|
Order the CD
| |
Master Poker Free Demo Download
You may download a free Demo Version of Master Poker Version 1 (older
version) at no cost. This little Demo
allows you to play more than a thousand hands so you can get a feel for how the
program plays (it will be similar to the new Version 2), but is limited to 800x600
resolution, has many missing and locked features that are only available in the Full
Version, and has it's artificial intelligence locked to provide only basic play.
The idea with the Demo is just to give you a general idea of what to expect in the Full
Version of the program.
"I am so impressed with this program.
I play it for hours at a time and just can't seem to get my fill. My wife
bought it with the intention of keeping me off the Internet poker sites. Now
she's trying to figure out how to get me off the computer completely.
Outstanding job!"--Winston C., San Leandro, CA
(Download
size 20.5 meg)
Program Note: This Demo was
originally released for Version 1 of Master Poker. If you were to purchase
Master Poker today you would automatically receive the newest Version (v2) of the
program. The Demo above does not demonstrate the full power of its artificial
intelligence, the
new features of Version 2, or even all of the features that were available in
Version 1, but you may still see a comprehensive list of the current feature
set by clicking on the 'Home' tab at the top of this page.
The Master Poker Demo is distributed in a .zip file in order to make the download
as small as possible. Here are the complete steps to installing the MP Demo on your computer:
1. Click the button above to download the MP Demo Setup file to your
computer (zip file).
Note: Be sure to pay
attention to where the Setup file is being downloaded. Unless your download
files
go straight to your Windows Desktop it's very easy to lose track of them.
2. Locate and unzip the MP Demo Setup file to a temporary folder (with
newer Windows versions right-click the file and choose Extract
all).
Note: Folks with older versions of Windows (ie. Win98) may need to first obtain a
free zip utility such as WinZip, Zip
Reader, or PKZip.
3. Look for the 'setup.exe' file (all lowercase letters) in the unzipped folder and double-click
it to begin the Master Poker Demo installation. The Windows Setup Wizard should
take over and guide you through the remaining steps.
Install Note: To make Master Poker compatible with all versions of Windows the program uses some older versions of database support files.
During installation, if Windows asks if you wish keep some of your existing Windows files, click YES to each one. If your Windows system is fully up to date this could be as many as 8-10 files (with descriptions like ‘Jet’ and ‘DAO’). Clicking yes instructs Windows to keep your newer file versions. Master Poker works properly with either old or new.
The MP Demo does not automatically install a shortcut icon on your Windows
Desktop. You must run the program from your Programs Menu (click the 'Start'
button, 'Programs', look for the Master Poker folder, then double-click the
file with the red 'MP' on it). You can also make a desktop shortcut while
there if you wish (right-click file with red 'MP', 'create shortcut').
Please contact me if you have any problems running the Demo. Hopefully, you will enjoy the Demo
enough to come back and purchase the Full Version
of Master Poker. Be sure to bookmark our website address right now so you can
find us later. Enjoy!
The Demo has elicited a few specific
queries. Here is some additional Quickstart info that should help downloaders:
The information below is also included in the file called User
Guide which can be found in the Master Poker directory on the program menu under your
Windows Start button. The User
Guide file has detailed instructions on using all of MP's features. It
is worth a look, especially if you're test-driving the Demo.
- The Betting Bar: This allows you to size your bets to anything you wish both preflop and post flop. When it is your turn to act put your cursor over the area just above the 'All-in' button. The green betting bar should appear. You can drag the slider on the bar to set the
amount you want to bet. The bar also has some small
arrow buttons for fine adjustments. Right-click them to see the Help window for what each button does.
- Using the Keyboard to Bet: You can use numeric keys (1-10) on the keyboard to make betting much easier:
- Preflop a numeric key will raise a multiple of the Big Blind (BB) above the posted BB.
Example: If no preflop raise has been made hit the '2' key to raise twice the size of the big blind for a total raise of 3x's the bb (you're calling the BB and raising '2' more bb's). The '3' key would be 3x's the BB, etc... This means to get your standard 3x's the BB opening bet just ht the '2' key when it is your turn to act.
- Once someone else raises the number key will reraise a multiple of the last raise, above the ‘To Call’ amount.
Example: If an AI player makes a standard opening raise of 3xbb and you hit the '2' key, you will reraise 2x's the size of his raise. The '3' key would be 3x's the size of his raise,
etc...
- The Flop/Turn/River is a little different. If you're making the initial bet it will be a
percentile of the pot. Example: If the pot is 500 and you are the first to act after the flop pressing the ‘2’ numeric key will bet 20% of the pot, or 100 chips. Pressing ‘5’ would bet 50% of the pot, or 250 chips, etc
...
- On the Flop/Turn/River, once the initial bet has been posted by another player your keyboard number will become a multiple of the last bet/raise above the ‘To Call’ amount (just like
preflop). Example: If an opponent bets 100 into a pot of 500 on the flop, it is 100 chips for you to call. If you press the 3 key, your bet will be his 100 plus a raise of 3x his bet (300 more), for a total wager of 400 chips. You have raised 3x (key ‘3’) his initial bet. The '5' key would be 5x's, etc ...
