Video Game Review: Zynga Poker for iPhone

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: An easy to use, free version of Texas Hold 'Em Poker

Cons: Must connect to internet to play, limited screen means minimal controls

The Bottom Line:
For free, this is fun

Small screen limits some features

I bet you'll like it

Free Texas Hold 'Em with Zynga Poker.  What's Not to Love?

A few years back, I was introduced to the joy that is poker by some good friends.  And while we don't play together more than one or twice a year, I enjoy a few hands every so often.  My big thing?  I hate losing money.  There are so many better things I'd like to spend my money on.  So when I found out about Zynga Poker, I was quite happy.

Actually, I started playing Zynga Poker on Facebook thanks to my roommate.  When I found out they had a free iPhone application, I quickly downloaded it for my iPod Touch.  It usually works for my purposes.

This software only lets you play Texas Hold ‘Em poker, which works out well since it is the only kind I know.  The rules are simple.  Everyone at the table is dealt two cards face down, after which there is a round of betting.  Then the first three community cards are dealt face up in the center of the table, followed by a round of betting.  That's followed by a single card being dealt face up, a round of betting, a final community card being shown face up, and a final round of betting.  After that, the person who has the best five card poker hand out of the seven cards they have (two personal cards and five community cards) wins the chips in the pot.

They have a very small screen to work with on the iPhone, but they make the most of it.  The screen only shows up the long way on the device, giving you the most screen possible.  The majority of it is taken up by the table, with the various players sitting around.  You have enough room to see your cards, the community cards, and your fellow players with the amount of chips they have in the game.  Frankly, that takes up just about the entire screen you've got.  There is a tiny chat box in one corner that is basically unusable.  I've never found the chatting at on line poker sites to be that entertaining, so I don't miss it in the slightest.

The sound effects are kept to a minimum.  You'll hear chips stacking when someone bets and a ding when it is your turn to act.  If you win a hand, you hear applause.  Other than that, it is pretty much silent.

Once a day, when you log in, you can get some free chips.  I try to do that every day whether I play or not so I always have plenty of chips when I feel like playing.  The program keeps one account for me between my iPod and Facebook, so I always have all my chips available both places.

When I actually do get a few minutes to play, there are two options.  Honestly, I've never even tried the Tournament feature.  I find the regular Tables enough to scratch my needs.  In the Tables, you have options of how many potential players you want to face at a time (5 or 9) and the dollar amounts of the minimum bets each round.  I'm not sure how high they do since I stick with the lower levels, $1 and $2 at a 5 person table.  When I play a 9 person table, I splurge and go to the $2 and $4 tables.

The program finds a table for you, but you do have the option to watch a few rounds before deciding to sit down in one of the empty seats.  You can always back out and have it pick another table for you.

Once you decide to sit down, you'll join the next hand.  The program automatically makes you put in money on the first round, but after that, you only have to include money if you are in one of the two "blind" spots.

Play moves around your virtual table.  You can watch or zone out until it is your turn.  When it comes around to you, buttons come up that allow you to check (stay in the round if no one has bet), fold, or bet.  When you decide to bet, a dial comes up that lets you spin to the desired amount.  You can't bet any weird amount you feel like, but I don't mind too much.  These buttons respond well to a simple touch of the screen.  Occasionally, you can pre-check an option, but I have trouble getting that to always take.  Sometimes it just doesn't register.  However, when it is registering fine, I have been able to uncheck the option if I change my mind.

You need to be paying enough attention to at least know what you want to do pretty soon after your turn comes because you only have a limited time to act.  It's probably about 30 seconds, which feels like a long time when your opponents aren't playing, but moves remarkably quickly if you need to figure out what everyone has done.  If you don't act in the time period, the game folds for you.

In fact, I find that I have to pay more attention to this version than I do the full web version.  Because of the limited screen space, they don't have an area for a recap of the action.  If I'm not watching the instant the hand is won, I miss who won it with what.  That's true even if I win, although the applause does help with that.

Since this is no limit poker, anyone can bet all the money they brought to the table at any time.  Here's the part where a few ruin it for me.  I'm a conservative guy, so I hate betting too much blind.  But there are quite a few players who will go all in as soon as their two cards are dealt to them face down.  We don't know what any of the community cards are yet, and I have to make a decision for lots of money.  The thing that frustrates me is, if these people lose, they get more from their stash not currently at the table, and come back the very next hand and do it all again.  These perpetual all in players annoy the heck out of me, can you tell?  Frankly, there isn't much anyone can do about it, especially since we aren't playing with real money.  I generally choose to move to a different table is someone does it for too long.  You'd think since this is all fake money we are using, I wouldn't care, but I do.

And that is something nice about playing at the Tables.  I can play just a couple of hands or play for an hour.  It's up to me and how much time I have in my schedule.

This game is a web based game.  There is no single player option, so if you aren't connected to the internet, you can't use it.  Since I have an iPod, that means I have to be on wireless somewhere.  And since my iPod seems to be finicky at times about connecting, there have been times I have been kicked out of the game after playing for a while.  Fortunately, it hasn't happened in the middle of a big hand I was winning, but when that happens, I will be very frustrated.  It's hard to predict when that might be, too, since the game doesn't leave room for the web connection icon or the battery left icon.

Zynga Poker isn't a perfect web version of the game, but for the price for the program (free) and the price to gamble away fake money (free), it really can't be beat.