Chapter 84: Poker That's Absent in This World

Alex Parker was browsing online when he suddenly slapped his forehead.

"Right, Texas Hold'em poker doesn't seem to exist here!"

"But how could Texas Hold'em possibly be absent? That's not logical!"

Alex had been puzzling over which game was missing. After searching extensively, he discovered that Texas Hold'em really wasn't present in this world. It felt absurd.

Alex continued searching, even checking several foreign websites, and confirmed that Texas Hold'em was indeed absent.

"As I thought, it always felt like something was missing. There really is no Texas Hold'em!"

"Great, I've finally found the last piece of the puzzle for Thunder Chess."

Alex was excited. Now, the entire framework for the chess game was complete.

Texas Hold'em isn't a mainstream game in China. In terms of user numbers, it can't compare to poker or mahjong, and its recognition is much lower.

However, in certain circles, Texas Hold'em is extremely popular and has deep strategic depth.

In the IT, entrepreneurial, and investment circles, many big company founders and CEOs are avid fans of Texas Hold'em. Prominent figures like Kai-Fu Lee, Chuanzhi Liu, and Jack Ma are all enthusiastic players.

Worldwide, Texas Hold'em is wildly popular, especially in the United States. If someone says they play poker, they're most likely referring to Texas Hold'em.

In the World Series of Poker (WSOP), Texas Hold'em offers prize money, with the main event prize reaching up to 10 million dollars. A Swedish chef once won the championship and became an overnight millionaire.

Many people find it perplexing why Texas Hold'em has such allure.

In simple terms, the key difference between Texas Hold'em and other poker games is that Texas Hold'em is a game where players can consistently make profits.

Yes, it sounds fantastical, but it's true.

Other card games, like poker, mahjong, and blackjack, have a strong gambling nature. While skill is important, luck plays a larger role. If one were to make a career out of poker or mahjong, their profits and losses would largely depend on luck, making it equivalent to gambling.

Gambling typically means that in the long run, you will lose. No one can guarantee steady profits in gambling.

Texas Hold'em, on the other hand, is a game where one can consistently make profits. If you keep losing at Texas Hold'em, it simply means you're not good enough.

In the West, many professional Texas Hold'em players, like Phil Ivey, have won championships 24 times and made it to the money 100 times, accumulating over 20 million dollars in total earnings throughout his career.

In China, many professional Texas Hold'em players also exist, earning stable monthly incomes of around 100,000 yuan. Despite various restrictions on the game's promotion in China, there are still about 60 million Texas Hold'em players in the country.

Why is Texas Hold'em a game where players can consistently make profits? It's because the game's rules are more complex than most poker games. Players can fold at any time or go all-in to double their chips.

Moreover, in Texas Hold'em, you can deduce your opponents' hands based on their actions (betting, calling, etc.) and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Unlike blackjack, where winning is purely based on the strength of your hand, in Texas Hold'em, the final outcome depends on the five community cards. Theoretically, even if your hand is the weakest with an unsuited 2 and 7, you can still beat the strongest hand of pocket aces.

Playing Texas Hold'em requires proficiency in probability calculations, hiding your emotions, deducing opponents' hands based on their behavior, and maintaining a good mindset. Luck plays a minimal role in determining the outcome.

When a skilled player faces a novice, even if the novice has better hands, the skilled player can use psychological tactics to make the novice crumble.

In games like poker or mahjong, novices might win a few big rounds by luck, but in Texas Hold'em, they will never have such an opportunity.

With the main framework established, Alex began writing the design document.

The rules for card games are relatively clear and simple, making the development process quicker than I Am MT. Alex aimed to complete the Thunder Game Platform and Thunder Chess within a month, followed by a week of adjustments before going live.

The next morning.

Alex sent a design outline to Amy Johnson.

"The outline is ready. You can fill in the specific rules. Don't touch the story-related elements for now; Alva Castillo will handle those when he arrives. This game will be a test of his narrative design skills," Alex said.

Amy received the document and was surprised to find it very brief, only one or two hundred words.

"LifeLine? A text adventure game?" Amy was astonished.

Alex nodded. "Yes, mainly to give you and Alva some practice. I've highlighted a few key points in the document. The quality of the game will depend on you two."

Amy said, "But, Alex, this game seems too simple."

Alex smiled. "Simple games can also be great. Don't be too ambitious. Think about adding new elements within this framework."

Amy nodded. "Okay, got it."

After assigning LifeLine to Amy, Alex focused entirely on Thunder Game Platform and Thunder Chess.

LifeLine is a text adventure game. Alex intended to use it to test Alva's narrative design abilities.

Once Thunder Chess and LifeLine were completed, Alex would begin planning his first major game.

Over the next two days, Alex focused on refining the design document.

Thunder Chess will feature three products: Happy Landlord (poker), Happy Mahjong, and Thunder Poker (Texas Hold'em). The user bases of these three games don't entirely overlap, so they will be developed as three separate games. However, many of their art assets, like character appearances, item icons, and playing cards, will be shared.

Alex outsourced the production of these assets to external companies. Since the parallel world also has card games, these assets are widely available and can be easily modified. The only requirement Alex had was speed; all art assets needed to be completed within two weeks.

Alex's main work in designing the chess games focused on two aspects: refining the beginner guides and creating a unique competition mode that other chess games didn't have.