-
Fast-clicking the Deal button with the mouse: Some folks report the 'Deal'
button does not click properly when they're quickly clicking to Zip ... Deal
... Zip ... Deal ... I've found this to occur for one of two reasons:
1) Some people just
click their mice very quickly and the click sometimes doesn't register with
the application (I call it Triggerfinger). You likely do it in all of your software
but it's easier to detect while playing poker
because you're clicking rapidly on one button and expecting an immediate
result (over and over), or,
2) When playing multi-table tournaments, you're clicking the Deal button before
all computer players on the
tables out of your view finish their hands. In Master Poker those unseen
tables are actually playing hands just like you are, and the current hand
must be finished for all tables before the Deal button officially becomes
enabled again for the next hand. Power players can eliminate this tendency by
using the keyboard keys Z and
D to Zip ... Deal ... Zip ... Deal ...
(instead of the mouse). You will find this is preferable to the mouse
anyway and
provides very smooth game play when zipping through hundreds of hands at a
time.
- The program seems to hang up once in a while
during play of hands (the Windows hourglass will appear for a few seconds),
then will return to functioning normally: This is usually the result of some
other software running in the background on your Windows Desktop (almost always
virus software). Windows needs to use the CPU and your computer puts MP on hold for a few seconds until it's done.
Simple fix, turn off the offending software while you're playing poker
(especially if you're power-playing lots of hands with the Zip function).
- You get a Windows advisement that your system is missing a needed file and
to insert the disk from the required application, which is typically
Microsoft Office or a shareware application long ago uninstalled. The
impression is that Master Poker is missing the specific file, or is somehow
tied in to the requested application. This is not the case. In the few cases
where User's reported this problem the requested App was either improperly
uninstalled, or as in the case of Office, made the mistake of thinking your
Office installation was asking for the file. In typical Office
installations, the application makes several registry entries for features
that will 'Install on Demand', then enters a small startup program to watch
for when these files are needed (you can verify this by checking the list of
apps that start automatically when you boot your computer). When Master
Poker, which uses a database file to store your preferences, starts up,
Office can sometimes mistake this for a call to use it's own database
application, resulting in the query for you to insert your Office CD. This
situation has been known to occur during both the initial installation of
Master Poker, and when you press the 'Play' button to start a new session.
The easy answer is to simply fulfill Office's request, and let it install
the file it thinks it needs. That will forever clear the file request and
let you get down to what's important--playing cards.
- When running the program the text or graphics seem too large to fit in the screen,
running out over the edges of the table. People often like to use higher
screen resolutions for Windows because it makes your graphics look much
sharper (particularly on laptops), but Windows text defaults to a very small font and can be difficult to read. Windows gives us an option to use
a higher 'Dots Per Inch' (DPI) which allows us to increase the size of
Windows text and graphics. At some point, you may have found and activated
this feature. Unfortunately, it looks like that feature is not user-friendly with
Master Poker. It does indeed increase the size of the fonts, but this makes them out of proportion to the program's graphics. Hence, the text stretches, the graphics do not.
To fix: You will have to set your default Windows DPI to 96 (standard size) for your sessions, then switch it back again when done
playing (assuming you want the larger fonts/graphics outside of poker). Not a real big deal, but I apologize for
the inconvenience. You can set/reset your Windows XP DPI by following
these steps:
Right-click your open 'Desktop', then click 'Properties', then click the 'Settings' tab. This is where you set your screen resolution. Now click on the 'Advanced' button to the right of the screen settings slider. You're looking for an option called 'DPI Setting' and should put this at 96
dpi. With both my NVIDIA and Radeon cards it is under the 'General' tab, which is the first tab displayed. If I were to guess, you currently have it set at 120
dpi to cause this issue.
- A few Users have had issues involving consistent program crashes. If
Master Poker is repeatedly crashing there is very likely a problem with your
computer, not the software itself. Yes, I know, this is exactly what you
would expect me to say, but your suspicion will only hold up if I'm trying
to avoid the issue. In this case, I'd be happy to help you identify the
cause. In
nearly all cases it is a matter of bloatware that is running on your machine
behind the scenes, likely a load of garbage programs you don't even know are
starting up every time you boot your computer. This is the same problem that
people experience when their computer begins 'slowing down'.
Master Poker is an extremely simple and stable program (programmatically
speaking), but due to it's intense use of your computer's processor it can sometimes
cause a Windows conflict due to all these programs/processes running at the same time.
Because MP is a very resource demanding application (lots of ongoing
calculations), you’re seeing the fallout of that conflict while playing poker (which means MP gets the
blame).
If you're playing the Demo (or the Full Version) and are experiencing
crashes during your poker sessions something is definitely wrong. In
working on the next version of the software I play MP for hours on end every
single day of my life and the program NEVER crashes. Contact me and I will be
happy to send you information on how to fix your computer, and I won't even
charge you for my time. ;)
If you're currently sampling the Demo Version of Master Poker and have any
questions, or are having any type of difficulty at all with the program please
contact me with the details. I will not only personally respond to your note,
but I'll post your problem here to make it easier for future users to check
it out. Thanks!
Q: How do I uninstall the Demo when I'm finished with
it?
A: To uninstall the Master Poker Demo is no different than uninstalling
any other software on your computer. In Windows XP (Vista/Win7 will be similar):
1) Click the 'Start' button
2) Click 'Control Panel'
3) Click 'Add/Remove Software'
4) Locate 'Master Poker Demo' in the list and click to 'Remove'
If you already deleted the main directory, or any part of it, and aren't sure if
it has been properly uninstalled, just try reinstalling it to normal status, then
immediately follow the steps above to properly uninstall the program (you don't need to
actually run the newly re-installed
program).
|
