Heads Up: Hold'em version 2.1 Submitted to Apple

Version 2.1 was submitted to Apple today (5/26/09).

EDIT: AND APPROVED TODAY (6/2/09).

What's in it? I'm glad you asked:

• Saves the game-states for each type of game separately. So you can suspend a 1-player game in order to play a 2-player game and then return to it later. Or vice-versa.
• New AI player: Chameleon. Takes on personality traits of the other players, and switches between them without notice. Thus "changing gears" while playing and making this player very difficult to read. This may prove to be the hardest AI to play against...
• AI Improvements. Several tweaks and adjustments to the AI and a few new and improved strategies added.
• Getting Started Screen Overlays with basic game information will appear the first time the program is run and on the game/hand after pressing the 'help' button.
• Fixed the top chip color bug in 2-player games.
  
• Several other bug fixes.
  

In other news: the (very limited) FREE version of the game is released and currently bouncing between #9 - #11 on the "Free Card Games" and "Free Casino Games" lists on iTunes.

In other other news: a 'sexy' version of the game is looking really good (pun intended) and should be submitted to Apple soon...

Heads Up: Hold'em version 2.1

Here are some updates about what will be happening in the immediate future for version 2.1.
It will be late May or early June so we can catch any other bugs and things that come up in the next week or two.
(This will not have any of the Bluetooth or WiFi stuff mentioned before. This will be bug fixes and smaller things.)

Switch between each type of game without ending/losing another one.
This is already done. Each of the three types of games will save their progress separately. So switching from a 1-player to 2-player to cards-only and back again will not effect your other games.
The menu screens will work a bit differently to accommodate this. The options to "Resume, Increase Blinds, or Start a New Game" will be a pop-up window when you select your game type from the main screen.

Top player card-protector color problem.
Fixed.

Deck isn't drawn for 1st in-progress hand after closing the app and returning.
Fixed. (Or soon to be fixed.)

New AI personalities. (Names TBD)
In Progress.
Math or Statistical player who will play by game theory (as best we can) and very strict bet-sizing rules. (3x preflop, 3/4 pot postflop with minimal deviation.)
Super-Maniac who bets big and bets often. (Watching Durrr on High Stakes Poker for inspiration.)
Chameleon who will switch between personalities (change gears) during the game.

AI improvements
In Progress.
Some changes won't necessarily be improvements from a game play standpoint, but will allow some personalities to play more 'emotionally' like going on tilt, etc.
We're keeping most of this info secret. :-)

Yesterday morning (5/12/09) we were #80 in "Paid Card Games" and #68 in "Paid Casino Games." This morning (5/13/09) we were #31 in Cards and #26 in Casino! NICE!

Heads Up: Hold'em version 2 IS AVAILABLE!!

Version 2 of Heads Up: Hold'em is in the AppStore now!
GET IT (iTunes link)

I really hope everyone enjoys it.
If you do like it, please write us a review on iTunes. Version 1 got panned a bit for not having chips and the 1-player game. We've 'fixed' those things now, but people rarely go back to re-review...

What's next:

• More (and better) AI personalities.
• Hopefully bluetooth (and WiFi) support when OS-3 is out to allow play on 2 iPhones.
  
• Maybe some kind of online leader board. (?)
• More ideas that we're keeping to ourselves for now. :-)
  

I also hope everyone following this blog for poker software updates enjoyed my tourist pictures from England...
For what it's worth, I won £175 playing £1-£1 at the Grosvenor Victoria (Old Vic) Casino.
On my very first hand of poker in England, I was dealt A-A. The flop came A-K-7, and was bet into enough to put me all-in. The turn was another king to give me A-A-A-K-K. Welcome to the country! (Sadly, I'd only bought-in for the minimum in order to get a feel for the table. I could have won a lot more on this hand...)
I also sold a copy of iCatchall to one of my friends there. Does that make it a business trip?

PS: The picture is from the plane home. A nice "REALLY??? I flop a full-house and then THIS happens" moment.

London Tourist, continued...

Facebook has a much better picture-upload system than Blogger does.... So look at more pictures there.

LONDON, & ENGLAND GALLERY ON FACEBOOK

London Tourist, Days 1 & 2

These pictures are not in order. But I'm on vacation, so this is close enough..

Big Ben and the houses of Parliament. View from the London Eye. Our personal Egg.

Us in our personal egg. Did I mention we got a personal egg. That's unusual, apparently. Normally they cram 30 people in these things. But we got it all to ourselves.
Me and my hill. This is near St. Paul's. We stopped in to St. Paul's but the gallery and crypt was close, so we are going back either tomorrow.

Alice wearing St. Paul's as a hat. This is on the Millennium Bridge.

Cool walkway balconies. This is in the newly-gentrified Southwark (pronounced suthuk if you know what you're saying and South-whark if you don't.)

The Tower Bridge. (NOT London Bridge). We walked across Tower Bridge to Southwark.

(did you pronounce it right?) In the Tower of London.

Henry VIII thought well of himself. At one of the exhibits, I overheard a young kid say (strong British accent here) "Look, 'e 'had an enormous cock." Why yes, yes he did.

Alice & Dahn at Traitors Gate, Tower of London.

Tower Bridge from Tower of London. Those old-timey Brits liked their towers.

Me in a guard house.

The Tower of London. Trebuchet. (Probably spelled wrong.)

Cricket. In Wimbledon.

John Innes park in Wimbledon. We took a long walk through the park to fight jet lag on the first day.

Alice & Dahn.

More pictures soon.

As I'm typing this, I'm enjoying a gin & tonic at John & Dahn's house. We're watching trashy British Tele, which far surpasses trashy American TV. We'll likely pop off to a pub for a pint (and dinner) soon.

Yesterday, the plane landed at about 10:30 am, and Alice and I set a goal to stay awake until 9:00pm. We succeeded with only a few minor dozes-off between. Which did a great job of kicking the jet lag, but then we slept for about 12 hours (9 to 9) and then we set out for all the central-London sightseeing shown above.

More soon.