PokerStars Adds Mobile Option to Home Games – Poker Basecamp

I just bought an Oculus Quest 2 on Wednesday, having almost no experience with VR or gaming. I have to say, I am super impressed and having so much fun. Quarantined days and evenings have very much improved!
To start I have rummaged through all the freebies to get used to the headset, controls and VR in general before buying games. I have some mobility issues, so it’s best for me to remain seated, but I can manage at times to stand and move around.
For other new ones to Oculus and VR I wanted to share with you a handy list of apps and experiences I can recommend since my introduction.
FREE APPS TO GET YOU STARTED:
(DO THESE FIRST)

1. Oculus First Steps (best standing, but can be done seated)
2. Oculus First Contact (best standing, but can be done seated)
3. Elixir – to learn and test handtracking abilities (standing and moving around needed )

NEXT:

1. Echo VR
2. Rec Room (all kinds of games for all kinds of mobilities)
3. Hyperdash (shooter game)
4. Pokerstars VR and Poker VR
5. Bait (fishing and relaxing – this is super nice)
6. The Under Presents (30 min demo, but very unique and worth it)
7. Half + Half
8. Epic Roller Coasters (intense if you have an issue with heights but SO fun)

UNIQUE AND INTERESTING FREE APP EXPERIENCES:

1. Notes on Blindness
2. Henry
3. Invasion
4. Dear Angelica
5. The Key
6. Home after War
7. Jurassic World (2 shorts – one is way better than the other so try both)
8. Felix & Paul (The People’s House (White House Tour), Nomads (3 films), Gymnasia (short and weird), Travelling While Black)
9. Anne Frank House VR (says it requires movement, but you can manage while seated no problem)
10. Mission: ISS (NB Motion Sickness – I got very queasy from this and I had to stop the app, but will go back as it was super realistic)
11. We Live Here (requires a little moving around, but it's not difficult)

WITHIN is an app that has a bunch of free shorts, documentaries etc. The quality is at times not great, but it varies from video to video. That said I found several interesting ones - either for the VR or the subject. Being guided through a refugee camp is special even in lowish resolution:

1. An ordinary day in North Korea & Enter North Korea
2. Channel Surfer
3. Clouds over Sidra
4. Conscious Existence (the first half is a bit slow and not really wow, and THEN it happens)
5. Crow the legend
6. Do Not Touch
7. Giant
8. Inside the Sound
9. Kinoscope
10. Rone
11. Shigeto
12. The Displaced
13. The Space Walker (could be triggering for people with height issues)
14. Tiny Tank
15. U2 Song for Someone
16. Video Game Vehicle

PLEASE NOTE I am a scaredy-cat when it comes to horror, so I have not tested anything in that category. Maybe someone can add to this list in the comments for users who want to try that?
I hope you have as much fun as I have had so far. I am now going to start out with two recommended games you can play seated: MOSS and Vader Immortal. (Update: Vader Immortal ROCKED - and I am halfway through Moss and it's the most charming thing ever)
Enjoy!
(Edit: Fixed formatting and added some more recommendations)

It's that time once again! Time for another free poker tournament on the Silverbugs Poker Club, with prizes graciously donated by Heads or Tales Coins and Collectibles!
They have been hosting these awesome events for us since 2017, and have given away so many of their amazing products, including Roman Booteen's trap coin, Ariana the Silverbugs fairy stature, and my personal favorite, (the one I nearly won, coming in second) the Libertad statue. They really deserve some Slilverbug love.
The next event will take place Saturday, September 26th at 8PM Central Time and will include the Biggest first prize yet!
For those who have already joined the Poker club (now over 240 of you!), I hope to see most of you there. For those interested in joining, just ask for details below!
You must have an active reddit account with recent post history here on /silverbugs to participate.
Update: Good news! It appears that PokerStars has finally added the “Home Game” feature to the “PokerStars Lite” mobile app. This means you can play our tournaments using your phone or tablet!
Update 2: The tournament has now been created! You will need to log in and register for it between now and start time. Please don't register unless you will for sure be able to play it really stinks having a bunch of players sitting out at the tables.
Update 3: Wow! What a great turnout with 93 players entered! That was seriously so much fun. Thank you everyone for participating, and of coarse a Huge Shoutout to Heads or Tales for hosting the coolest contest on reddit!
Here are your top 4 finishers!

