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Velan Studios promises it hasn’t forgotten about Knockout City. The live-service game, published in 2021, was an arena shooter presented… Continue reading Knockout City studio announces two more titles — but not Knockout City’s return
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Velan Studios promises it hasn’t forgotten about Knockout City.

The live-service game, published in 2021, was an arena shooter presented as a zany, colorful, and futuristic brand of dodgeball. It had plenty of fans, but not enough to keep the lights on. Originally published by Electronic Arts, Velan took the game back in the summer of 2022, turning it into a free-to-play title. But the audience was by that point saturated and not growing.

A year later, it was all gone, though with a promise that Velan, the studio founded by brothers Guha and Karthik Bala, would some day bring it back. Velan over the weekend announced two new games but, perhaps mindful of the promise made in 2023, vowed that Knockout City would still come back someday.

“We know that some of you are waiting for Knockout City to return and are disappointed we didn’t announce any news about that this week,” the Balas wrote in an update on Friday. “Rest assured we love KO City as much as you do and want to bring it back, *just not yet*.”

The studio founders went on to say that they “don’t want to rush the process for the next game in that universe. We love that world and can’t imagine not going back to it at some point, when the time is right.”

In lieu of a Knockout City revival, Velan announced Midnight Murder Club, a multiplayer-only PC game set in a haunted house, somewhat like Dead By Daylight, in which players are engaged in a fatal game of hide-and-seek.

On the other end of the spectrum is Bounce Arcade, a virtual reality game that basically puts the player inside a pinball machine, instead of sticking them at the table working the flippers.

The Balas founded Vicarious Visions, the Activision studio behind big-budget franchises like Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, Guitar Hero, and Skylanders. They left that studio in 2016 to start Velan later that year. Before Knockout City, Velan developed Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit for the Nintendo Switch, a toys-to-life racing game involving real radio-controlled cars.

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Microsoft has begun notifying certain customers that their emails could have been accessed by Russian hackers following a breach of… Continue reading Microsoft customers learn their emails were seen by hacker group
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Microsoft has begun notifying certain customers that their emails could have been accessed by Russian hackers following a breach of its internal systems in 2023.

On 19 January 2024, the Microsoft security team officially made people aware that they had detected a nation-state attack on their corporate systems through a blog post on the website.

They identified the threat actor as being the Russian group Midnight Blizzard and say it began in late November 2023 when the “threat actor used a password spray attack.”

They say this allowed them to use the account’s permissions to “access a very small percentage of Microsoft corporate email accounts, including members of our senior leadership team and employees in our cybersecurity, legal, and other functions, and exfiltrated some emails and attached documents.”

The investigation into the attack started at the beginning of the year, with the company updating people in March as they say it had observed evidence of the threat actors using the information exfiltrated during the breach to attempt to gain further unauthorized access.

Customers are now being notified after Microsoft breach

A few months later and Microsoft is currently in the process of notifying those customers who had their communications exposed.

A spokesperson told ITPro it was sharing details with customers to give them further details about the scope of the information that was accessed by the threat actors.

“This week we are continuing notifications to customers who corresponded with Microsoft corporate email accounts that were exfiltrated by the Midnight Blizzard threat actor, and we are providing the customers the email correspondence that was accessed by this actor,” the spokesperson said.

“This is increased detail for customers who have already been notified and also includes new notifications. As we said previously, we’re committed to sharing information with our customers as our investigation continues.”

In the initial blog post by the team, they said the “attack was not the result of a vulnerability in Microsoft products or services.”

Featured Image: Photo by Ed Hardie on Unsplash

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What’s a royal flush in poker? How does this poker hand rank against others? How likely are you to land… Continue reading The Royal Flush Poker Hand Ranked and Explained
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What’s a royal flush in poker? How does this poker hand rank against others? How likely are you to land a royal flush when you play poker?

