Hold'em Coach already rewards disciplined play with Daily Stars — one ★ per coached hand where you match the coach on every street. Version 1.6.1 added lifetime ★ badges — ten shields named after luck and wisdom deities from Roman, Greek, Norse, and Egyptian myth. Version 1.6.2 polishes sync, celebrations, and optional earned dates on your own profile. They mark long arcs of coach-aligned play. They never pay chips.
Why badges exist
Daily Stars reset every day; weekly boards roll over; lifetime totals climb forever but can feel abstract on a number line. Badges give that number a face — a rim you unlock once and keep, even if your daily rank moves around.
The design is intentionally prestige, not economy. We did not want another grind that competes with Academy chips or Game Center payouts. If you care about bankroll growth, achievements and streak milestones still pay practice chips on iPhone. If you care about identity on the leaderboard, badges say how much lifetime discipline you have put in.
How you earn them
- Each tier unlocks when your lifetime Daily Stars total crosses a threshold (50 ★ for Fortuna, up to one million for Ra).
- Only coached, aligned hands count — same rules as Daily Stars scoring.
- When you cross a new tier, the app opens the full badge showcase sheet (same as tapping a shield on your ladder). If a hand-result overlay is on screen, the sheet waits its turn.
- If several tiers unlock in one catch-up pass, you may see one summary toast instead of a stack of sheets — without earned dates for those batch unlocks.
Where they appear
- Today's Leaderboard rows — your highest shield beside your lifetime ★ count (other players see yours on your row).
- Player profile card — tap any row to open today / week / lifetime stars; your own card adds a Stars | Badges split.
- Edit Profile → Badges — read-only ladder with every tier, locked tiers shown dimmed on the same artwork.
Below 50 lifetime ★, the compact shield slot is empty on your row; leaderboards may show a gray Fortuna preview for locked tiers when you tap for showcase copy.
The ten tiers
Thresholds and names match the in-app catalog. Myth lines are shortened from the app's showcase copy.
Fortuna
50 lifetime ★
Roman goddess of fortune and luck. Lifetime stars stop being a fluke and start being coach-perfect habit.
Janus
500 lifetime ★
Roman god of thresholds — one face on the past, one on what comes next. Your line held through long sessions and cold streaks alike.
Hermes
2,500 lifetime ★
Greek messenger god of speed, travel, and sharp timing. Every street treated like a read that must land on time.
Tyche
5,000 lifetime ★
Greek goddess of chance, often shown with fortune's wheel. Discipline, not run-good — luck you built at the table.
Apollo
10,000 lifetime ★
Greek god of light, prophecy, and clear sight. A long arc of coach-aligned lines, sizes, folds, and raises.
Athena
25,000 lifetime ★
Greek goddess of wisdom and strategy. Ranges, blockers, and the quiet winning line, hand after hand.
Poseidon
50,000 lifetime ★
Greek god of the sea — depth, tide, and storm. Deep volume and rough runs without losing the coach.
Zeus
100,000 lifetime ★
King of the Greek gods, lord of sky and lightning. Authority built from coach-perfect streets.
Odin
500,000 lifetime ★
Norse All-Father, who sacrificed an eye for deeper wisdom. Myth-tier patience — few players ever unlock this rim.
Ra
1,000,000 lifetime ★
Egyptian sun god, light and life at the center of the cosmos. Legacy play etched into the Daily Stars hall.
Not Game Center achievements
On iPhone, Game Center still tracks eleven achievements — First Five through Royal Flush — each paying practice chips the first time (some repeatable). Those are about hands played, venues, streaks, and big wins.
Lifetime badges live in Daily Stars / Firebase public profile data (highestBadgeId is set server-side from your stars). Android players get the same shields and profile UI; Game Center remains iPhone-only.
FAQ
Do lifetime badges pay practice chips?
No. They are prestige only — no chip grants, no Chip Shop unlocks, and no repeat payouts. Game Center achievements on iPhone are the ones that pay chips.
Which badge do other players see?
Your highest unlocked tier. The compact row shows one shield beside your lifetime ★ count on Today's Leaderboard rows and on your profile card. Lower tiers stay on your Badges ladder for you to browse.
Do badges show on the lobby ★ pill or at the table?
The lobby ★ pill and table chip show your star count only — not a shield. Shields appear on Today's Leaderboard rows and on profile surfaces.
What counts toward lifetime ★?
The same Daily Stars rules as always: one ★ per coached hand where you follow the coach on every decision, plus bonuses when you also win with a straight or better. Hands with the coach off do not earn stars.
I'm upgrading from an older version — will I see separate 1.6 and 1.6.1 notes?
On iPhone, if you last used 1.5.9 or earlier, What's New shows version 1.6.1 with lifetime badges plus the profile card, Next Hand, and flag changes together. Android may have shipped 1.6 before 1.6.1; both stores list 1.6.3 now.
Will I see an in-app What's New sheet for 1.6.2 or 1.6.3?
No. Those are polish and bugfix releases. If you are already on 1.6.1 or later, the app does not show a new What's New sheet. Open Settings → About → Changelog for the full web history, or read the 1.6.3 release notes.
What does “Earned {date}” mean on my Badges ladder?
Starting in 1.6.2, when you unlock a tier on that version or later, the app can record the date and show it on your showcase and Badges tab. Tiers you unlocked before 1.6.2 do not get a backfilled date. Other players never see your earned dates.
Virtual chips only. No real-money gambling and no prizes of real-world value. 18+.