“No-limit Texas Hold ’Em is the Cadillac of poker,” says Mike McDermott in the opening moments of Rounders. If that’s the case, Texas Cheat ’Em is a 1988 Eldorado with a few dings from the shady used-car guy down the block: It’s a Cadillac, and it still gets you where you need to go, but the ride isn’t as smooth as others.

Texas Cheat ’Em has a pretty simple concept — it’s Texas Hold ’Em, except you get to cheat! Off the bat, Texas Cheat ’Em asks about your poker experience: never played poker before, never played with cheats or experienced with the game at hand. Depending on your answer, it takes you through the appropriate tutorial level — the game of poker and cheating, just Cheat ’Em, or nothing (I presume, since I had to learn how to cheat).

To explain the methods of cheating, you have to have a basic understanding of Hold ’Em, so here goes. Two cards are dealt face down to everyone (the hole), then there’s a round of betting; three cards face up in the middle (the flop), then more betting; one more card in the middle (the turn), then betting; a final card in the middle (the river), then a last round of bets. Everyone shows their cards, and the best five-card hand takes the pot.

Cheating works in Cheat ’Em like so: Each player is given cheat points at the beginning of each round of betting, including the computers — what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. You can use those points right away or save them for later; some cheats cost more than one round’s worth of points.

There’s a wide variety of cheats to choose from. Premonition lets you see the community cards before they’re dealt. Suggestion lets you change one of your cards or one in the community. X-ray vision lets you see an opponent’s best hand. Chip Steal and Automatic Win — I don’t think I need to explain those.

“But there must be a catch!” you may be thinking. Indeed there is. Before a cheat is successfully performed, you must win a minigame of chance: roulette, slots, blackjack, etc. Win the game, you get the cheat. And with those cheats that involve you interacting with an opponent, you must beat them at a certain game to pull off the cheat. Same goes for when they “attack” you; win, and their cheat is blocked.

I should also mention that the system of betting is a little different than regular Hold ’Em. Instead of players acting in order starting from the dealer’s left, all players “bid” at the same time: bet, check or fold. If everyone checks, the deal moves on. If one person bets, all other players must meet that bet. If more than one player bets, then everyone must meet the highest bet. No check-raising here, but you can still move all in at any time.

There are two modes of play: Practice Mode, which is just a game against a few opponents with a time, hand or money limit that when reached, the game ends. The other is Career Mode, where completing objectives unlocks new challenges, new locations for Practice Mode and more. If you’re looking for a challenge, that’s where the fun is.

I’d played a fair bit of poker before picking up Cheat ’Em, which may have been why I found it a little too easy to start: My opponents checked all the way to the river, and when I cheated my way to a good hand and bid high, at least one person bet into me. But things started getting trickier as I moved up in Career Mode. My opponents were cheating more and betting smarter. I didn’t take the game to the end, but I suspect you have to be pretty savvy to get there.

As for the nuts and bolts of the game, there isn’t much to rave or complain about. The controls are basic and intuitive. The organization of the playing screen is nice, with the table taking center stage and cheating and other windows tucked neatly into the corners of the screen. The background music and graphics are pleasing but unremarkable, though that’s how I prefer it — they don’t steal your focus from the table, where it belongs.

Part of the reason I didn’t finish is that the game had a bit of a state-of-emergency feel to me: great fun at first, but then minigames got slightly repetitive. Also, there’s a timer that starts counting down after you’ve been idle a few moments in order to get you to act or fold. But all you have to do is arrow around the cheat options, and it resets. What’s the point? But now I’m just nitpicking.

In the end, Texas Cheat ’Em is a game whose enjoyment depends on your prior experience. Poker purists looking to hone their game are in the wrong place. Those who know poker but lack the skills could have a blast cheating their way to chips stacked to the ceiling. For everyone else, it’s worth a try — there’s a special satisfaction you can only get from winning with five of a kind.