• 1st Place - nichocage
  
• 2nd Place - LostCube
  
• 3rd Place - EntkEEpEr
  
• 4th Place - HellcatFSixF
  

Playing mtgo on/off since v1 (since that Lizard company did v1). Playing continuously since Theros. Never experienced lag like this...
Will try to describe - after pressing "OK" during gameplay on the panel on the left, the button just greys out and game stalls - it can be in this state for anything 30sec - 5min. I figured out that I can get it 'unstuck' by opening context menu and pressing 'Stack all abilities..' action link. Tho this does not work always.
All other aspects of the game work normal - trading, browsing collection, browsing available games etc etc.
This started happening a week before Amonkhet release. (Side note - this makes me think that they did something when they pushed Amonkhet update perhaps.)
Didn't have any lag issues (except random occasional lag) since I started playing back in Theros
I am playing on 2 different machines (2 macbooks pro running VMs with Win 10 and Win 7).
Things I tried so far:

• Contacted wotc support but no joy there - got a copy/paste reply of 'your connection issues'.
  
• Did clean install (as clean as possible) - same issue persist
  
• Tried connecting with various methods (home, mobile hotspot etc) - same issue persist
  

Of note - I have a 250/100 cable internet at home. I have 0 issues with the uplink/downlink with anything else I do (Hearthstone, Pokerstars, Minecraft, Rocsksmith... movies, tv, work, you name it)
It is very baffling - 2 different machines with 2 different operating systems, different method of connection...
Any ideas or suggestions I could try? I am really suffering as I am now losing due to timeouts as I need massive amounts of time to complete a turn :(
Many thanks, any help is welcome

Hey poker reddit,
This is Dave Jung and my new ID for reddit, I was the former regional director of Asia for Pokerstars and still the CEO of HeroPoker. I've embarked on a new venture and industry in poker and have entered into the social poker field with a new variant of Hold'em which I've conceived/conceptualized, called, "Hero Hold'em".
 
As far as I've researched and thought about for the last couple of years, this is the first of its kind, in terms of it being a completely new variant and in production as an online game.
 
WHAT IS HERO HOLD'EM So, cutting to the chase, I've introduced a community wild card to the game of Hold'em. While wild cards are common in stud/draw games and wilds are common in Hold'em home games as specific cards, i.e. 2's wilds, this should be the first public variant where it includes a community wild card. Since it is the first one, I've named it Hero Hold'em where the community wild card is called the 'Hero Card'.
 
In terms of game play mechanics, it is nearly identical to Texas Hold'em, 2 hole cards, flop turn river, except the second card on the flop is the 'hero card'. And being a community wild card, it obviously changes to make the strongest hand for the flop, turn & river. This makes it a tough game to follow when you play live or if you're new to hold'em in general. So why make it and why think it can work?
 
WHY MAKE THIS? Basically, it's a super high action game, and as our tag line goes, Final table hands & Monster showdowns, and for players who know Texas Hold'em and maybe have lost interest in it, they may enjoy this because, not only is it faster pace and more action, you get hands and run in with hands you normally would never have, like getting a royal flush or four of a kind.
 
Of course, this game is geared specifically for the social gaming market for obvious reasons, the biggest one being the massive amount of variance, but I have 3 objectives in doing this.
 
1. I want to see if we can tap into poker players who used to be excited in playing Hold'em, but lost interest. Playing this will remind you of playing for the first time again, because it will be hard to follow your hands initially. * *2. I think if this game is good at reactivating 'retired' poker players then it will also revive their interest in Hold'em in general, so even though the current market is on a decline, those players who haven't had a reason to revisit poker at all, this could be a teaser to re-pique their dormant interest. * *3. I want to see if this 'experiment' of sorts can also lead to a variant which can branch off a new standard, frankly, Hero Hold'em will never supercede or replace Texas Hold'em, but maybe we can find a new variant in the future that can add to the current duopoly of Texas Hold'em and Omaha.
 
WHY A NEW VARIANT THAN FEATURE? So why a new variant rather than a new feature? Well, ok, I've been in this industry as an exec since 2007 and as a consultant since 2004 and in pc gaming since 1999 and I understand games in general. And I what I think a lot of people miss is that there are certain attributes that make Texas Hold'em a hit game, and one of them is really playing the players. Features that focus on the jackpot or just the cards are great for general excitement, but they also take away from what drew players to hold'em in the first place.
 
The other consideration is that, yes, this is online, so having webcams seems like a great feature, but that also takes away from the convenience of playing online - I mean, we seek to have an identity online, or, persona, but we still want the feature to play in our PJs or just for 15 mins and not get in crap for it - after all, for a lot of people, live home game poker is always an option/substitute.
 
I think, Hero Hold'em is an expensive experiment or hypothesis that asks, what about Texas Hold'em can we maintain, while, creating more fun. Of course, fun goes hand in hand with more action etc, but it is about an overall experience that isn't directed to just about winning, but about the act of playing.
 
