Pinside rating

This game has received 28 approved Pinsider ratings. 22 more approved ratings are needed to get a rating and for it to be eligible for the Pinside Pinball Top 100 ranking.

Pinside staff rating

This is how we, the very knowledgeable (wink wink) Pinside.com staff & moderators rate this game. 2 of us have rated this game.

6.986

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Found 16 ratings (with comment) on this game

There are 16 ratings (that include a comment) on this game.
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7.368/10

1 year ago

???

Pindaim01

Pinside apprentice

Heemskerk

3y 15,250 9 11

I bought this pin not for the theme but more for the rarity.
But after a few plays this game is more fun than expected.
Artwork and western saloon theme are perfect with the poker game and western sound.
Nice long shot from left al around the playfield,great slingshot on the upperdeck.
Also you can shoot for the playcard on the backbox.
I think this pin is for bigger collections and collectors for rare pins.
Or real poker heads.

Pindaim01 has owned this game in the past.

7.632/10

1 year ago

TOP

dktop

Pinside member

Valley Center, KS

2y 29,650 24 10 6 2

Played and decided to purchase one this week. Looking forward to playing it more

dktop currently owns this game.

6.655/10

4 years ago

JFM

Striker

Inactive member

Alexandria, VA

4y 47,550 114 58

For some reason I feel compelled to play this until I get all 20 cards on the backglass.

7.167/10

5 years ago

TEE

Grandnational007

Pinside member

Berlin, CT

6y 64,300 1,144 12 17 1

A real sleeper, pretty fun once you figure the rules out. Crude dots, but they get the point across. Can get grindy if trying to get huge scores. Decent game you don't see very often.

8.313/10

6 years ago

MDS

Pinterest

Pinside member

11y 73,900 932 4 22

This game's a keeper for me - it's funny, campy, and just plain fun! Never leaving my collection.

Pinterest currently owns this game.

6.860/10

7 years ago

TBK

xTheBlackKnightx

Pinside member

8y 128K 4,097 137

The game theme is great, the game play and flow is below average.
Definitely a "stop and go" pinball machine.
Pistol Poker just seems unfinished with its ruleset and features.
It definitely needed a a gun handle auto plunger for the "six shooter" card backglass feature, which would have improved the game.
Artwork on backglass is good, playfield is average, cabinet is below average.
DMD animations are average.
Sound quality as with all AGC games is outstanding.
There was a reason many of these machines were left "standing on the dock" with AGC closed.
At the time, nobody wanted them.
Today, times has changed, and it is starting to become a "cult classic" VERY SLOWLY.
You should be able to find this game very cheap in outstanding condition, because they normally get passed around from collector to collector and remained in homes or sitting in warehouse unused.
It does not seem to last long with individual pinball interests.
It also just not seem to fit into a lot of people's collections, although it has its merits.
Most suitable for an AGC collector, and I passed mine on, if that says anything about my interest in AGC, which is fairly strong.

6.697/10

8 years ago

SAP

seshpilot

Pinside member

11y 112K 2,537 169 2

Totally a "decent" game. Nothing stand-out, but nothing terrible either! If you see one for the right price, jump on it!

Long story short, the playfield is broken up quite similar to "Black Knight" (which I despise) but IMO plays much better. There's some cool shots to make and some cool animation modes as well. The backglass features a poker-type matching game that, while cool to pack into a game, slows down the flow of the game as well. Personally, I think the artwork on the playfield is quite cool and the wood stain underneath it (a la say CV but a much reddish, darker stain) looks beautiful.

Not a bad game, but not enough to save a fledgling company either. :(

7.693/10

8 years ago

FAZ

pinball_faz

Pinside member

Chicago Burbs, IL

13y 99,300 2,735 5 32

Game has a very clean looking art. The cab/backglass are the strongest. Pretty straight forward with 30 seconds of verbal instruction on what to do. Players gravitate over and over again to this game. I think because of the bright colors and all the unique shots.

The sounds / music is very repetitive. I like the sound/music, but it gets old very fast.
Animations are kinda blah.

pinball_faz currently owns this game.

3.415/10

8 years ago

ZUL

Caucasian2Step

Evil McBooty

12y 163K 1,456 51 1011

Pistol Poker is one of the reasons why Alvin G. isn't around as a pinball company.

The Good:
A very creative layout by the man who created Medusa for Bally. There are some incredible shots on this table and the upper PF plays much better than you think it would. I like the full PF wrapping Blackjack ramp. Getting the Royal Flush is satisfying. Any time spent on lower PF is short, fast and deadly.

