PKR Poker tries hard to move in the opposite direction of mainstream online poker rooms. The latest version 2.08 software update takes it even further in that direction as it emphasizes the social aspects of gaming. Now players can stack someone, buy them a virtual pint of lager to show there are no hard feelings and send a video of their triumph straight to YouTube.
Players can now use their PKR points to equip their table avatars with a selection of virtual drinks, and buy rounds for the whole table if they feel like it. Hand out a bad beat and send a cocktail to lessen the pain. The drinks menu includes pints of lager, shots of tequila and cocktails.
A major feature of PKR is the range of emotions that table avatars can show and there has been an update of the “emote control” function. The PKR 3D model attempts to introduce opportunities for reading players just as happens at a live table.
The emotions you set for your avatar can be deceptive and used both to give false reads and to encourage other players to use their controls so you can pick up useful information.
Though the concepts of virtual cocktails and emotional avatars are not new to the online poker world, PKR’s new implementation of old ideas represents a desire to make online poker fun: a concept that will help attract more recreational players and keep the online poker ecology healthy if executed successfully.
Even though the site is not marketing itself at high volume grinders, there is a new “Multiple Windows System” that makes multi-tabling much more feasible. Up to nine table windows can be tiled, resized and arranged. The 3D graphical software is processor intensive, so players will need a reasonably powerful machine to multi-table effectively.
The new luxury yacht theme provides an ideal ambiance for tequilas and cocktails set against a dream holiday background. The lobby has also been upgraded with a new quick-play system that reduces the mouse clicks required to get seated at any specific table.
There is a new hand replayer that will be released within a few weeks in beta which enables players to record their favorite hands and turn them directly into a YouTube hosted movie.
PKR has produced the antithesis of fast fold poker. Zoom, Fast Poker and Buzz Poker all use the internet’s features to create poker games that would be impossible in a live casino. PKR attempts to provide all the features of a live casino without the need to actually go there.
PKR Poker is creating a playing environment that maximizes the recreational features that are designed to attract the recreational player. In doing so they have created an environment that is equally suitable for introducing the social gaming features which many sites are seeking to integrate into their own poker room formats.
