Are You A Poker Shark? Think You Can Raise One?
Poker Sharks is an online poker game where players sign up and take control of their very own Poker Shark. They then play a combination of smaller games to build up their shark’s poker skills to try and climb as high up the rankings as possible. The game is played in real time so each day your shark age by one day for 100 days until they grow from a young baby shark into a wise old Poker Shark.
Each day players login and play various games, feed their sharks, home them, buy them toys or get them a job to increase their individual score in a bid to climb up the shark rankings. The newest addition to the site is the poker room where players can gamble their in-game chips against one another in live Sit-and-Go and Tournament tables.
The game was created by Gareth Stephens (AKA Lynx) and began in September 2005 and is played over a 100 day Season. The new season just started and Lynx is trying to drum up buzz for the game with this ReviewMe review. At the the end season, a winner is announced. There is no prize money (only bragging rights), and no real money every changes hands. The game is entirely for fun. Poker Sharks is suitable for all ages and people of all backgrounds. Winning the play money does help your shark. You can use the winnings to buy your shark a comfortable life.
Meet Dot Chow – She Will Grow Up To Be A Great White Poker Shark
Setting up a free account at Poker Sharks is extremely easy. You’ll need to sign up, then choose and name your shark. There are eight types of sharks to choose from, each having different ability levels at certain poker skills. The different percentages gained or lost in each poker skill all come into play when calculating challenges and tournaments so pick your opponents wisely. I choose a white shark because it’s most like me – very aggressive and isn’t bad at poker move Check-Raise. However, patience isn’t one of her virtues!
The main Poker Shark screen is confusing at first. I think Lynx should work on cleaning up the interface a bit. Fortunately, there is a good Poker Sharks Tutorial for first time shark trainers. There is also a Poker Sharks blog and forum.
Show Me The Chips!
Every shark starts off with 1000 chips. So far I’ve spent 10 chips to buy my shark some bread and water (I was too cheap to get her Algae soup) and 100 chips to buy a how to play poker book. Right now, my shark is working as a chip washer for 1000 chips per day. I failed to get her the promotion to poker table cleaner. You will get a chance to get your shark a better job each day. The top job is the Teamster Pension Fund Boss. It pays up to 40,000 chips per day (plus whatever you can skim). If your shark needs more money, you can get it to moonlight by working at the poker den.
There are many things you can do with your shark’s income. You can gamble it away at the poker tables or you can use it to buy stuff to increase your shark’s value and push it up the rankings. The more items you have, the higher your poker skills will go and hence the higher your overall value will become. You can only buy items once and can’t sell them back once they’ve been bought. The most expensive item you can buy is your own casino. That cost 500,000 chips.
How The Sharks Make Money
Poker Sharks is monetized with just Google AdSense. It’s blend very well at the upper left hand corner. Lynx should consider adding some poke affiliate deals to the mix. Eventually, some player will get tired of playing for play money and want some real action. Then again, online poker for real money is illegal in the US now.
If you’re into games like Second Life or The Sims, you should like Poker Sharks. It’s no where near as advance as the other games, but it is a lot of fun. So far my baby white is ranked 221 out of 264 sharks. That’s not too bad for the first day. I wonder how long it will take to be number one? Think you can beat me? You’re welcome to try! 
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Trackbacks
- Poker Sharks Ahoy! | The Air - June 26, 2007 at 6:26 am
- Poker Sharks.co.uk » Blog Archive » Season 4 so far… - July 8, 2007 at 5:46 am
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bahh… poker
Running low on ReviewMe requests lately, John?
Wow. People complain when there’s too many and then criticize when there’s only a few.
Very true. I personally don’t mind the review me things since Its nice to find new products every now and then
hes had like this month…. which is PLENTY oh and thats $2000
Actually, they just like to complain.
kumiko, good point and that’s life
Be Evil or Go Home!
I didn’t criticize the large number of ReviewMe reviews before. I just don’t see how the product in this review relates to anything else this blog is about.
Poker?
There has to be better review me’s than poker.
On the other hand…I guess a lot of people play it!
I don’t think that people should complain because after all it is his blog (and it is about making money which is exactly what he is doing). Also, its not like he hasn’t posted anything else for us to read today so if you aren’t interested in poker then you can read one of his other posts.
If he doesn’t want complaints, then comments shouldn’t be implemented on his blog. You have to accept the bad with the good in such an open forum.
Aaaah… great… what’s next, John? Porn sites?
I don’t know if you actually read the post, but this isn’t really one of those “bad” gambling sites you would usually think of. In fact this one doesn’t involve use of real money at all, its just all free (and there aren’t many ads except for a couple of adsense ads)
“bad” gambling site? gambling is good. you would lose money but then you’d have the probability of winning something.
with this free site, all you get is wasted time…
“Bad” gambling sites? How are gambling sites “bad”?
ahh..review me post
Quality review there John.
Good luck with your Poker Shark, looks like you need a bit of work on the skill games but you’ve nailed the Luck game with an Ace first go!
Cheers again,
Lynx
baah…comments
I didn`t understand, do you win money, or is just a virtual game?
