Launching the game

• How do I run Pokerwize?

  Running Pokerwize is simple. If you chose to put a Pokerwize shortcut on your desktop, just double click on the shortcut and the game will launch automatically. If you don’t have a desktop shortcut, the click on the start menu, choose ‘All Programs’ and select Pokerwize from the menu.

The character generator

• How do I change my characters appearance?

  With Stylewize, you can customize the look of your character, including hair and eye colour, facial features, clothing and accessories. To start creating your character, click on ‘Create Player’ under the character on the left side of the screen.

  • Randomize

    Click on ‘Randomize’ to have the computer set your character’s appearance for you. If you’re not happy with the result, click again to see what comes up, or customize the features yourself.

  • Freak

    Click on the ‘Freak’ button at the bottom of the screen and the computer will generate the weirdest, freakiest characters you’ve ever seen.  You’ll certainly stand out at any poker table, and could help you intimidate other players.

  • Your character’s gender

    Click on the male or female icon to choose your character’s gender.

  • Skin tone

    Choose one of four skin tones for your character simply by clicking on the one you like best.

  • Hair and face

    Click on the die rolled to ‘two’ at the top of the character creation page to customize the hair and face of your player. Click on each of the faces at the top to change different features of your character’s hair and face, including hair style, hair colour, eye colour, nose size, chin width, and lots of other features. You can also add a hat if you’re character is having a bad hair day.

  • Clothing

    Click on the die rolled to ‘three’ at the top of the character creation page to dress your character in the latest fashions. Put on sharp in trousers and a shirt, a cocktail dress or a t-shirt and torn jeans. Click on the tabs for tops, bottoms and sunglasses and select your favourites.

  • Zoom and Rotate

    Click on one of the four buttons to the left of your character to zoom in and out or rotate to get a different view. The ‘+’ button zooms in and the ‘-‘ button zooms out. Click on the left arrow to rotate clockwise and the right arrow to rotate anti-clockwise.

• How often can I change my character?

  You can change your character as often as you like. Just go back to the edit player section of the game and make whatever modifications you like.

• Will other players see me the way I look?

  Players who play on the Microgaming Network using Pokerwize will see the way you look, and you will see other Pokerwize players’ characters exactly as they’ve created them. Microgaming players who are not using Pokerwize will be displayed as a computer generated character, which will look the same each time you play with them.

Joining a Table

• How do I join a table?
  • Offline game

    To join a table in the offline game click on ‘Play Better’ in the main lobby screen then click on the table you want to join. You won’t be able to join certain tables until you’ve accumulated a certain number of stars to unlock access to those tables.

  • Online game

    To join a table in the online game, choose ‘Play Online’ in the main lobby screen. If you haven’t yet registered to play online, then register first (See Registration and Accounts in this FAQ). You will be taken to the Simple View by default.

    • Simple view
      • Joining a table in Simple View is simple.
      • First, choose to play on a ring game or sit & go tournament.
      • Next, decide if you want to play for fun or for cash. You cannot play for cash unless you’ve deposited money in the bank.
      • Third, choose what type of game you want to play: Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Five Card Stud or Seven Card Stud.
      • Next, choose whether you want to play No Limit, Fixed Limit or Pot Limit poker.
      • Then, choose the stakes.
      • Finally, pick the size of the table you want to play on.
      • You will then be given a selection of tables that meet your criteria. If no tables appear on the list, try changing one of your choices. Double click on the table you want to play, and you will be taken to the poker room. If there are empty seats at the table, simply click on the seat you want to sit at and join the game.
  • Classic view

    To switch to classic view, click on the arrow at the top right of the simple view box. Classic view is similar to the table lobby view you will see in most.

• Can I join a table in the middle of a hand?

  You cannot join a table in the middle of a hand. Also, you can join a game if you choose to post the big blind to join the game right away (even if it’s not your turn to post the blind). Alternatively, you can wait until it is your turn to post the big blind as the deal moves around the table.

• Can I join an empty table?

  Sure. Typically, once somebody sits at an empty table, others soon follow. You probably won't have much of a wait to start playing.

