Playing Texas Hold 'Em with professional poker players requires excellent poker skills and a lot of money, but there are ways you can play against them without putting anything at risk. The Poker Superstars series of video games allows you to take on some of poker's best players in different tournaments and poker challenges.

Three different versions of the Poker Superstars game have been released. The first version was "Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament" and the second game was simply called "Poker Superstars II." The most recent version of the game is "Poker Superstars III: Gold Chip Challenge," released in 2007. All of the games are created by the Funkitron Company, creator of other games such as Scrabble Blast.

Poker Superstars takes up the full screen on your monitor and is a one-player game. The game has two difficulty settings, amateur and superstar. You can choose from several modes to play in: Tournament, Quick Game, Heads-Up, or you may choose to compete in one of the challenges. There are more than 10 challenges, including hand nicknames, one card visible and knock-out, where you must eliminate all your opponents. Every section of the game features the ability to earn gold coins that add up until you have defeated the game. The game utilizes a mouse and mostly requires clicking. The only typing you will do is for names at the beginning of the game.

Along with all of the game play options, Poker Superstars has other features that help make this game stand out. Players can import their own photo and use it as their avatar during games. Poker Superstars also keeps track of every hand and compiles a list of statistics available for players to study and see how they play. Along with the statistics, the game also keeps track of your best hands, biggest pots and best performances. The main menu of the game also features access to game tips that will help you along the way.

The game is based on a tournament of the same name. Famous poker players such as Gus Hansen, Daniel Negreanu, Jennifer Tilly and Johnny Chan have participated in the tournament. Some of the tournament players have signed on to be part of the video games. These players include Chan, Barry Greenstein, Joe Hachem, and Jennifer Harman and they are your opponents in the game. All of these players are former tournament champions who make a living from the game of poker.

A free trial of the game is available directly through Funkitron, or through other gaming websites such as Yahoo Games and iWin. The free trial lasts for 60 minutes and features every section of the game. You can also download the complete game by paying the purchase price, or you can buy hard copies of the game can be found at many retail stores.