Am I an avid poker player? Well, I wouldn't say avid. I'm familiar with it, and I get together with a few friends on Sunday night at the local tavern to lay down a few cards, but I'm not what you'd consider a great player. I've lost more than I've won, but I've taken my experiences and applied them towards the game in the hopes that, someday, I'll be able to hit Vegas and come back with just a little bit more cash than I walked in with. Wishful thinking, eh? Anyway, a game that can probably help prepare you better for the world of poker is World Poker Tour 2K6, yet another video game variation of Texas Hold 'Em brought to you by 2K Sports, the same folks behind NHL 2K6 and NBA 2K6.

However, despite Crave and Activision releasing some quality poker titles of their own, 2K Sports may have produced a good contender with this forthcoming game. It features a full license with the World Poker Tour, which means a large cast of actual poker players is on hand, as well as the talents of commentators Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten. The show's hostess, the lovely Shana Hiatt, also pops up to provide some assistance in the game's tutorial mode, which helps teach you the basics of poker.

You'll find a few of your favorite poker players on hand to compete for dollars alongside you, including such faces as Antonio Esfandiari, Erick Lindgren, Phil Laak, Evelyn Ng, Lyle Berman, and Michael Mizrachi, among others. The game will also feature a presentation similar to that of the show, complete with Sexton and Van Patten calling the shots on the sidelines and even participating in a few matches to show you their poker prowess. There's also authentic locations taken straight from the show, including the infamous Aviation Club in France and San Jose's own Bay 101. There'll be a few imaginative ones thrown in as well. Really, when's the last time you played some poker in Aruba? I think it was January...heh.

Customization is the name of the game in World Poker Tour 2K6, and there's two fronts in which the folks at 2K have you covered. The first is the ability to customize your player, with a number of optional clothing articles and body/face tweaking to make them look as much like you as possible. As you progress further into the game, you can also unlock new items by purchasing them with earned tokens, which you can rack up pretty quickly during a few rounds.

The other level of customization comes into the form of crafting your own specific tournament. The Create-A-Game mode allows you to tweak with the rules in any way shape or form, like picking your own wild cards and taking specific cards out of the equation. The computer AI will be able to keep up with your rules at any given time, even keeping up on calls and raises if need be. If that doesn't satisfy you, however, you can take your variation of poker online via Xbox Live or the PS2 servers and test other players out on your build, which is a nice touch. If you're not up for testing your imagination, you can always just play standard poker against other players and rack up your cash.

The number of poker games available vary, from typical Texas Hold 'Em to incredibly challenging variations like Tahoe. There's also seven card stud if you're feeling old-school. Aside from the different games you can choose from, you can also roam around in Career Mode, cruising the casinos and keeping your player in check as you check around for opponets to play against and new tables to tackle, each with their own pre-set blinds and limits. You can even build your way into televised events on the WPT itself, depending on your skills. But be warned, these tournaments aren't easy. In fact, they're pretty cutthroat.

Priced at $20 and more jam-packed than an air conditioned casino on a hot Saturday, World Poker Tour 2K6 looks like another hot ticket from the folks at 2K Games. If the online stuff doesn't hook you, the Career mode and the professional presentation are bound to have you hook, line, and sinker. Look for a full review upon the game's release next month, where I'll hopefully be able to keep a virtual bankroll more than $20. Yeah, I wish.