Review of Wilson Software’s Turbo Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better Version 2
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Turbo Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better Version 2 is a pretty typical Wilson Software offering. In other words, it’s a pretty good program and worth the price if you play this game often (or for high enough stakes). It is not as advanced as Turbo Texas Hold’em V6, but it works pretty well. All the usual praises and nitpicks about Wilson Software apply; this review discusses only issues specific to Turbo Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better.
Shorthanded play
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The program does not use different advisors for shorthanded play like Turbo Texas Hold’em does, nor does it seem to act very differently in shorthanded games. A side effect of this is that it seems to recommend stealing too often in very shorthanded games. For example, heads-up, if you are first to act, it will recommend stealing the antes four out of five times, and calling the fifth time, no matter what cards you have or what your opponent is showing, even if you are showing a nine and he is showing a deuce. (If you’re showing an ace, it will suggest raising every time.) This is simply far too loose/aggressive even for a heads-up game. In a full game, it may well be correct to almost always raise when you act last and it has been folded to you, but that is because there are more antes in the pot, resulting in better pot odds, and also because people won’t care if you try to steal if stealing opportunities are rare.
Now let’s suppose you’re the bring-in. It’s a $5/10 heads-up game with a 50 cent ante and a $2 bring-in. That makes the pot size $3 after it’s brought in, and your opponent completes to $5. That makes the pot $8, and it is $3 to call. Therefore, you are getting 8:3 odds, or 2.6:1. Those are pretty good odds for a heads-up contest. That means, when you’re not the bring-in, stealing the ante and bring-in when you’re first to act will probably not happen often enough to steal with utter junk. On the other hand, if your opponent is too tight, it may well be a good idea, but that assumption needs to be correct.
But maybe that doesn’t convince you. So let’s start a heads-up game with a really huge ante. It’s still $5/10 with a $2 bring-in, but this time the ante will be $20! I’m dealt T5/4 and my opponent raises with a jack showing. First off, my opponent should probably not be raising because I sure as hell am not getting out of the pot, but we can’t assume the opponent is smart (or that he has nothing). The advisor should be smart, though… and it isn’t. I’m getting 16.3:1 on my money, and it’s telling me to fold. (For some reason, I ask the program itself for the pot odds and it says only 9.8:1. This would be correct if I had to call $5, but I only have to call $3 because of my bring-in.) I don’t know about you, but if I had over 16:1 on my money in any kind of heads-up stud game, I’m taking that hand to the river every time. Therefore, the advisor should not recommend stealing (but it still does), and the advisor should not recommend folding on third street (but it still does). True, nobody plays $5/10 with a $20 ante, but if the program were robust enough, it should be able to take into account the huge odds I’m getting there. Any good poker player knows that higher antes means one must play looser. In any case, this program will not help me really understand shorthanded play the way I hoped, which is unfortunate, as it’s a big reason why I bought the program.
It may be possible to alleviate the problem by creating special opponents and advisors for heads-up and three-handed situations. (With more opponents, it may play well enough on its own, but don’t hold me to that.) Unfortunately, this obviously isn’t going to be easy to do if you don’t already understand how to play the game well in these situations, and it’s not going to be perfect either way. If somebody comes up with a good solution, perhaps we’ll post it here, but more than likely we’ll have to wait for Version 3.
But it’s not all bad
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The above makes it sound like this is a bad program. It isn’t. It’s only bad for the purpose I bought it for. If you like to play in full or mostly full games only, this program is sound, and comparable to version 5 of Turbo Texas Hold’em. If you’re mostly a shorthanded player, it’s not worth the price. But if you’re a typical full-game player, this program could easily be worth more than the price. As I said in my introduction, the usual praises of Wilson Software do apply; read my review of them for more information.
Conclusion
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The following statements evaluate this software package as a whole, on its own merit, not just how it differs from the other Wilson Software products. I’ll still make comparisons to the other products, however, where they’re similar.
The Good:
* Strong opponents
* Useful advisor features
* Spread-limit play
* Ability to create new opponents
* Solid simulation capabilities
The Bad:
* Not good for practicing very shorthanded play
* No tournaments
* Some interface quirks
* No uninstaller
AI: 7/10
The score suffered a bit because of the inability to adjust for ante sizes and for shorthanded play.
Features: 8/10
Everything that’s really needed is there, but they could have added a bit more.
Graphics: 6/10
Bland, but bearable.
Sound: 7/10
The same sounds and voices as in other Wilson Software products.
User interface: 5/10
Same quirks as other Wilson Software products.
Overall (not an average): 8/10
Still given a high score despite individual ratings just because of what it can do for the game of the average player.
VERDICT: Buy it if you don’t intend to play this game very shorthanded. Pass if that would be your reason for buying it.
