history. stripped down to nothing but the most minimal essentials. There are no stadiums or cheering crowds for atmosphere. Nothing at all. Soccer played in completely empty fields? Boring. Throw in the lack of music, audio commentary, or anything else fun and you’ve got one of the worst sports games ever made. It would be the worst game of the year, if not for . . .

1. Dead or Alive: Paradise (PSP)

There’s nothing to this game. It’s just girls. You dress them in different clothes. They jump around and smile at things. Probably the worst game ever devised. It’s inexplicably bad. I can’t take much more of these awful games. Thank God the list is only five games long.

Choosing a facilitator for your teambuilding activity plays a crucial role in the outcome of your initiative. You can choose to book with a training firm or company or take advantage of the services of a freelance training facilitator. Regardless of which option you prefer, the fact still remains that you have to choose a quality facilitator to run your teambuilding activity.

Here are a few tips to guide you in choosing a facilitator for your teambuilding activity:

• Choose a facilitator with substantial experience. The track record means that the facilitator has already established a credible reputation in the field of training and facilitating. If a facilitator has repeat clients, he or she must really be good.
• Choose a facilitator who can customize his or her modules to your organization. Although some needs and issues may be similar among some organizations, each team is still distinct and unique. An effective teambuilding activity should cater to the specific needs of the organization and should not just be based on the assumptions on ideal organizations. The activity should be grounded on results of an actual and recent training needs assessment of the group.
• Choose a facilitator who can provide alternatives. An effective facilitator should be flexible.

Texas holdem has skyrocketed in popularity over the last ten years–it is not by far the most popular poker variation in online casinos and land-based poker rooms the world over. Blame the saturation of the TV market with televised holdem games or the rise of holdem in popular culture, but you can’t deny the prevalence of the game.

Learning how to play Texas holdem can be difficult, especially for people with little or no experience playing the game. If you’re a true amateur, you can’t possibly be expected to tell the bad poker advice from the good. Thankfully, nice people like me are here to help you find the good stuff.

Learning how to play Texas holdem exclusively using online poker articles and personal websites isn’t impossible, it just doesn’t make much sense. Why use only one source of information to do anything? You’ll be making your life much harder, and working harder to learn stuff you can get from other venues.

Here are some good places to pick up Texas holdem help that you may not have thought about:

Poker on Television

There’s a little less of poker on TV now than four or five years ago, but you can still find lots of poker play on TV, especially if you have a fancy cable or TV setup like Tivo. Search your TV lineup for “poker” or (even better) “Texas holdem” and you may be surprised how many options you have.

Why does watching poker on TV help you learn to play Texas holdem? You’ll pick up the lingo, you’ll see how the pros play, and you can listen to the running commentary and interviews that every poker show on TV has. Think of poker on TV as a “lecture” in the art of Texas holdem.

Online Casinos

Every online casino worth your time has the option of playing using a no-money account. You’d be foolish to try and jump right into a real-money game–but stumbling your way through hand after hand of Texas holdem without risking real money is a great way to pick up on the game.

Friendly Games

I’m sure there’s a neighborhood, after-work, or friendly game of Texas holdem you can get into. Ask at work or at any social event, and you’ll probably find a holdem game you can join. Risk just a little bit of money, and be sure to ask plenty of questions of any friends or friendly types you meet. Most people are happy to help you with the game, especially after they clear you out of your $20 buy-in.

Believe it or not, improving your poker skills really is as simple as taking five easy steps. Here’s the way I made myself a better poker play at no cost whatsoever.

1. Read Poker Articles

There are lots of well-written poker articles online, and lots of crappy ones. The trick is to train yourself to tell the good from the bad without spending too much time sifting through awful poker advice. The first thing to avoid is any poker article with glaring grammatical or factual errors. There’s no reason to read a poker article full of typos and bad punctuation when there’s lots of well-written poker writing to be found. Quick tip: join a reputable poker forum and read up on the articles linked to in the discussions and on the message board itself.

2. Play Lots (and Lots) of Poker

If you’re trying to learn to be a better poker play, you’ll have to play as much poker as you can. Open a free-money account at the online casino of your choice and spend at least an hour a day playing poker. Sure, the level of competition at the free tables is weak, but you’ll become very familiar with the rules of the game. Once you’re ready, play some poker in a friendly cash game in your area, preferably a game with friends and family.

3. Don’t Be Afraid to Fold

You know the old song that says “You gotta know when to hold em / Know when to fold em”? Turns out, that’s totally true. Remember that playing more hands does not mean winning more hands–amateurs tend to think that they should play every hand they’re dealt to its end, and this will be more frustrating than profitable. If you learn to break your fear of folding now, you’ll save yourself a ton of money and frustration in the future.