• What is a waiting list?
  • How to join a waiting list?

    If you select a table that is full but want to join it when space becomes available, click on the “Waiting List” button that appears to the right of the table selection window and you will be automatically added to the waiting list for that table. You will be notified when a seat becomes available at the table.

  • How to remove yourself from a waiting list?

    You can remove yourself from a waiting list for a table by selecting the table and clicking on the “Waiting List” button. Click the “Waiting List” button again to rejoin the list.

  • Is there a limit to the number of waiting lists I can join?

    You can join as many waiting lists as you choose to and you will be notified each time a seat at a table becomes available.

Leaving a Table

• How do I leave a table?

  To leave a table in the offline game, click on the ‘Leave Table’ button at the lower left of the screen. To leave a table in the online game, click on the ‘close window’ icon at the top right of the table window. A dialogue box will appear stating: “You are currently active at this table. Would you like to stand up and exit?” Click yes to leave the table.

• Can I leave a table in the middle of a game?

  You can leave a table in the middle of a game. If you leave in the middle of a hand, all bets you made in the hand will be forfeit.

• What happens to my chips when I leave a table?

  If you leave a table in between hands, all the chips you had at the time you left the table will be kept in your account. If you leave a table in the middle of a hand, all bets you made in the hand will be forfeit.

• Can I rejoin a table that I was previously sat at?

  You can join any table with an available seat at any time.

Game Info

• How can I see what type of game I am playing?

  The information bar at the top of each table window indicates the name of table, the type of game, the number of people and the stakes.

Game Display

• What does “Sit Out Next Hand” mean?

  If you would like to take a break from your game, click on the ‘Sit Out Next Hand’ button and you will not be dealt any cards in the next hand nor will you be prompted to post any blinds. To resume your game, click on the “I’m Back” button.

• What does “Auto Post Blind” mean?

  Selecting “Auto Post Blind” will automatically post the small and big blinds when it is your turn to do so. You will not be prompted post blinds.

• What does “Auto Muck Losing Hand” mean?

  Selecting “Auto Muck Losing Hand” will automatically hide your pocket cards from other players at the end of each hand you lose.

• Game Actions
  • What does the Fold button do?

    Clicking on the Fold button will fold you out of the current hand.

  • What does the Check button do?

    Clicking on the Check button will keep you in the hand without making a bet. You can only check if no other player acting before you has made a bet.

  • What does the Call button do?

    You will be given the option of clicking on the Call button after a player acting before you has made a bet. By clicking the Call button you will cause you to wager the same amount as the highest bet made by other player and will keep you in the hand.

  • What does the Bet button do?

    If no other player has made a bet before it is your turn to act, you can place a bet by clicking the Bet button.

  • What does the Raise button do?

    If a player acting before you has made a bet on a hand, you can raise the bet by clicking on the Raise button.

  • What are the pre-emptive tick boxes?

    The Pre-emptive tick boxes appear in the lower right of the screen and allow you to select an action before it is your turn to act. You can choose to fold, check, call, bet or raise, as appropriate, in advance of your turn and the computer will automatically execute the action you have selected.

  • Can I undo an action?

    You cannot undo an action made in your turn. You can deselect a pre-emptive tick box prior to your turn if the action had not already been executed.

Game Options

• How do I open the options menu?

  To see the game options, click on the wrench icon at the lower right of the screen.

• Audio
  • How do I turn off the audio?

    To disable audio, open the Game Options menu and select the Audio tab. Select the mute button for each of the audio options you would like to turn off.

  • How do I adjust the game’s volume?

    To adjust the volume of audio, open the Game Options menu and select the Audio tab. Move the slider bar to the volume level you would like for each of the audio options you want to adjust.

  • How do I disable the player alerts?

    To disable player alerts, open the Game Options menu and select the Audio tab. Choose the ‘No’.

• Graphics
  • How do I change the camera view?

    To change the camera view, click on the movie camera icon at the lower right side of the screen. Each time you click on the icon, the camera view will change in the following order:

    Shoulder Camera -> Action Camera 1 -> Action Camera 2 -> Action Camera 3 -> Center Camera -> 1st Person Camera -> Shoulder Camera

    In 1st Person Camera mode, you can move the camera around by clicking anywhere on the screen and dragging your mouse to change the view.