** FOR A GAME: WINNING IS GOOD, BUT FUN IS BETTER** What I mean about that is, most online poker (in the real money segment) nowadays is directed to hold on to players who want to just win, but trying to attract recreational players for the 'winners' to win off of. And really, this is the sole goal of these sites and the sole goal of a serious poker player is simply to win. But recreational player's goal is fundamentally different. They want to enjoy the game and winning is a big part of it, but is not the only part of it. So, to be clear, is this a game for pros? No, it's not, it's not catering to players who just want to win only, it's a game that first and foremost is trying to bring out the fun in the game. And in that respect, I think it is a good step in that direction, maybe too much of a step, but, I think it is a way forward opposed to the what others are focusing on.
 
Of course I've given it a massive amount of thought and for the first time in my career in this industry I've been able to be part of the development process and so here we are. I feel excited and while this may never qualify as professional poker, if it is like a gateway point that rekindles someone's love of poker (who have stopped playing completely) or itself is just a really good social poker game, I think it was worth the time and effort on it.
 
THE FACEBOOK BETA So, we've launched it as a beta on Facebook today and we have friends playing at the moment. HeroHold'em on Facebook There has been a massive learning curve for me as I was not business familiar with the social gaming space other than in Asia, so we have achievements etc. It is a work in progress, but I think our game will never be as busy as the other social poker games and I'm fine with that, I'd like the game play to be the drawing factor anyway.
 
So you can type on Facebook, Hero Hold'em Poker and check it out and join it. So I'd really like everyone's feedback on the game variant itself, the platform etc I'm improving, just takes time.
 
LOOKING FOR FEEDBACK But please keep in mind: -It's going to be targeted to players who have stopped playing hold'em or poker in general. -It's entirely meant to be a social poker game and if it piques interest back into Texas Hold'em then cool. -It's not meant to replace Texas Hold'em, that's not the objective.
 
The game play feedback thus far has been: 1. If it wasn't online so that you could see where you are at-in terms of hand value/set, it would be too hard to follow initially. 2. It definitely is a different game that Texas Hold'em, like there are no 2 pairs, it will either be 3 of kind or a full house. 3. Low pocket pairs (as hole cards) are super powerful now because they don't lose value if a face card hits on the flop. 4. Trips are the new pair, and a pair is the new high card. 5. It's not a question now whether the Hero or the Villain has a good hand, it's a matter that yes, there is a made hand and whether or not you're trapping or getting trapped. 6. So this game has definitely moved from a focus on bluffing to trapping in terms of frequency. 7. This game really only appeals to those who have played Texas Hold'em, for those who haven't, they have a hard time understanding what is really going on. But, what we've gotten good feedback on from non-pros is that, yes, it's fun. (thank God for that lol, of course we tested it live etc, but still)*
 
THE GODLIKE FACTOR I kinda feel it's like when you play a PC game with a godlike mode or Street Fight 2, but when they had those ultra versions when you can continually throw fireballs etc. It would be boring if you didn't suffer to play the real version and know how hard and rewarding that original game is, like, 'what is this dumb game, it's too easy or too op,' but if you've suffered and really understand the game makes you godlike, then it makes you feel awesome for a time before you turn off the godlike and get crushed again, then turn the godlike mode back on to relax. I think that is what the concept of this particular variant does.
 
But down side is, it likely won't appeal to absolutely new players, but that is fine, I mean if you haven't played Hold'em in the last 10 years, other than being under age, what rock have you been living under?
 
So I'd love everyone's feedback on everything, please keep in mind, really this is a beta, so while the game play works etc, there are lot or endless amount of upgrades we are looking at doing, but being a social game, it will never be as function heavy as a client based downloaded application. If there are any bugs, please let me know here. It is written in HTML5.
 
I chose reddit first and will post this on twoplustwo (but in the business section) because I did want an open discussion on it with a very diverse pool of players, and I'll post this in the business section of twoplustwo later because I think they'll look at it as more of a business discussion rather than getting into a debate on recreational and professional players.
 
BEST REGARDS Ok, thanks for reading this long posting, I'll be online throughout the week to answer any questions, but whatever feedback you guys can give will be great. Oh, and yes, it's only available on Facebook desktop. You can play in the mobile browser by going to heroholdem.com and loggin in via facebook, but all game play is via facebook at the moment. So basically, tablet will work, but best on desktop, mobile hasn't been optimized yet. We are close to getting on to Google play, maybe in the next 2 weeks, you have to pick your battle with resources, but I figure once we have Facebook stored with all the achievements and feedback, then moving on to other platforms should be our next priority.
 
So thanks in advance for any feedback, negative or positive, I mean I have risked a lot to get it done before going for mass public feedback, but that's how I roll, fortune favours the bold. Has worked so far lol.
 
Cheers, David Jung Hero Hold'em Poker CEO
 
Cliffs: New hold'em variant on facebook only, with community wild card. Developed by David Jung to re-engage ex-poker players. Heroholdem.com HeroHold'em on Facebook