Unlike Second Life, I’m afraid the money remains in Shark Land. It’s really a play-for-fun kind of thing, isn’t it.
Agree, that’s just for fun
free poker is the best I hate loosing money at pokerstars lol.
sounds cool. will go and try it out!
Hi All,
may i add you dont need to know how to play poker at all, to have great fun on this game, i should know…………..ive never played poker at all and did ok last season.
The gameplay is great fun, the forum is friendly and now the actual poker room is open, the competition is really hotting up, im not doing too well…!!!
See you all overthere…
The Iceman…..Winner, Season 3.
Wow! What a very interesting concept.
I will definitely check it out.
Ive signed up – I bet ill beat you all
is it paying you money???!?!?!?!
“There is no prize money (only bragging rights), and no real money every changes hands.”
No, and no money to get. Just fun with virtual money.
don’t think so
leave shark
I will happy if they donate some to save shark 
damn pretty picture JACK
Well, John does donate to “save the whale foundation”
LOL.
nice cause
didn’t manage to finish this post. Maybe I just don’t like to gamble.
i like gambling…..
I like gambling without having to lose any real money LOL so this is probably a good pastime for me.
then it wouldn’t be gambling, would it?
don’t gamble if you can’t afford it
it’s pastime fun
no money needed
I hope my kids don’t see this – they wil become addicted. At least it’s free I suppose.
Interesting and clever idea. It’s too bad they don’t reward a prize to the winner of the competition.
Is this a hold ‘em poker or something else? If it is a hold ‘em one I am definitely in!!!
They probably have different games available. I mean, they should if they want to attract all kinds of poker enthusiasts.
Dot Chow is just adorable. I really want to think of a cute name before I sign up.
Just checking to see if the nofollowme is being applied.
ttgapers
Interesting and fresh idea, I like it
.
Nice graphics!
yup…it looks pretty nice
Neopets all over again, but this time it’s online. Or wait where they called neopets? Those little hand held game things where kids where shaking to gain points?
Right on the money. I actually thought about those when I read this post. I think they were also called Tamagochi. I had one, but it died after a couple of days.
Haha, yeah. I remember my sister having one and everyone at school. Everyone just shaking them as much as they could for what? Lol to get points and feed it digital food.
I loved that reset button at the back though — my pet certainly had more than 9 lives LOL.
Haha I’m going to try it out, because I don’t already waste enough time on the internet . . .
CAN SOMEONE GIVE ME ABOUT 500-600 $ SO I CAN BUY ME AN IPHONE??
lol, this would’ve been so much more appropriate a few days ago in the post with the kid that asked for a new car, haha
it seems very interesting,
i will give a try.
John you missed another way he makes money off of this game. The poker den is only open for 3 days, unlesss you pay for the rest of the 100 days. I bet he gets a decent amount of money off of that. Although I agree with you, he should add some real poker affliates.
Oh I forgot, I joined and in 4 days when I am able to challange people you and Dot Chow are going down….or I’m going to get wooped one of the two.
Online poker is not illegal in the US. It is just harder to get your money into and out of poker sites. It’s still very much legal to play online for real money. Need to check those facts now and then
It’s a shame there ain’t no grown-up version with “real” money involved
i’m with you
Well there are plenty of other poker sites where you can play for money (partypoker comes to mind, but I know there are plenty of others, just google it)
Cool site, but it does sound like it requires payment of some sort along the way based on some of the blog posts.
this site reminds me of a japanese gadget called otoizm of taking care of digital dog
I play poker, but I just found this site confusing. It should be easier to look at.
My sister used to play a game like this back in the 90’s. I forget what it was called but you had to feed your monster and make him grow.
I’m big into playing poker and gambling, but that has very little to do with playing on this site. This is just a fun game that uses bases its games on poker. I’ve been playing since halfway through the first season, and I can’t wait to check on my shark each day. As for the idea that there isn’t a prize, I believe the Iceman received a nice bracelet for coming in first last season
Nakdnfamis – runner up 2 consecutive seasons
currently 3rd place
I LOVE PokerSharks. It’s not ‘real’ poker. It is a flash game that takes about 5 minutes a day to ‘raise’ a virtual ‘poker shark’.
Give it a try… it’s easy to play and fun to watch out shark grow!
Pay £5 if you want to pay – it buys a couple of benefits, and helps keep the site running – I think Pokersharks is an excellent idea, there are aspects of it that would appeal to a wide range – there are tactics for raising your shark, skill games for raising its skills, a little bit of luck, and now a free poker room. I believe that this is worth a fiver, the creator probably see’s very little of this as the game is in constant development, with new ideas being implemented every season.
Come and have a go – if you play for seven days you get to see all the benefits for free, then decide whether its for you.
Alicks
I’m going to raise sea monkeys instead.
i play pokersharks and think its a quality little game, the opening of the pokerroom is brilliant.
i used to play for play money on other gambling sites and play random ppl… the best bit about it is when ur playing with ur sharks chips you are playing against ppl u recognise from the game… trust me its better than u may first imagine.
SuperPablo
3rd on consequtive seasons!!!
I quit, spent too much money on it