One of the most crowded categories in mobile gaming is undoubtedly that of casino card games. There are both real and fake money options (depending on the gambling laws where you live), but regardless of this there are dozens of choices to sift through. So how can you identify the poker games that are actually worth your time? For the most part it just depends on what you like, but these are a few poker apps that stand out due to both quality and strong reviews.
Texas Holdem Poker Free (iOS)
This has been ranked as the best mobile poker game by at least one publication, and it’s fairly easy to see why. It’s one of the smoothest and most straightforward versions of Texas Holdem, which is undoubtedly the most common type of poker these days, and it’s also packed with fun social features. There’s lots of chatting, and even gifting available, but the core of the game is still made up of dozens of tables and multi-table tournaments that are at the player’s disposal. From a graphics standpoint, the game does its best to capture the glamorous side of casino poker, though it could stand to look slightly more realistic.
Five Card Stud (iOS)
When we hear “poker,” a lot of us think about Texas Holdem these days. However, as one thorough overview of mobile poker gaming pointed out, there are variants of three formats that make up the bulk of the genre: Holdem, Omaha Poker, and Stud Poker. This app concerns the latter, which some would consider to be a slightly simpler game. Accordingly, this app doesn’t have the special features and frills that some other mobile poker games carry, but it works smoothly and it’s a great poker game to play passively in your spare time.
Zynga Poker (iOS)
Possibly the most well-known mobile poker game out there, Zynga Poker pretty much has it all. Backed by the largest poker site in the world, it naturally caters to a huge base of players, which means there’s always activity. You can play in games of anywhere from five to nine players, join a league, or just play tournaments, either with friends or against strangers. Additionally, this game places an emphasis on the value of your chips even if it’s a free-to-play game. You get free chips for signing up and checking in every day, but you have to keep enough chips to enter games or else you’ll be out of luck. In other words, there’s a real incentive to win!
Jawfish Poker (iOS)
This game was initially launched by poker pro Phil Gordon, who was also the CEO of Jawfish Games. That leant it some legitimacy right off the bat, and though Jawfish Games has since folded and Jawfish Poker is now run by Bwin.Party, it’s still an outstanding mobile poker game. In addition to arguably the most pleasing and realistic visuals of the games on this list, Jawfish Poker boasts some of the fastest Holdem gaming available, with tournament times that average less than five minutes.
Poker Game: World Poker Club (iOS)
This is a gorgeous poker game, though there are a few things that some players won’t like about it. One is that you’re encouraged to sign up through a Facebook account, and another is that the tournaments are weekly, rather than daily. But purely in terms of the experience during a game, you can’t beat Poker Game: World Poker Club simply because of the design and interface. This is also one of the few high profile games to feature both Holdem and Omaha, one of the aforementioned main styles for mobile poker.
As we said, your own favorite poker game will probably depend on what it is you value in a mobile card gaming experience. There are tons of options out there. But these five tend to be reviewed well, and arguably offer some of the highest quality in a very crowded category.