We have created a quick guide to help you learn about the royal flush – an unbeatable hand that can lead to massive rewards. Whether you are a complete novice or an experienced reg looking for a refresher, this guide is for you.

What is a Royal Flush in Poker?

A royal flush is the strongest hand in Omaha and Texas Holdem poker. It is the rarest poker hand you can get since there are only four variations when using a standard 52-card deck. The hand is made up of the same suit of consecutive cards from 10 to Ace, that is (T♥️ J♥️ Q♥️ K♥️ A♥️)

How Does a Royal Flush in Poker Rank in Texas Hold’em and Omaha Poker?

Many beginner players ask, “Is a Royal Flush the best hand in poker?” As the highest hand in poker, the royal flush trumps all other hands. This includes the Flush, Straight, Four of a Kind, or any other hand. Whether you hold a royal flush of hearts or royal flush spades, having a royal flush means you win, leaving everyone else at the table in envy.

Odds of Getting A Royal Flush

Naturally, the odds of landing a poker royal flush are incredibly low and vary depending on the game conditions. The list below provides specific figures.

The odds of flopping the Royal Flush given 2 suited cards (10-A) = 1 in 19,600
The odds of catching the gutshot Royal Flush on the turn = 1/47
The odds of catching the open-ended Royal Flush on the turn = 2/47
The odds of catching the gutshot Royal Flush on the river = 1/46
The odds of flopping a straight flush draw with 2 suited cards (10-A) = 141/19,600

What Poker Hands Does A Royal Flush Beat?

A Royal Flush in Poker or flush royal poker hand, if that’s what you want to call it, is an unbeatable poker hand, sitting at the top of all possible outcomes.

Does a Straight Flush Beat A Royal Flush?

No. While a straight flush is very strong, it cannot beat a royal flush. The odds of getting a straight flush are better than a royal flush but still pretty low at around 1 in 72,192 hands.

What Poker Hands Does a Straight Flush Beat?

If you cannot get the highest hand in poker, a royal flush, the next best thing is a straight flush. But what other poker hands does a straight flush beat? The table below provides a helpful comparison.

Does Four Of a Kind Beat a Royal Flush?

No chance. Four of a kind is a strong hand, yes, but it cannot beat a Royal Flush. You have better odds of getting Four of a Kind than a straight flush or a royal flush at about 1 in 2,157 hands.

What Hands Can Four Of A Kind Beat if it Does Not Beat a Royal Flush?

What wins royal flush or quad aces? Four of a kind (often referred to as quads) is the third-highest poker hand you can get, but it will always come second when a royal flush hand or straight flush poker hand is involved.

Does a Full House Beat a Royal Flush?

The full house is another desirable hand, but again, it cannot beat a royal flush hand in poker. The odds of getting a full house are 1 in 693 hands, better than an unbeatable royal flush, a straight flush, or four of a kind.

What Other Poker Hands Does a Full House Beat?

Being the fourth most powerful hand, the full house beats the flush hand in poker and every other hand after that.

Does a Flush Beat a Royal Flush?

A flush cannot overcome a royal flush. However, you stand a better chance of getting a flush than all the top hands from royal flush to a full house. If you are playing poker with a standard 52-card deck, the odds of hitting a flush are 1 in 507 hands.

Which Hands Does the Flush Beat if it Does Not Beat A Royal Flush?

Several pokee hands fall to the fifth-highest hand in poker.

Does a Straight Beat a Royal Flush?

There are no prizes for guessing the answer to this one. A straight has no chance when it comes to a royal flush hand in poker. This is because a royal flush poker set of cards is a ‘stronger’ type of straight. The odds of getting a standard straight are 1 in 259 hands.

What Other Hands Does a Straight Beat if it Does Not Beat A Royal Flush?

The rarest poker hand, the royal flush, is not on the list of hands that a straight hand beats, but there are a few. We have listed them in the table below.

Who Wins if Two Players Have a Royal Flush?