  • How do I switch to a classic view?

    To switch to classic view, click on the poker table icon at the lower right of the screen (it is just below the movie camera icon that changes the 3D views).

  • How do I change the windows size?

    You can change the window size the same way you change the size of and windows on your PC. Click on a corner and drag the mouse to the size you want.

  • How do I play with a four colour deck?

    To play with a four colour deck, open the Game Options menu and select the Display tab. Select ‘Yes’ near the Use Four Colour Deck option.

• Animation
  • How do I disable the animations?

    To disable animations , open the Game Options menu and select the Display tab.  Select Off to turn off the animations.

• Game Speed
  • How do I alter the game’s speed?

    In the single player offline game, you can speed up or slow down the action.

  • What does Slow Deal affect?

    Slow deal slows down the pace of the single player game so you can have more time to see what other players are doing and to make decisions about your next move.

  • What does the Fast Forward button do?

    Click on the Fast Forward button at the bottom right of the screen to speed up the game play in the single player offline game. The computer controlled characters will take actions faster when the Fast Forward button is selected. To turn off fast forward, click the Fast Forward button again.

Using Statwize

• What is Statwize?

  Statwize is Pokerwize’s built suite of tools that provide players with real time information to give them an edge over the competition. Statwize includes information about how good your hand is, what the odds are of certain outcomes for you and your opponents, and other valuable statistics to help players be their best.

• How can I see how good my hand is?

  Move your mouse pointer over your pocket cards and your pre-flop hand ranking will be displayed. The best pre-flop hand is a pair of aces, which is ranked 1 of 169.

• How do I display the pot odds?

  To display the pot odds, click on the community cards and a box will appear showing various statistics. The pot odds will be displayed at the top right of the box.

• How do I display the draw percentages?

  To display the draw percentages, click on the community cards and a box will appear showing various statistics. The draw percentages for each possible outcome will be shown in the middle of the box. The graph on top of the middle line will show your draw percentages. The graph below the middle line will show the draw percentages of your opponents.

• How do I display my out cards?

  To display your out cards, click on the community cards and a box will appear showing various statistics. Move the pointer to the Total Outs line at the top right corner of the box and your total outs will be displayed.

• How do I display my pre-flop hand ranking?

  To display your pre-flop hand ranking, move your mouse pointer over your pocket cards. The best pre-flop hand is a pair of aces, which is ranked 1 of 169.

• How do I see who is still contesting a pot?

  To see who is contesting a pot, click on the Pot button at the lower left of the screen. Players who are still contesting the pot will be highlighted.

• How do I see my relative chip position?

  To see the chip positions of all players at the table, click on the Chips button near the lower left of the screen. A bar graph showing relative chip positions will appear in the center of the screen. The player with the most chips will have a little crown above his information box indicating that he is the chip leader.

• How do I view a player’s hand history?

  To view a player’s hand history for the current hand, click on the player’s information box. All actions taken by the player during the hand will be displayed.

• How do I view a player’s playing statistics?

  To view a player’s playing statistics, move the pointer to the player and wait a second. A dialogue box will appear with options to show the number of hands played, number of hands won, number of flops seen and number of showdowns the player participated in.

The Chat Window

• How do I open the chat window?

  When you join a table, the chat window for the table will appear automatically to the right of the table window. To open the window after it has been closed, click on the computer icon on the lower right side of the screen. To close the window, click the computer icon again or click the close box a t the top right of the chat window.

• How do I enter chat text?

  To enter chat text move you pointer to the box at the white bottom of the chat window and type the text. To send the text, press enter.

• Can I customize the text in the chat window?

  You can change the amount of detail and type of text that is displayed in the chat window. Below the chat entry box is a drop down menu. You can select from five choices: Full detail, Summary detail, Chat only, Silent and No player chat. Full detail displays all chat information and all actions taken during each hand. Summary detail reports only key game messages, and the chat for players sat at the table. Chat only will only display chat information and critical information including time limits for responses and the game number. Silent will only show critical information. No player chat will display information about player actions and critical information but no chat text from any player.