The Bad:
Artwork, animations and sound are horrid. This game MUST have it's mechs up to snuff or getting back to the upper PF (esp through the u-turn ramp in the middle) is a pipe-dream. Rules are lackluster and the software is buggy to the point of being incomplete and multiball is downright unmanageable, especially in a multiplayer game. Did Wally and his team forget to put in an Auto-plunger?!? This game actually has artwork on the back of the backbox. Woooo-hooo.

The Takeaway:
Cards, Cowboys and Pinball, it's a great theme. But this design needs more than a theme. Unfortuantely what we find is an incredibly ambitious deck with a poor case of execution. If I find another copy in better condition, I'll update this review. However, I'm not sure I'm going to be that lucky. Only 200 Pistol Pokers were made, and with good reason. If you bought this deck, I hope you stocked up on Alvin G. parts when you bought this game, wherever they may be...

Caucasian2Step edited previous rating on June 15, 2015.

8.905/10

8 years ago

ADM

3413241

Inactive member

State College, PA

10y 24,650 12 4 10

I am a fan of this pin, but I'll admit that it takes some time to grow on you. The more you play it the more you discover. The game is deeper than it first appears. There are multiple modes and the scoring is well balanced.

The most unique feature is lighting the cards on the back glass. It seems distracting at first, but over time you see how it fits with the overall flow of the game. Completing the sequences becomes more challenging the farther you get into it.

3413241 currently owns this game.

9.016/10

11 years ago

CRD

Pinballflare

Pinside member

North Huntingdon, PA

11y 48,650 103 30 17

Excellent Pin. Some people knock it because the programing is not as polished as most. It is consistent and once you know what to expect, I think the code works just fine. The best part of the game is that it is not as repetitive as most games. You build card hands but you do not need to hit the same shots every time to progress through the game. A good example is that you start by needing to get a pair. There are five cards for each suit on the playfield and you can choose which you want to shoot. If you are not good at shooting a certain shot, you can build the card hand where your confident shots lie. This pin will never leave my collection, and is very popular at parties.

Pinballflare currently owns this game.

6.634/10

11 years ago

TDK

TomDK

Pinside+ Frequent

11y 87,800 1,918 30 2

Pistol Poker .... one of the hard to find games from Alvin G.
Build only 200 times .. and there is a reason for that low numbers: The atmosphere is really nice, the western sounds, the playfield with wood ... but the game is lausy. Very small area on the lower playfield, no gimmicks on the game and if you are good in hitting the middle and playing the cardgame in the backglass ... you get more points than a good pinball player.
Mostly girls play this game longer .. maybe the weastern theme is fascinating. The software is, as all Alvin G.Â´s software, buggy. In multiball the game loves to miscalculate the balls .. and suddenly the ball is over even you still have q bll on the playfield.
Very strange ... in Europe easy to find even only 200 are build, in the USA hard to find game.
I have it becaus ... I have also 2 other Alvin G.s and I like them in general.
Not a "must have game" ... only for collectors. Spareparts are really hard to find.

7.155/10

11 years ago

BXV

dezaanster

Pinside member

11y 44,150 23 106

Nice game because it is rare. The large upper playfield is something you dont see every day. Really enjoyed playing it, but im afraid it may get boring quickly once you own one.

dezaanster edited previous rating on March 21, 2013.

7.523/10

12 years ago

DEL

SealClubber

Pinside Moderator

14y 127K 11,060 246

Played a pristine version of this at Pincades. The backglass is ugly but the playfield and cabinet are good. The flow is ok. The split level playfield reminds me of BK and BK2000. The poker hand aspect is cool but detracts from the flow of the game. Playfield is brightly lit. A fun game to put some quarters in but wouldn't seek it out, especially at this price.

8.540/10

12 years ago

BAY

VT8man

Pinside member

Wilderness, VA

14y 39,400 406 14 20

Fun game, a little buggy on the multiball. I picked one up cheap, and it's rarity is cool, but hard to make repairs on a rare game. Great music and sound, ok gameplay. The pistol is a fun aspect.

VT8man currently owns this game.

8.050/10

14 years ago

RAY

bugray

Inactive member

Basingstoke

14y 54,650 697 97

Highly enjoyable game here, sort of old fashioned with its theme and artwork, but at the same time modern, reliable, with great game play. Easy to get hooked. Great shots, modes and art. I could easily put this pin in my wish list, cost and rarity will keep it out.

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