When using a 52-card deck, it is impossible to get two royal flush poker hands. Royal flush math dictates that you can only have four royal flush hands, one for each suit, so there is no chance that two players can get an unbeatable hand in the same game.

What Are The Odds Of Receiving Ace-King Suited Pre-Flop?

The odds of being dealt an A-K-suited starting hand are 331-1. This hand is highly desirable because it has the chance of turning into a royal flush poker hand, but it’s important to remember that odds constantly shift after each betting round.

A-K Suited has a number of “outs” and can also turn into a normal flush draw, a straight, a full house, and even four of a kind, depending on the community cards that show on the flop, turn, and the river.

Full Ranking of Poker Hands From Royal Flush to High Card

To play poker successfully, you must get a solid foundation in poker hand hierarchy. The royal flush in poker is not the be-all and end-all; several other poker hands are also potentially beneficial.

What is the Best Site to Learn Poker Hands?

CoinPoker has a newbie-friendly platform for poker learners. Here are some of our favorite tutorials on the site.

Poker Hands – The Ultimate Poker Hand Ranking Guide
This guide will help you understand the basics of poker play. You will learn about poker hand hierarchy and when to bet, call, or fold.

Texas Hold ‘Em Starting Hands – Top 10 Poker Hands in Hold ‘Em
Once you finish the basics, you can learn about starting poker hands with this guide. Here, you will find information on pocket aces, pocket kings, and more.

No Mercy Monday – Starting Hands and Table Position
This guide explains how to play the game. CoinPoker’s Chief Community Manager Isabelle Mercier walks you through the starting hands and how to play them.

Pro Player Quotes and Tips

Here is a quote from Daniel Negreanu. Daniel is a professional Canadian poker player with six WSOP bracelets and over $50,000,000 in tournament prize money. We think it’s safe to say, he knows a thing or two about this game of poker.

“High flops like K-Q-9, K-J-10 or Q-J-8 are dangerous to pocket aces. That’s because these flops will more likely connect with the range of hands that your opponents will typically play, like 10-J, K-Q, 10-10, or 9-10.”

Conclusion

This guide is a beginner resource that has revealed all you need to know about the royal flush, or as some players call it, the poker royal flush.

Here is a recap of what we have learned:

What’s a royal flush in poker?
What cards make a royal flush
How rare is a royal flush?
How rare is a straight flush?
What happens if two players have a royal flush?

However, more advanced poker strategies and information are available on the pages below.

Related Poker Guides

Poker Bankroll Management
Poker Strategy
How To Play Poker
How To Win At Poker
Types of Poker Games
Poker Terminology
Poker Positions

The Royal Flush Poker Hand Ranked and Explained FAQs

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The scheduled Public Beta Test for the highly-anticipated September launch of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has been canceled as… Continue reading Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 public beta scrapped as devs go all in for September launch
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The scheduled Public Beta Test for the highly-anticipated September launch of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has been canceled as it “would take the development team away from preparing for the full launch”, so says a post from Saber Interactive on Steam.

September 9th is earmarked for launch so time is definitely tight but without a public beta to bring in more valuable information it could be argued that some problems may surface on launch that could have been fixed up earlier.

As you might expect, there is some suggestion from some corners of the internet it is because the game is not ready, but from what we saw when we looked at it last, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 could be shaping up to be one of the best games to carry this license on its shoulders to date.

The statement read:

“Over the past few weeks, we have seen incredible excitement around the game, both online and at the shows during the North American tour. Our teams at Focus and Saber have been truly blown away by your passion, and we’ve loved seeing the fan art, reactions and memes that you have shared so far.

Space Marine 2 is almost ready. We are now entirely focused on optimization, polish and fixing remaining issues ahead of launch on September 9. This means we will not run a public online beta, as it would take the development teams away from preparing for the full launch, and our priority is to ensure the best possible experience at release.

