Play in your own private Texas Hold 'Em poker tournament

Joe Amarante

November 18, 2004 - Handheld poker games? That's so 1990. But certain types of poker have become the rage on television, so the handhelds are changing.

With poker championships saturating TV these days, poker pals are playing plenty of their own versions of TV and casino games, such as Texas Hold 'Em, Let It Ride and Caribbean poker. Toy maker Techno Source has released a 3-in-1 Poker handheld toy that deals only those versions of poker.

The Bee 3-in-1 Poker handheld comes complete with two AA batteries and a backlight button that illuminates the otherwise paltry graphics. (The Techno Source/Bee line already includes handhelds for draw poker, 3-in-One Casino, Solitaire and 7-in-One Casino games.)

Texas Hold 'Em is the most fun of the three, with Caribbean playing fairly simple (five cards vs. the dealer) and Let It Ride playing too simple (the object is to get a pair of 10s or higher out of three cards).

Techno Source, by the way, also offers a throwback line of video games in a new package. The plug-and-play device (a video-game controller not requiring a big console) includes 1980s favorite Intellivision games. (Atari games are offered by another manufacturer in a similar format.)

The complete video-games system for Intellivision is no console; it comes with either 10 or 25 games preprogrammed into a stand-alone gaming controller that just plugs into a TV.

A publicist says you can find the poker or Intellivision games in Toys R Us, Wal-Mart and KB Toys. Both sell for $9.95 each.