In this article we're reviewing free online poker and asking to what extent are, or can such games be as training aids for real online poker play against real people for money.

To make clear, what we are reviewing are poker game downloads you play against the computer by yourself as opposed to the type of free poker download games you can play at most poker online websites that feature free training play games against other new players or people trying out tactics.

This review looks at the most well known download poker game around, namely the Governor of poker games series and the links are going to parts 1 and 2, suitable for both pc and mac downloads..

Truly free?
Each game is $6.99 however, you can try free before you decide as they give you a poker games download free full edition demo for pc and Mac, so there is nothing to lose.

Now on to the details, what are these games like? Here is my summary of what you could call the sales pitch/description:

Governor of Poker 1
Governor of Poker, a poker game like you’ve never seen before. Do you have what it takes to play against the Pro players of the old western? Do you dare join a cash game or tournament, dare you move ‘all in’. Does it satisfy you to totally clean the table of players and win all their cash and even their property. Can you rise to the challenge and become the Governor of Poker and lord it over all Texas?

But once you're done with Governor of Poker 1 you won't have had enough! Then it's time for Governor of Poker part 2 where you'll find a ton of extra’s!

Governor of Poker Two
In this fully packed sequel lots of things have changed. Cities have grown, new people arrived… That's all very well but that's not good enough for you! Lots more cities to conquer and tournaments to play, interactive wallpaper, downloadable theme music, an extra ‘Pro’ difficulty mode and more.

And then there is the biggest challenge of all. In a parallel to the real world USA online poker money play situation, poker has been banned and you must fight the ban underground.

In Governor of Poker 2 you can also learn how to play the best poker with the poker-tutorial. There are many new tournaments, multi table with up to 120 competitors spread taking place in 19 cities and 27 poker rooms and casinos. Also very popular is the bounty hunter game, where you win money prizes when you knock out marked opponents!

Plus you can set up your own tournaments and, for real risk takers, get bank loans. You can choose to get to your next games by train, river casino boat or stage coach, naturally you can play poker while travelling.

Get yourself customized hats for style and also to unlock new game locations. Look for opponent tells based on emotions like nervous, on fire, steamy and tilted. Finally defeat the 9 best Notorious players to reclaim your title!

User reviews - Is Governor of poker worthwhile?
The reviews we have found for Governor of poker 1 and 2 have been mixed. It is a case of love it or hate it so we advise that you get the free poker games downloads trial, try it out and decide for yourself.

What does seem key is that it is more a game than a real life training sim. If you want real poker against people simulation and training then this is not quite there. For real life practice you still need the sort of governor of poker games practice games that you can find on sites like NoPayPOKER.com where the play and attitudes are all very real!

However where the governor of poker games can really be of value is help you is to get to grips with the mechanics of the game and so save some blushes when you go up against real players for the first time.

So you'll be fully familiar with position, the blinds, betting, raising, folding and so on and hopefully an idea on what hands to play and NOT to play. Governor can also be set to a very hard skill level (as well as easy) so maybe it can help you get ready to go up against some hardcore players!

But if what you want is a fun poker game, one that is also suitable for kids to play then the Governor of poker series is one you should look at. Go get the Governor poker games free download for pc or Mac today.