When I reviewed STACKED for the PS2 earlier this year, I gave it pretty high marks. While the PSP version has its own set of problems, it's still the best Texas Hold 'Em game you are going to find on the platform, and with the added ability to sync your PS2 game progress with your PSP (and Vice Versa) it's tough not to recommend it to those folks currently enjoying it on the more stationary Sony system. Stacked on the PSP isn't perfect, and carries over a few of the problems that the PS2 version had, but it's still a lot of fun.

STACKED with Daniel Negreanu features poker pro Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu, who not only adorns the box, but also serves as the master of ceremonies in the game, taking players through poker school and giving them helpful tips while they play in either tournament or cash games. STACKED doesn't dumb the game of Texas Hold 'Em down for newcomers and gives them knowledge that they can use in a real-world games. Negreanu's tips and schooling make it easy for new players to learn and jump into a cash game with ease and take the knowledge to most any other Texas Hold 'Em game on the internet.

The game of Texas Hold 'Em seems complicated at first glance, but the game is pretty straight forward: each player is dealt two cards called the "hole" or "pocket". Players can bet on these cards, or stay in the game and wait for the first three cards to be revealed (called the "flop"). From there players can bet again, call or check. Yet another card called the "turn" is revealed and betting, calling and checking can occur. Finally the last card is revealed called the "river," after which more betting, checking etc. can occur. Once all the posturing is complete your two cards are revealed and the player with the best hand wins. The idea of Texas Hold 'Em is that you use your two "hole" cards in conjunction with the cards on the table to create the best hand. You can bet on almost anything (high card, pair, two of a kind, three of a kind, Straight, Flush, full house, four of a kind, Straight Flush and Royal Flush). Obviously the best hand wins and takes the pot. Sure this is a watered down explanation of a game that can prove to be easy to learn but hard to master, but that's the basic gist of how it all works..

As the game progresses, small blinds and big blinds are increased -- depending on what the limit of the particular game is -- allowing you to wager more and more money. As you do this and win you'll clean other players out and eliminate them. The object is to be the last player standing in every game, although you can unlock things by meeting a certain placement level (5th or 9th for example). As you move along in each game type (Public, VIP etc.) you unlock more things. You can unlock more game types, qualifying matches, pro poker players (Josh Arieh, Jennifer Harman, Erick Lindgren, Juan Carlos Mortensen, Evelyn Ng and David Williams) and more. There is a lot to unlock in STACKED so playing though each game is worth the effort.

One of the nice things about STACKED is that even seasoned players can be challenged by the game's capable AI controlled players. The A.I. is designed to learn from how you play and adjust accordingly, and for the most part it does just that.

Once you get the hang of things in single-player, you can go online to play against other players in casual cash and single and multiple table tournaments. Once you feel out how things work online, you can join in on the official tournaments sponsored by MTV. These will eventually lead successful players to real world tournaments against stars like marquee player Daniel Negreanu.

Two of the key features are important in making this game stand out is the Poki AI system and PSP connectivity with the PS2 version. The AI, as I've already briefly touched upon, has been put together pretty well, with computer players offering a real challenge to players and quickly learning how players play hands. The AI is adaptive, learning from player styles, using every poker trick in the book. The AI isn't flawless, which lends itself to realism because it feels like you are playing against real personalities. This is even more so the case when playing against the pros (as opposed to the no-name fodder you'll go through in the early parts of the game), who play pretty closely to the their real world counterparts.

The other feature that is important is the ability to sync the PSP version of the game with your PS2, allowing you to take your game "on the go" or upload your PSP game to your PS2, maintaining all your stats, money and characters. This is a very nice feature that lets you continue to play no matter where you are and allows you to have continuity and progress no matter which Sony platform you are using.

STACKED still has a few problems on the PSP - many of which I took issue with on the PS2. The character creation system is still anemic, and doesn't offer all that much customization. You can choose character types, change their ethnicity a little bit and their outfits slightly but you can't create something from scratch. You also don't get to choose your personality and voice because it is tied to the character model and not something you can select separately.

The pacing on the game is also very slow - slower in fact than on the PS2. You can chalk some of this up to the limited resources of the PSP. This makes games go a lot longer than they really should and the added animation doesn't help matters at all. I still wish there was an adjustment in the game to speed things up, turn animation off and turn off other aspects of the game that slow everything down - but those options aren't available.