4. Don’t Play Poker Drunk

This one’s really simple. No one is a better poker play when they’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a beer during a game–just don’t get so high that you can’t read the cards.

5. Avoid Bluffing Just to Bluff

Really, bluffs in poker only work in certain situations and against certain players. When people are just starting out at the game of poker, they act like there’s some rule that says that they must bluff. Not true. Until you have a good grasp on the art of bluffing, reserve it for very special circumstances.

Family game night is a tradition that goes back as long as human history. There was a time, not too long ago, when playing games didn’t mean playing video games alone in your room. Most of us can remember the family gathering around the dinner table for a massive game of Monopoly or a few hands of a favorite card game.

Popular family games can be any game that your family loves, from trivia games like Trivial Pursuit all the way down to games aimed at young children like Chutes and Ladders. What makes a game good for family game night? Here are three criteria.

Is The Game Easy to Play?

Popular board games like Battleship and Monopoly have a  learning curve that you have to overcome. That means it might take a game or two before everyone learns the rules. When you pick a game for family game night, make sure that everyone in the family has the skills to play the game. You don’t want to leave anyone out, even the youngest child.

Does the Game Have Replay Value?

Good family game night games should have high replay value–that means that your family can play them again and again and not lose interest. Word games, like Balderdash or Boggle, have high replay value because the words and gameplay are always a little different. Children’s games like Sorry! or Chutes and Ladders have less replay value, but might be good for younger players.

Is the Game Educational?

Your kids might balk at the idea of playing an educational game, but they don’t have to know it’s educational. Kinetic games like Cranium or Pictionary are perfect games that are educational and fun all at the same time.

There are other criteria for picking a game for your family game night, but these three are a good place to start. The idea is to match your family’s specific needs to the games you love. Family game night makes families closer and lets you laugh away the stress of a tough day.

The origins of roulette are something of a mystery–we know it is one of the oldest games on the casino floor, but we don’t know much about how the game came to exist. People trying to figure out how to win at roulette often try to figure out the game’s origins and find they hit a brick wall.

The word roulette is obviously French, meaning ‘little wheel’. Blaise Pascal, a French mathematician, allegedly invented the game in 1655 defining the possible bets and outcomes of the game. One rumor says that Pascal sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the game. If you add up all the numbers on the roulette wheel, you get a total of 666, the “number of the devil” from the Bible.

By the 1700s, roulette was popular among the French aristocracy. The first documented use of a modern roulette wheel was in 1796 in Paris. Only when the game came to America in the 1800s did it really explode. Roulette was hugely popular during the American gold rush in the mid 19th century.

Roulette has always attracted people who think they can outsmart the random nature of the game. That’s why so many roulette systems exist–roulette attracts people looking to make a quick buck as well as mathematicians who think they can come up with a new system to help them beat the house.

Now that online casinos offer lots of different kinds of roulette, the game is growing in popularity again. You can pick from either the American or European version of roulette, as well as many boutique versions with special rules.

Roulette’s appeal has something to do with the shiny silver ball, something to do with the friendly nature of the game (“We’re all in this together!”), and something to do with its mysterious beginnings.

The most popular slot machines in America are almost all TV or movie-themed slots. Every now and then, a slot machine will sneak up the ranks of popularity that isn’t tied directly to a TV or movie brand, but for the most part the best-performing slots are based on pop culture.

Here are three mega-popular slot machines that can be found in most Vegas and Atlantic City casinos.

Bally Technologies is responsible for many of the most popular slot machines in the world. Their SNL-themed slots are always crowded when I hit the slot banks. But the most popular machine they have is probably their Hee Haw Slot Machine. Sure, Hee Haw hasn’t been on the air since Reagan was President, but the great design of this game draws in gamblers that know nothing about the series. The max bet is a massive 200 credits, but you don’t have to wager that high to earn the top prize of 500,000 credits.

Another favorite slot machine of ours is Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania. As part of IGT’s popular and award-winning “Reel Touch” slots, Lucky Larry’s Lobstermania is a big hit. Though it isn’t based on a TV show or movie, it pulls in slot gamblers with its weird theme and kooky sound effects. The top prize is just 50,000 credits, but you can earn that jackpot with a bet of just 25 credits.

Sex and the City is a huge pop culture phenomenon, so it is no surprise that IGT’s slots based on the series are popular as well. There aren’t many slot machines marketed directly to women, but this series of TV-themed slot machines certainly is. The good news is you don’t have to know a thing about Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, or Charlotte to enjoy playing this slot. There’s lots of bonus rounds and flashy action to keep you interested, and the top jackpot is a sweet 500,000 credits.

