PKR Interview

Recently we got a chance to speak with a higher-up from PKR.  We wanted first hand answers to some of our questions, and we got them.  This is an Internet exclusive interview: Enjoy!

1.  How did the PKR idea come about?

When Jez San conceived of PKR he imagined an online poker room that would marry his two passions; poker and state of the art interactive games. His goal was nothing short of changing the way online poker is played. His method – combining stunning 3D graphics with deeply immersive video game technology to bring the personality back to online poker.

Drawing on his formidable experience as a video game developer (he was the first person ever to be awarded an OBE for services to the video games industry) San assembled a group of the best designers, artists and programmers in the world to bring this vision to reality.

2.  What will 3D poker offer to payers that traditional 2D can't?

Pre-PKR the world of online poker looked about as exciting as the solitaire game that came pre-installed in your PC. In contrast, PKR virtually leaps out of the screen with the kind of slick graphics and clever features that you would expect from the latest X-Box or PlayStation2 release.

And the game doesn’t just look great, the level of control and expression players are given means that the playing experience is significantly enhanced. These features aren’t just there to make the game different for difference stake – they’re based on San’s love of poker and what he thought he could bring to the online game.

“When I play live games it’s a fun way to see my friends, have a bit of banter and try to outsmart each other. I look forward to that a lot more in playing poker than the money side of things or the cards. That’s something I really miss when I played poker online and I kept thinking that the whole experience could be a lot better.” Says San.


3.  What impact do you believe PKR will have on online poker?

Right now the online poker market is dominated by two types of players. A few big hitters like Party Poker, who’s multi-billion pound floatation grabbed business headlines last year and a gaggle of ‘me too’s’ who’ve rushed copycat sites to the market in a scramble to scoop up the crumbs the big boys leave under the table. Knowing this you might wonder how PKR expects to carve out a niche in this hyper-competitive business.

The answer lays in being decidedly different. While there may seem to be almost endless variety in the online poker market the look and feel of one site compared to the other is fundamentally the same. And rather dull.

PKR has decided to go its own way - creating what PKR founder and President Jez San describes as, “the most visually stunning, deeply interactive online poker room ever seen.”
PKR is the next big thing in online poker and has set out its stall as the online poker site that is going to revolutionize the way the game is played and is set to take on the industries leading players.



4.  We've heard whispers about the depth of player customization, can you explain it a little more?

San’s master stroke was to marry PKR’s state of the art graphics and incredible levels of customisation with an inventive ‘emotional’ playing system. Poker legend Amarillo Slim is famous for saying that poker is all about playing the person, not the cards. PKR takes this principle to heart by letting every player create an incredibly realistic in-game character that reflects their unique personality. PKR can even render an in game image that looks exactly like you by using similar technology as that used in facial recognition systems. So, you’re free to play as yourself, or anyone you want to be.

Once PKR players are finished fine tuning their image, they’re naturally going to want to express themselves at the table. PKR’s unique ‘Emote Control’ system allows players to engage in all sorts of poker related shenanigans, from a subtle grin to over the top expressions of the joy and grief that are an intrinsic part of the game of poker. What’s more some of these ‘Emotes’ are involuntary. Look at your cards, for example, and the whole table will see you doing it. So, not only is there an opportunity for players to express themselves, but the rest of the table also gets the chance pick up a telltale sign of a bluff – or a monster hand.