An excellent Poker handheld game!!!
"World Championship Poker" for the GBA is a good example of horrible A.I. The three (and why so few???) opponents you play against almost always call any bet, no matter how good or bad their cards are, no matter what any intelligent player (or smartly designed A.I.) SHOULD do. It makes for a very boring game. And if poker were about simply who has the best hand every time, it would be a pretty boring and easy game.
What makes poker exciting is the strategy...bluffing, slow-playing, going all-in, raising the pot (in pot limit games), semi-bluffing, the suspense of the turn and river, raises, re-raises, check-raises, folds...and everything in between.
When a poker video game has a predictable A.I., the excitement is gone.
As graphics and sound go, "World Poker Tour" isn't going to win any awards for its clean and simple qualities, but it is much better than similar GBA games I've played that have borderline obnoxious music, sounds, and graphics.
What "World Poker Tour" lacks in graphics and sounds, it makes up for in spades with its A.I. Here then are computer opponents that deceptively check-raise, make you rethink by re-raising you (often when they have no hand), try to steal the blinds, go all-in, do all the sorts of variances at a relatively unpredictable rate in a system that makes for rewarding gameplay. There are tight players, loose players, players that mix it up and are harder to read; all KINDS of opponents that mimic real-life playing styles.
This isn't a "learning A.I." (where the computer begins to change its strategy based upon how you play) but this is one of the better A.I.s of ANY poker video game I've played. The A.I. acts like it has something at stake for its simulated players and in its tournaments...none of the "going all-in on every hand" buffoonery and super loose play often seen online.
The "World Poker Tour" series has been solid in my opinion as a plug-n-play device and now on the GBA, so I can forgive them for a somewhat lacking PS2 entry in their line.
If you want a solid way to practice poker or a fun way to pass the time when you're on the go..."World Poker Tour" is well worth its relatively modest price.