If you read anything at all about poker or strategy, you’ll figure out pretty quick that lots of people are making good money playing Internet Poker. Between the explosion of online casinos and online poker rooms and the appearance of poker tournaments and events on TV, more people are interested in poker now than ever before. Playing online poker for money shouldn’t be considered easy money–this is hard work and you can lose a lot of money if you aren’t careful–but the easy opportunity to win big means lots of people are flocking to online card games to strike it rich.

Here are three tips to help you win at poker more often than you lose.

1. Practice

If you could see how often I’m logged into my favorite Merge Poker online casino, you’d be shocked.  If you want to win money playing poker, you’re simply going to have to put in lots of time at the keyboard, practicing, logging your wagers and results, and trying not to throw a brick through your screen. Online casinos let you open free money accounts to test your skills, and when you get a little confidence in your game, you can move to live cash games to start making dough. There’s just no way to get better at poker without spending hours playing the game, leaning from losses and wins alike.

2. Understand Bankroll Strategy

Poker players who don’t understand bankroll strategy won’t be poker players for long. Remember that your bankroll includes the money in your wallet, the money on the table, and the amount of cash you can afford to win and lose. Poker doesn’t suffer money fools any better than anything else in this world, so I suggest keeping a decent poker diary to help you develop strategies for future sessions.

3. Learn About Pot Odds

Every flop in poker offers three distinct possibilities–either you have an awful hand, a good hand, or a hand that can draw to improve. Without an understanding of pots and pot odds, you’ll be broke before you can say “bet or raise.”

If you’re interested in getting involved with the hobby of poker, then you might be looking for information about the basics of poker. The tricky thing is that poker isn’t just a single game–it’s a TYPE of card game with an almost infinite number of variations. But for a game to be considered a poker game, it has certain characteristics. Once you understand these characteristics–the basics of poker–you’ll be able to catch on to any variation pretty quickly.

One of these basics is the type of deck that’s used. Poker is almost always played with a standard 52 card deck, which has four suits and thirteen ranks. The suits are clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds. The ranks are ace through king. Sometimes people include a joker or two as a wild card, but that’s pretty rare in any kind of formal poker game.

Another of these basics is the ranks of poker hands. Different combinations of cards have different rankings. The standard rankings look like this:

1. Straight flush
2. Four of a kind
3. Full house
4. Flush
5. Straight
6. Three of a kind
7. Two pair
8. A pair

Some people act like a royal flush is a hand unto itself, but it’s really just the highest possible straight flush you can make.

Some variations of poker are played low, which means you’re trying to make the worst possible hand instead of the best possible hand.

The final characteristic that all poker games have in common is the betting aspect. Without betting, it isn’t poker. Even if you’re just playing for something worthless like matchsticks or toothpicks, you’ll be betting something on each hand.

Poker is a lot of fun, and if you want to learn how to play online, you can find plenty of Internet cardrooms which feature free play-money chips. In other words, you can learn the rules and the gameplay without wagering any money at all. This is a good thing, because in some jurisdictions, playing poker on the Internet for real money is illegal. If you live in a jurisdiction where poker for money is legal, then I suggest you start by playing the free money games until you have the basics down. Then play micro stakes poker until you’re confident in your grasp of the game and its strategies. When you’re ready, you can move from micro stakes poker to small stakes poker and beyond.

How to Play Blackjack Online

Online casino gaming is in something of a golden age. Big companies like Vegas Technology Blackjack are designing new types of traditional games, like Vegas Technology’s progressive blackjack game and other blackjack and casino games normally found online in land-based casinos.

Playing blackjack online is smart for two reasons–online play allows you to use any strategy guides, trainer programs, and card counting systems you have access to without fear of getting booted out by the casino. Secondly, playing blackjack is always a smart decision in casino gaming.

Finding an Online Casino

Thanks to  online casino technology, finding a casino offering online blackjack is like shooting the proverbial fish in a barrel. Blackjack is easily the most popular casino game, so there are plenty of online versions to satisfy people’s craving for the game of 21. The most popular online blackjack games are Vegas Technology blackjack games. People love Vegas’ version of blackjack because it is quick to load (the files are only about one megabyte) and easy to use. There are other blackjack game providers out there, but none with the saturation of Vegas Technology.

Learning the Rules

Just because you’ll be playing blackjack online doesn’t mean you should approach it lightly. If you’re playing for real money, you can lose a lot of money on blackjack in a short time, especially if you’re not playing with strategy. There are so many sources of free basic blackjack information online, you’d be dumb not to browse them before you try an online blackjack session.

Taking Advantage of Online Casinos

There are benefits to playing blackjack online besides being able to play in your underwear. Online casinos offer bonuses and rewards that land-based casinos don’t. You also have the ability to play at multiple tables at once. Look around your chosen online blackjack casino and figure out how you can take advantage of what the online game of blackjack offers.