Voice Chat

• How do I initiate voice chat?

  To initiate voice chat, click on the lips icon on the right side of the table window. If a voice chat session is in progress, you will be connected. If there is no existing voice chat session, a new session will be initiated.

• How do I disable someone’s voice chat?

  You can disable, or mute, a player from voice chat by clicking on the speech bubble displayed in the lower right corner of their player information box. Clicking on this speech bubble toggles that particular players voice chat on and off. A tick displayed in the speech bubble means you can hear that players' speech, while a cross means that players voice chat is muted.

• Who can hear the voice chat?

  Any player who is using the Pokerwize client to play online and has opened up a voice session once they've taken a seat at a table, can hear all the speech occurring on that table. You can tell if a player is using Pokerwize if there is a little 'z' at the lower left corner of their information box. You can switch off individual players speech by clicking on the speech bubble displayed in the lower right corner of information box, so that it contains a cross, as opposed to a tick.

Playing Animations

• How do I taunt someone?

  To taunt another player, click on the player and a menu of taunts will appear. Scroll down to the taunt you want to send to the player and select it.

• How do I play a gesture?

  To play a gesture, click on your character and a menu of gestures will appear. Scroll down to the gesture you want to play and select it.

• How do I play a win animation?

  After you have won a hand, your choice of gestures when you click on your character will automatically switch to win animations. To play a win animation, click on your character after a winning hand. This displays a list of possible win animations. While continuing to hold down the muse button, highlight the particular win animation that you want and then release the mouse button to play it.

• Who can see my animations?

  All players who are using Pokerwize will be able to see your animations. You can tell if a player is using Pokerwize if there is a little ‘z’ in the lower right corner of his information box. Information about your animation will also be displayed in the chat window.

Pokerwize Tutorials

• What is covered in the Virgin Tutorial?

  The Pokerwize Virgin Tutorial covers the basics of playing Texas Hold ‘Em poker. It is perfect for the player who has never played before or someone who is familiar with the game but may not know all the rules. The tutorial leads you through each round of the game and ends with a few practice hands.

• What is covered in the Poker Strategy Tutorial?

  The Pokerwize Poker Strategy Tutorial teaches more advanced Texas Hold ‘Em techniques for players who already know how to play the game. The tutorial covers items such as starting hands, table position, odds, bluffing and reading your opponent.

• How do I replay a specific lesson?

  To replay a lesson in either tutorial, click on the ‘Show Menu’ button at the bottom left of the tutorial screen. A list of lessons will be displayed. Select the lesson you want to replay.

Pokerwize Advice

• How do I get advice in Pokerwize?

  You can get advice in each of the offline Pokerwize Texas Hold ‘Em games. When it is your turn to act, a ‘What do you suggest?’ button will appear over your action buttons. Click on it and Matt Broughton, star of Pokerzone TV will give advice for the turn.

• What game types offer me advice?

  You can get advice on every offline game of Texas Hold ‘Em, including the practice games and the single player star challenge.

Practice Games

• What are practice games?

  You can play practice games at the end of each tutorial, or you can select practice games from the Play Smart menu screen.

• How do I set up a practice game table?

  To set up a practice game, choose Place Smart from the main menu, then choose Practice Games. You will be given a choice of the type of game you want to play, the bid limit, the stakes and number of players at the table. Make your choices and a new game will start.

The Single Player Game

• What is the star challenge?

  The star challenge is a feature of the single player game where you are given stars if you accomplish certain goals while playing the game. Different challenges merit different numbers of stars. To see the challenges and the number of stars awarded for each, click on the ‘View Stars’ button at the top right of the single player game menu screen.

• Why can’t I open some of the single player game tables?

  Some of the single player game tables are inaccessible until you have collected a certain number of stars. You need to complete a select number of challenges to unlock all the single player game tables.

• How can I see what star awards I’ve won?

  To see the star awards you have one, click on the ‘View Stars’ button at the top right of the singe player game menu screen.