Be My Poker Buddy? Third Meditation on Media

I’ve recently been absorbed into online poker. Don’t worry, it’s nothing dangerous. It’s only a minor addiction and I have found a site where I can play for free. It’s called Zynga Poker and you can link to it right off Facebook.

The real appeal of this game is only half in the poker. When I first played I was given $1,000 in chips but my total reached $20,000 is about a half hour. No, I am not that brilliant of a poker player. The real amount I made was merely $600 in chips; the rest was given to me for free.

But what is the appeal of playing a poker game that gives you ships for free? Well, it’s the achievements of course. The free chips seem like a lot at first but after you have gained all the beginner achievements you mostly on your own. The fight from $20,000 chips to your first $100,000 is much, much harder. The achievements are more specific and their total reward is less, but somehow they are still just as rewarding.

Poker, combined with achievements that you can post on Facebook, combined with experience levels makes for a game that’s really hard to put down.

Here is a little sample of what the game play looks and sounds like:

 

Just hearing those chips fall makes me want to play. If you want to join in, look up Zynga Poker on Facebook, or follow this link to their site directly.

Triune Brain:

Zynga Poker engages my neo cortex like a puzzle would. I must actively think about each bet I make. I have to evaluate my hand and the possible hands of my opponents in order to make good betting decisions.

The limbic part of my brain enjoys the interaction the game provides as well as the aesthetics of the game. The jingle of the chips as they hit the table excites me now as I am trained to expect high winnings. The sounds of the chips actually changes when more are placed on the table.

The reptilian brain throws my heart into rapid beatings when my raises are matched or re-raised. A panic reflex I feel that tells me I need to run away. The threat may be only that I have lost my hand but my reptilian brain equates the dangers in poker to real life threatening dangers.

Eight Shifts:

By the fact that this game can be played as an extension of Facebook is an example of a personal shift. The game allows you to invite and play with all your Facebook friends easily and it even gives you the option to send your friends a random amount of free chips everyday.

An aesthetic shift is occurring because the lines between Facebook and outside applications are fading away. IT took me no effort at all to jump into this poker game with my Facebook profile and automatically get a list of all friends playing. Poker and social networks are no longer separate entities, but are merging into something larger.

Seven Principles:

Reality Construction/Trade-offs – Zynga Poker is fun, but I was a little worried when my profile was imported from Facebook. Not everything was imported, but I didn’t feel like some things (location and what networks I was a part of) needed to be shared over the poker table.

Value Message – The message I get from Zynga poker is that I should get more friends and I should get them to send me free poker chips. This game encourages you to play with your friends and it makes it easy to do with the Facebook hookup.

Pacing – This is a tough one to deal with for a game that deals in turn based play. Fortunately there is a nice feel to the pacing. Each player gets a timer for their turn and it is not too short and not too long. This keeps you from getting bored while waiting for the next hand. The hands come so rapidly, in fact, it keeps you from finding a good place to stop.

Persuasive Techniques:

Symbols – The universal symbols for c a card game are used, the heart, diamond, club, and spade. Zynga also has a dog silhouette as part of their logo, which I like.

Flattery – this game sends you gifts for all the achievements you get and makes you feel good about yourself even if you are loosing in the long run.

Group Dynamics – This game enforces group dynamics by tailoring everything to involve your friends or Facebook page. They want you to tall everyone else about what you are winning.

Diversion is employed in a way to keep you from seeing the losses you are accumulating. While you may loose, you still can gain achievements and feel like you are doing well.

While this game does suck up all your time if your not careful, it is one of the best free poker game’s I have tried. However, I have not tried many.  Maybe we will see each other at the tables. Look for “Javier Butler.” I am always looking for new poker buddies.

P.S.

Got this flop the other day: