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Feature Articles > Interviews > Interview: The Creators of STACKED
Poker is one of the fastest growing entertainments in the world right now - and it's coming to Xbox Live soon. Frank got the story at E3 This year at the World Series of Poker, the championship event will have over six thousand entries. Most of them will be amateurs who have won their $10,000 buy-in via the online poker rooms. Poker is quickly becoming the hottest game in America now and much is owed to a virtual nobody by the name of Chris Moneymaker. In 2003 he did the impossible by winning 2.5 million dollars in the main event. He had won his seat via the Internet and beat out a field of 839 people. Chris had never before seen live tournament action and shocked the world. In 2004 another amateur by the name of Greg Raymer defeated a field of 2,575 people and won 5 million dollars. He too won his seat playing online and ended up killing those still in shock from the previous year. It is only natural that with any boom comes the onslaught of video game copies. Most are usually poorly made rushed products just to make a quick buck; poker is certainly no exception. For years poker has been emulated in video game form but always lacked sufficient artificial intelligence. It doesn't take long to figure out previous poker AI and quickly make the game boring and pointless, or for some it becomes a game they cannot win. After all, how do you bluff a computer? Enter STACKED with Daniel Negreanu. Equipped with the most advanced poker artificial intelligence to date called Poki-Bot. Developed at the University of Alberta and is the result of over 10 years of research into game theory, machine learning, and neural networks. It is being billed as the "Deep Blue" of Texas Holdem. For those that aren't familiar with Deep Blue, it is the AI that beat world champion Gary Kasparov at chess not once but twice. Poki will adapt and learn to the playing style of not only the human opponents but it's own AI counterpart in real time. The computer will actually compile data on whomever it plays and use that same information to beat you. This is a dream for those who want to take their game to the next level. At the same time, those that have never picked up cards before will still be able to play with ease. The game has a tutorial mode where you will learn from the best. STACKED features some of the top players in the world. Each pro has given detailed insight to the developers as to his/her play style and reactions to different situations. So when you play against the digital Daniel Negreanu, you will be getting similar attributes and tendencies as the real deal. If the AI isn't exciting enough, the tournament feature will knock your socks off. As you work your way through career mode you will gain cash that you can then use to buy-in one of the bigger tournaments. Once online, players can choose to compete in either casual non-sanctioned games or officially sanctioned STACKED Masters games. A ranking system will then rate a person by performance rather then money wins. The pros will be playing too and only they will be able to use their particular avatars. So if you happen to be online and Erick Lindgren sits down at your table, you are indeed facing "E-Dog" himself so watch out. I had the pleasure of meeting with Daniel Negreanu and Erick Lindgren at this year's E3 show in Los Angeles and got a look at the PC build of STACKED. I have to say that I haven't said wow in a long time when it came to previewing a title. I found myself saying it more than once with this one. The graphics are really polished and the feel of the poker room has been definitely been captured. STACKED appears to be what poker players everywhere have been waiting for. Being a player myself I was eager to talk to the guys about the game and I had a lot of questions. Within seconds of sitting down it was clear to me why Daniel is a fan favorite. He is a friendly guy who is genuinely interested in what you have to say. He engages in conversation with whomever he is with no matter how many times he may have discussed the topic. Erick surprisingly was just as personable as Daniel. It may not come across on television because he is busy intimidating other players, but he is a very nice guy. It was also easy to see that this isn't another attempt at cashing in on a name to sell a product. Daniel and Erick are both gamers so they understand and appreciate what is expected from a good video game. I left the meeting with a new found respect for them both. Daniel looked like a kid on Christmas morning when he was viewing the new footage from the game. I don't think he ever imagined he would have a video game where he is the star. The ability to play himself and see if he how measures up really excited him. Sitting next to him was Mark Hood, Head of Development at Myelin Media. I immediately asked him when the release date was. His answer was early September, perhaps the first.
