Poker World - Offline Poker

This is what the app pre wrote for my review: “I love almost everything about this game. It’s very well put together and easy to use, plus the side challenges are entertaining. What I don’t like is that the AI is always the luckiest SOB on the planet. The further along you get, the longer your unlucky streak gets, which is frustrating. I won a tournament off of bluffing and only had two hands that would’ve legit won in all the rounds combined. It is really geared towards having you spend money, which is fine if the creator would let you replay locations you’ve already won, but you can’t. I just uninstall and reinstall when I get to the point where I have to actually pay for chips with no chance of winning that money back. Overall it’s a good app.” Honestly, it’s 100% accurate. I do like that you can play offline(airplanes) and it’s cheaper than the $20 buy in I play on Saturdays with friends. All things considered, I haven’t even come close to $20 and I’ve made it pretty far. If you like to play Texas Hold’m, you’ll like the app.

I enjoy this game. It’s well-designed and fun to play (there’s a big But coming…read on). I’m a seasoned player, do not mind losing fairly, and play this game on my iPad at least 1-2 hours every day as a side diversion while working at my desk. I’ve achieved the #3 ranked player in “the world,” and have (eventually) won tournaments on nearly all continents. But after playing for a couple months now, and spending some $100 in Real Money for additional chips (the pleasure has been worth it to me), I’ll soon be letting my $20 million bank play out and move on. The honest reason is simple: the “house” (in this case the developer) uses shills, in the form of cartoon players, who make completely unrealistic bets having only one obvious purpose: to separate you from your money. No reasonable player ever goes All-In with the absurd frequency of these toon bozos; no real player ever bluffs that much or that foolishly. After all, cartoon players have nothing to lose. The end result, with frequent annoyance, takes away from the true enjoyment of this game when you know you’re being cheated by the house. For beginners, this is a good and fun way to learn Texas Holdem, with beautiful graphics. But if you expect fair rules in the long term, find another version of the game. (To the developer: this isn’t a decent way to make money, folks. Offer honest players an honest game, and you’ll have loyal users like me stay all-in for the long haul.)

I appreciate that this poker app has tasteful, elegant graphics and photo-realistic avatars. However, after four months of play, I have come to the conclusion that this product does not (yet) employ fair game play algorithms nor random shuffle. For example, your simulated opponents will frequently go "all in" before the flop for hands they could not win without the turn or river. Low card and other junk hands that most players would fold become full house or straight draws that justify open bets. It is as though the outcome of each round is known and your simulated opponents bet accordingly. That is frustrating. Also tournaments seem rigged in your favor such that, unless you really botch your hands, you'll likely end up at the top so it's easier to advance to the next tournament. I hoped for an authentic experience in order to improve my betting game. If you just want to practice Texas Hold 'Em in a gorgeous environment and don't care strongly about authenticity, I would recommend this app. However I plan to look for another poker app that better simulates real game play.