Negreanu promised as a response, that any one would love the new game by PokerStars from the first play. In the end Jaffee gave up arguing with his colleague and jumping into conclusions. In a wile another famous player Matt Glantz asked Daniel whether Power Up is similar to Pokemon Go or Magic the Gathering. Daniel replied: 'Just imagine. – Daniel Negreanu has done it, he's reached Legend status in the game Hearthstone. If you follow Negreanu you know he's been smitten with Hearthstone for quite some time, and has been devoting a lot of time and effort into improving. – Joss wood posted a lengthy article where he analyzes what Phil Galfond can expect to encounter.
It's no secret that the biggest online poker room PokerStars is moving towards recreational players providing the most comfortable conditions for them. Another proof of the fact that the facility is sticking to such policy is the creation of an innovative game called 'Power Up', which is a symbiosis of a no-limit Holdem and a famous card game Hearthstone (which have managed to steal a way into heart of million players all over the world).
Even though poker community has got acquainted with this new game just now, it's been tested for about 6 months already. Highly skilled players participate in testing, including Daniel Negreanu, as well as general gamers. PokerStars developers have spent loads of time and efforts to create characters of unique animation and other aspects, which will make the gameplay exciting and interesting.
The official announcement on the official web site of PokerStars says that the players included in the testing group were totally raptured, had loads of fun, therefore PokerStars expects Power Up to receive high ratings from users.
At the moment the game is still being tested, thus, before the official release it will probably face some changes. Moreover, it's only possible to use play chips to try Power Up yet, the real money games will be launched a little bit later, after expanding the pool of players.
It's expected that the game will be launched in the first half of 2017, hence it won't be long till the official release.
What's Power Up by PokerStars?
According to the information from the poker room itself and also from the players, who tested the game, Power Up is a mixture of no-limit Holdem with an opportunity to use special magic super powers. They enable players to influence game process in different ways: change their pocket or table cards, see your opponent's cards and so on. So that you could fully understand what's player's magic power, we would like to introduce you a few examples of spell:
- X-ray power - you can see one card of each opponent.
- Upgrade - you take the third card, then you drop one of three cards at your choice
- Scanner - you can have a look of two top cards in the deck and relocate them to the bottom if you desire.
- Reload - you drop your cards and grab another ones.
- Intel - you see the top card of the deck all hand long
- Engineer - you can see three top cards in the deck and choose one of them
- EMP - you can forbid your opponents to use spells on this street
- Disintegrate - you can repeal the card, which occurs on the street
- Clone - you get a power, which was played the last in this hand
As you might have already understood the information upon no-limit Holdem you've owned before is absolutely not enough. Therefore it requires a little more than learning the rules of poker and poker hand rankings. It's also yet undiscovered whether poker table positions somehow influence the game. Hence it will be interesting to play Power Up for everybody: there are simply no professional players here yet.
What do professional poker players feel about Power Up
As we've already marked, a professional player Daniel Negreanu took part in Power Up alfa-testing and frankly speaking he was tickled pink. This is how he commented on the launch of a new game by PokerStars:
'This game is the future. It's incredible and I'm pretty sure it will change your view upon poker. I'm very excited about its launch. As soon as you try to play Power Up, you will right away fall in love with this game. Bravo, Poker Stars!'
It's also should be mentioned, that there were people who don't share Daniel's positive point of view. For instance, the owner of World Series 2014 golden bracelet - Jaret Jaffee has sarcastically replied Daniel in Twitter, that he is very glad, that Daniel and Poker Stars keep on supporting real poker.
Negreanu promised as a response, that any one would love the new game by PokerStars from the first play.
In the end Jaffee gave up arguing with his colleague and jumping into conclusions.
In a wile another famous player Matt Glantz asked Daniel whether Power Up is similar to Pokemon Go or Magic the Gathering. Daniel replied:
'Just imagine. You see the card of your opponent right during the hand and you can destroy him in a click. It's loads of fun'
At the same time one of the Russian professional players Ivan Demidov is skeptical of a new game at Poker Stars. He doesn't understand, why to play Power Up, when there is Hearthstone. Ivan considers recreational players and gambling addict to find general poker much more interesting than learning rules of a new game.
'It's evident that PokerStars is aimed at attracting new players and amateurs, therefore someone offered an idea of Magic poker. Though, it seems to me, only schoolboys like this sort of games and they don't have money to deposit' - said Demidov.
What should one expect from Power Up by PokerStars?
It's expected, that Power Up is about to be the first game to combine Poker and Cybersports. Recently there have been many talks about it, yet this is the first real attempt to make similar symbiosis (apart from Hold'em-X).