 GamerDad- Poki-bot is the same bot that is used in Poker Academy correct? Mark Hood- Yes with some custom profiles built for STACKED. GamerDad- Poker games have always failed in one area and that is with artificial intelligence. What makes Poki-bot so different? MH- Every other poker game to date uses what is called rule based AI, meaning it makes decisions based on "rules" on a hand per hand basis. Poki, on the other hand, is adaptive. Poki will watch how you play, and over time adjust its play based on the decisions that it has seen you make. The difference is really apparent when you play more than just a few hands. It will, like a real player, learn how you play and adapt its decisions to try to counter your play style. GamerDad- The bot will adapt and learn how to play against it's human opponent. But what about bluffing, will the bot only play premium hands or can we expect it to switch things up on us? MH- you can absolutely expect bluffing. There are several different main "bot" play styles, and each can be tuned to further adapt its play style. It's bluffing is very smart, like a really good player. It won't just make a decision on one play whether or not to bluff, as some other AI's do, but rather it will, as Daniel says "tell a story" and start the bluff at the beginning of a hand and carry it through. GamerDad- How does Poki-bot do against more than one opponent? Isn't it more geared towards heads up and short handed? MH- Absolutely not. Poki doesn't care whether the opponent is human or bot, and in fact it doesn't even know. It will keep track of as many players, bot or human, as it is playing against, and will make different play decisions against each opponent based on what it has been able to learn about their style. Bot, or Human.
 Over to Daniel Negreanu GamerDad- What was the first video game you remember playing? DN- Donkey Kong GamerDad- Where you a big gamer growing up? And if so which type of games were you and now interested in? DN- I loved coin ops. I just bought three: Golden Tee 2005, NBA ShowTime, NFL Blitz. I was always into sports games but I also liked Super Mario Bros., Castlevania, Crash Bandicoot, Pac-Man. These days it's mostly sports game, NHL, NBA, Football, but I also love Fusion Frenzy, Metal Gear, and I was once addicted to Tetris, RBI Baseball (coin op), and John Elway's Football Game (coin op). GamerDad- I had heard that you owned a standup version of Golden Tee Golf. What about that game made you go out and pick it up? DN- I love that with Golden Tee you compete against your own scores, but it's also a game that you can play in tournaments across the country. I'm nowhere near good enough yet, but it's fun for me. I got the coin ops because it's something I always wanted as a kid. When I move into my new house I plan on having a full arcade with a racing game too. GamerDad- What do you think about fathers playing poker with their kids. A lot of mother's frown on it. They look at the game as inherently evil due to the gambling part of it. Taking away the money what tools or aspects could be learned from this game as it is passed down. And what is a good age to start teaching them? DN- I plan on teaching my kids how to play poker when they are 5 or 6 years old. Poker is a great GAME. It's so often attached with gambling but Poker isn't gambling. You can gamble on Monopoly, Halo, Hopscotch even! Poker will teach my kids a ton about life: people, math, money management, it will sharpen their intuitive skills and a host of other benefits. GamerDad- While the average age of a gamer is 30 years old, teenagers will no doubtpick up this game. What is the number one piece of advice you can offer the 15 year old who falls in love with poker and wants to take it to the next level? DN- Take it slow and have fun with it. Don't become too obsessed with it at such an early age. It's ok to play a lot, but they need to focus on the number one priority for any successful poker player: a balanced social life. GamerDad- Did you do any voice work for the STACKED game? Will we get to hear your famous trash talk directed at us or other players at the table? DN- Oh yes. Not only me, but all of the players in the game, Jennifer Harman, Evelyn Ng, Carlos Mortenson, Erick Lindgren, David Williams, and Josh Arieh. GamerDad- So, how does it REALLY feel to have a game with you as the star? DN- Too cool. I used to play games where you CREATE a player that looks like you. Now I don't have to do that, how cool is that? Daniel Negreanu is known as "Kid Poker" and is considered to be one of the premier poker players in the world. Negreanu finished 2004 as the best tournament poker player in the world, adding ESPN Player of the Year and Card Player Magazine Player of the Year honors to a spectacular career that boasts over 35 tournament victories. Erick Lindgren is known as "E-Dog" and only 27 years old he has established himself as one of the best. He is currently on pace to become the 2005 player of the year. Erick is another Internet phenomenon and first came onto the scene in 2000 when he won a seat online to a cruise tournament in which he battled 4 other top pros at the final table and won his first million. Editor's Note: Poker is a huge phenomenon and I've been playing it for at least 15 years myself. I love the game, but I don't agree with Mr. Negreanu above that Poker can easily be separated from gambling. I submit that the entire thrill of playing Poker is the stakes involved. Remove the stakes and the game would wither and die. Poker doesn't have the legs of Hopscotch and Monopoly. Poker and gambling are things to be careful of. Some people just can't seem to handle it and gambling does destroy families. But, that's the fault of people οΎ– not the game. It helps to remember that and take Mr. Negreanu's advice. Always keep a balanced social life.
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