We know this is disappointing news for some of you. As a thank you to those interested in participating, players who registered via the online signup before June 28, 2024, midnight Paris Time, will receive the limited Bolt Pistol skin below.

We appreciate your understanding and continued support as we work towards delivering the exceptional game you deserve.”

So, a small gun skin as a sorry for canceling it is hardly going to please those who are disappointed, but from the way the studio is speaking about the beta cancellation above, it does at least sound like they think it is nearly ready for a prime time appearance. Find out everything you need to know on our page right here.

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The Royal Thai Police are cracking down on online and on-site gambling, as up to 2,600 arrests have been made… Continue reading Up to 2,600 arrests made in Thailand over illegal UEFA gambling
The post Up to 2,600 arrests made in Thailand over illegal UEFA gambling appeared first on ReadWrite.

The Royal Thai Police are cracking down on online and on-site gambling, as up to 2,600 arrests have been made since the start of the UEFA European Football Championship.

The Centre for the Prevention and Suppression of Illegal Euro 2024 Football Betting has been active since the tournament began and will cover the full length which runs until July 14.

Officers involved have been working to prevent and suppress illegal gambling activities that have taken place online and in person. While the football remains ongoing, a huge number of people have already been arrested.

The Nation, a Thai publisher, has spoken with the police to get the details. From June 21 to June 27, 784 suspects have been arrested for on-site gambling. This includes 769 bettors, 12 bet collectors, and three bookmakers. The total circulation of this has been 117,440 baht.

When it comes to online gambling, a total of 265 suspects have been arrested and 80 websites have been taken down. This includes 230 bettors and 35 gambling organizers, with more than 400 million baht having been in circulation.

Thailand police give a warning as thousands arrested over gambling

This is just a short snapshot of the tournament so far, with a total of 2,113 suspects having been arrested for on-site gambling from June 14 to June 27. This has included 2,052 bettors, 22 bet collectors, and 39 bookmakers.

From the same timeline, a further 513 suspects have been arrested for online gambling and 142 websites have been taken down. This includes 450 bettors and 63 online gambling organizers.

Pol Lt Gen Akkaradej Phimonsri, assistant national police chief, said: “The Royal Thai Police will continue their stringent efforts to suppress illegal football betting activities.”

He issued a warning to business operators or establishments that allow the public to watch the matches from the Euros to close their services due to legal requirements. He warned that any violations would result in legal action.

As the tournament is far from over, with things just hotting up, more arrests could be made.

Featured Image: Photo by Waranont (Joe) on Unsplash

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Instagram will soon bring AI characters made by creators to the platform, with tests to begin in the U.S. Meta… Continue reading Instagram creators can now make AI versions of themselves
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Instagram will soon bring AI characters made by creators to the platform, with tests to begin in the U.S.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg made the announcement initially through a post on his broadcast channel. He said: “Rolling out an early test in the U.S. of our AI studio so you might start seeing AIs from your favorite creators and interest-based AIs in the coming weeks on Instagram.

“These will primarily show up in messaging for now, and will be clearly labeled as AI.

“It’s early days and the first beta version of these AIs, so we’ll keep working on improving them and make them available to more people soon.”

The announcement comes on the same day (June 27) that the startup Character.AI shared the new feature where users can talk with AI avatars over a call.

Zuckerberg said they were working with several creators in the early roll-out stages of the creator-made chatbots. They’ve been working with the meme account Waste and technology creator Don Allen Stevenson, along with a handful of others.

In an interview with Kallaway, the CEO of Facebook and Instagram explained how the beginning stages will be like an experiment to see what works: “I don’t think we know going into this, what is going to be the most engaging and entertaining and trust-building formula for this.

“So we want to give people tools so that you can experiment with this and see what ends up working well.”

AI studio could soon be used by all creators following the initial launch

While it won’t be a full rollout, there’s hope that every creator and small business can create an AI for themselves in due time.