Sure, nobody expects Poker Stars to make everything perfectly well from the first try, but it's absolutely evident that the poker room has chosen a right way to follow. Now developers have a tough mission to complete - they have to create a balance between cybersports and poker.
Amanda Leatherman
After Power Up launch Poker Stars expects to get the increase of players, who are not acquainted with poker, what means that professional players will also join, since they will be attracted with an opportunity to make money on inexperienced players.
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Over the weekend, poker's all-time tournament money winner Daniel Negreanu (Kid Poker) defeated fellow Team PokerStars Pro Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier in a Hearthstone exhibition match at Blizzcon 2015 in Anaheim, California.
The friendly 3-out-of-5 duel was part of the festivities during the 2015 Hearthstone World Championship hosted by the popular card game's license holder, Blizzard Entertainment. Swedish player 'Ostkaka' claimed the 2015 championship along with its $100,000 first place prize.
Famous Poker Players Cross Over Into eSports
With so much emphasis being placed on the game of poker becoming a 'sport' along with the debate over whether poker players should be considered athletes, it was great to see two of poker's top personalities hit the eSports stage in Anaheim.
Grospellier, for his part, is no stranger to the video game community — having earned a solid reputation as a StarCraft player years ago as a professional gamer with the AMD/Hexatron franchise in 2002 — before he got involved full-time in poker.
On the other hand, Negreanu has only recently gained interest in video games and has grinded his way to 'Legend' status in the Hearthstone card game, which now has an estimated 40 million players worldwide according to video game news website Polygon.
There are several interesting parallels that can be seen between poker and Hearthstone in the 50-minute cast of Negreanu's victory over ElkY in a YouTube video clip. For one, the card game is highly strategic with an enormous luck-of-the-draw factor that can enable beginning players to sometimes defeat the best professionals.
Similar to online poker, Hearthstone doesn't require an ultra-quick APM (Actions Per Minute) rate but rather capitalizes on fast-paced gameplay where the fate of one player can change with a single card. Other popular web-based competitive video games such as League of Legends and Call of Duty are somewhat less attractive to the mainstream poker community because they require lightning physical reflexes in conjunction with strategic critical thinking.
A typical online poker grinder is unlikely to be at his or her best in such an APM-based game after a long session of multi-tabling, but Hearthstone offers a more relaxing yet fun and competitive online experience.
If you've taken a look at Negreanu's exhibition match against ElkY, one of the things that sticks out is Blizzard Entertainment's gameplay arena. The heads-up battle was decked out in fantasy-based props (including an eye-catching fireplace in the background) that made for a highly entertaining setting.
The arena is similar in nature to The Cube, which will debut early next year as part of Alex Dreyfus' Global Poker League.
King tut games. The live play-by-play commentary provided by the Hearthstone World Championship casters was respectful and accommodating — with all three personalities communicating a profound admiration for two poker players who are on the elite level of their craft. This is due to the fact that while top-level eSports pros normally compete for 5 and 6-digit prizes, their poker counterparts are routinely involved in decisions that revolve around millions of dollars.
Daniel Negreanu Masterclass
This of course is offset by poker players having to risk real money in order to acquire such wealth.
'ElkY' Will Dress Up as 'Sludge Belcher' As Part of Friendly Wager
Idaho gambling laws. Since Negreanu bested 'ElkY' in the Hearthstone exhibition match, Grospellier has agreed to put his cosplay skills to the test by dressing up as one of Hearthstone's characters, Sludge Belcher.
The rare minion card that forms part of the Naxxramas set in Hearthstone was an interesting choice for Grospellier to select as part of his defeat, and could draw plenty of chuckles (along with increased interest) from crossover poker or video game fans.
More On The Global Poker League And The Cube
Many in the poker industry are taking a 'wait and see' approach when it comes to Alex Dreyfus' vision of futuristic live poker. 'The Cube' is very similar to the arena utilized during the 2015 Hearthstone Championship, and has massive potential to become a dazzling set piece for those who attend inaugural Global Poker League matches.
It is important to point out that many of GPL's first broadcasts will coincide with eSports events, and will frequently take place within the same sports stadium to maximize audience potential.
Daniel Negreanu Twitter
Will serious video game fans (those who purchase tickets and apparel in support of video game tournaments) be attracted by the real money lure of poker? Or will it be the other way around, with poker fans being exposed to the more popular video game segment of eSports? After all, mainstay video game championships routinely draw live crowds in the tens of thousands, something that even the 2015 WSOP November Nine could not.
Daniel Negreanu Hearthstone Game
The question lends further credence to Dreyfus' statement in September that video games will be poker's biggest competition in the future. But for now, we're 'waiting and seeing' what the Global Poker League has in store in 2016 along with the rest of the poker world.