“There needs to be a lot of different APIs that get created to reflect people’s different interests. So a big part of the approach is going to be enabling every creator, and then eventually also every small business on the platform, to create an AI for themselves to help them interact with their community, and their customers if they’re a business.”

Meta will start testing the AI studio with around 50 creators in the US and a small percentage of its users. It could be fully launched by August.

Featured Image: Via Ideogram

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A lot has changed in the world since Sega debuted Crazy Taxi in 1999. The chaotic cab-driving arcade racer landed… Continue reading Open world Crazy Taxi? We’re in but hoping that modern inventions such as Uber’s surge pricing aren’t implemented
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A lot has changed in the world since Sega debuted Crazy Taxi in 1999. The chaotic cab-driving arcade racer landed at the perfect time and its soundtrack by bands such as The Offspring fit the time period perfectly. A year later it came out for the Dreamcast and easily became one of the best-selling games on the format.

But where does a game like Crazy Taxi fit in the gaming landscape today? The original was unashamedly an arcade conversion – short adrenaline hits designed to make you put more coins into the slot. It worked on the Dreamcast because 3D games running at that speed were new, and having a near arcade-perfect conversion was something to shout about.

But other than nostalgia – which, don’t get me wrong, I am a sucker for – what can you do with a modern take on the Crazy Taxi universe?

The original had you screeching around corners to pick up fairs before speeding to their drop-off points a minute or so later – the better you drove, the more cash they gave you. But it wasn’t a game you played for hours on end. It wasn’t meant to be.

Now Sega is recruiting devs for a new Crazy Taxi game and it looks like it is expected to be Open World and multiplayer. This sounds interesting, lots of players all vying for fares, doubtless trying to smash into each other.

The video with the devs above is entirely in Japanese but is interesting to flick through even if you don’t speak the language, for the amount of Crazy Taxi memorabilia in it that shows just what an important franchise it was for Sega.

If Sega can pull off some kind of taxi Battle Royale here this could turn out to be a lot of fun – some kind of Crazy Taxi musical chairs where you are out if you don’t complete a fair in time could be an interesting concept.

The game will be developed by Sega’s Sapporo Studio and had previously been described as a AAA game. Interesting times for classic games.

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The European Union is set to charge Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, with breaking its landmark Digital… Continue reading EU could soon charge Meta over ‘pay or consent’ model
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The European Union is set to charge Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, with breaking its landmark Digital Markets Act.

The Financial Times on Monday (July 1) citeds people with direct knowledge of the matter with preliminary findings to be issued this week. According to the report, regulators have concerns about Meta’s ‘pay or content’ model.

It was back in November when Mark Zuckerberg’s company launched the no-ads subscription service for Facebook and Instagram. This was said to track the users who consented which resulted in them getting a free service which is funded by advertising revenues or they’d have to pay not to have their data shared.

According to the Financial Times, the regulators are soon expected to say that the choice given by Meta in their new model gives users a false alternative, with the financial barrier forcing them to consent. This means their personal data is being tracked for advertising purposes.

The publishers’ source, who is described as ‘being familiar with the EU’s thinking,’ said consumers needed to receive ‘an equivalent offer.’

While the report believes the move from the European Union will happen shortly, they haven’t yet publicly made a statement or confirmed nor denied the rumor.

Apple has already been charged with breaching EU rules

It wouldn’t be the first time the political union has found someone to have breached the bloc’s tech rules as Apple was charged with breaching the rules just last week (June 24.)

The investigation into Apple launched in March and this charge is the first by the Commission under the new Digital Markets Act which aims to rein in the power of Big Tech and level out the playing field.

Apple’s new terms fell short of complying with the DMA which could see them face a hefty fine if they don’t modify business terms. The fine could be as much as 10% of the company’s global annual turnover.

EU antitrust chief Magrethe Vestager was reported by Reuters as saying: “As they stand, we think that these new terms do not allow app developers to communicate freely with their end users, and to conclude contracts with them.”

Featured Image: Photo by Julio Lopez on Unsplash

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If you’ve wrapped up Shadow of the Erdtree already and have been left wanting more, even after that rather punishing… Continue reading Finally experience Bloodborne on PC thanks to this Elden Ring mod
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If you’ve wrapped up Shadow of the Erdtree already and have been left wanting more, even after that rather punishing final boss, head back to Yharnam in full PC glory.

There’s no question that fans of Bloodborne, but also Soulslike fans as a whole, have been crying out for a PC release of the PS4 exclusive game, potentially giving it that Demon’s Souls facelift.

While there has been limited hope of this ever happening, even though Hidetaka Miyazaki stated FromSoft devs “want a Bloodborne PC port”, you can experience what it would be like right now with a brand new Elden Ring mod.

This one is called GraceBorne, and takes everything you know about the base Elden Ring game, and turns it into the dark, blood-filled affair Bloodborne is known for.

While only being in an ‘alpha’ state, there’s huge promise in GraceBorne. Right off the bat, the gold tinge you may be used to seeing in Elden Ring has been replaced with grays and blacks, both in the menus and the visuals of the overworld. This sets the tone for the mod right away, letting you know that this isn’t just a simple shoehorning of assets into a newer game.

Once you start controlling your Hunter too, you’ll soon see that you’re able to perform the same dodge mechanic from the game rather than the roll in Elden Ring. Moreover, the rally system has been incorporated, allowing you to get aggressive and fight your way back to full HP.

A plethora of weapons and armor from Bloodborne have been thrown in too (yes, even the Manus helmet) revamping the usual swords and plate mail into cleavers and long, black overcoats.

Basic enemies and a whole load of bosses have had an overhaul also, turning them into more befitting foes of Bloodborne. Take Margit for example, his character model has been switched out and in its place, is a Nazgûl-esque figure with a bone sword.

To top things off, boss themes have been swapped out with Bloodborne music as well, which is a brilliant touch, and just reiterates the whole tone shift from the brighter Lands Between into the very gothic Yharnam.

As previously mentioned, all of this is in an alpha state, so it is only going to grow from here. With already great feedback in the comments of the mod, we’ll only see further improvements and additions.

Download GraceBorne for yourself via Nexus Mods and finally experience what Bloodborne would be like on PC.

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Nintendo has just held its annual shareholder’s meeting and the good news for those expecting an announcement on the follow-up… Continue reading Switch 2 won’t be hit by chip shortages says Nintendo President
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Nintendo has just held its annual shareholder’s meeting and the good news for those expecting an announcement on the follow-up to Nintendo Switch just arriving is that Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa is confident that the Switch 2 will not be impacted by the global supply chain issues that has hit the availability of semiconductors over the past few years, delaying countless hardware and creating shortages and delays on everything from computers to new cars.

In answer to a shareholder’s question about securing “sufficient hardware production, Furukawa–san replied: “Last year and the year before that, there was a shortage of semiconductor components that prevented us from producing hardware for the Nintendo Switch in sufficient quantities, but this situation has now been resolved. As for the successor models, we do not believe that the shortage of parts will have a significant impact on production at this time.”

Both Sony and Microsoft suffered crippling supply issues when the PlayStation 5 and Series X consoles launched and Nintendo will be keen that the successor to the Switch – its first new console in over seven years will not be blighted by the same problems when demand is expected to reach a fever pitch once the release date has been formally announced.

Switch hardware sales were down 12.6% year on year for the 2023-2024 financial year but this still equated to selling just under 16 million units of the aging device. 2023 of course saw the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom which will doubtless have helped shift a few extra units so the declining figure may be skewed somewhat by that.

Anticipation for Nintendo’s new hardware is high and we are expecting an announcement towards the end of the year and potential launch around March 2025 – the original Switch was launched in March 2017, so it would be a full eight years between generations.

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