Part #1 First Real Money Mobile Poker Apps
The history of real money mobile poker dates all the way back to 2006. The pioneers of mobile poker were the notorious Ultimatebet and Pokerroom. Back then poker could be played on Java supporting cell phones and the apps had very limited features with low detailed graphics. First generation poker apps also often suffered from connection problems as the mobile networks hadn’t yet advanced enough to support real-time gaming. Other online poker sites that expanded for mobile in the following years were Cake Poker (the first real money windows mobile app), RedKings and Bwin.
Because the quality and playing experience with these apps were still lacking they didn’t became a huge hit amongst players. The cell phone technology and the wireless mobile networks needed to progress and when they did the time was finally right for mobile poker. It was time for the modern smartphone era.
Modern Smartphone Era
It was the year 2010 and the smartphones and os’s were finally advanced enough that mobile gaming would be a lot more enjoyable as it was in the past. Second big factor in the growing popularity of mobile gaming was that the wireless networks had expanded and more players had access to a WiFi or 3G connection for a smooth uninterrupted gaming. The first online poker sites to launch real money games for modern smartphones were Switch Poker and Full Tilt Poker. These operators had different approaches as Switch Poker relied on web app that was instantly playable without the need for a download and Full Tilt had developed native app that was available in Android Market.
The first Switch Poker web app had Texas Hold’em Cash games for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It was the first time players could play for real money on iPhone and the interest was massive. In the first day of the launch Switch Poker had well over 1000 new player registrations and they were the number one search result for “poker” on Google news gaining mentions from hundreds of poker websites. There was no turning back at this point and the enormous interest in mobile poker had became clear for other online poker operators.
Full Tilt launched Rush Poker Mobile for Android almost in the heels of Switch Poker just couple of days after them. Full Tilt had a rocky start for their mobile poker as they had to remove the app from the Google Market only couple of weeks after the launch due to the strict Google policy on gambling apps. That didn’t stop Full Tilt from offering the app straight for download within their own site until the infamous poker black Friday shut them down in the spring of 2011. Full Tilt lead the way with their Rush Poker Mobile and many other sites have since copied them and launched their own versions of this speedy poker style. Fast Poker dealing fits mobile poker as good as Gabe Kaplan fits the commentator booth on High Stakes Poker. In Fast Poker players are dealt a new hand right after they fold and if the playing pool is big enough the speed of the game is lightning fast. It’s great for mobile poker as one can quickly enjoy couple of hands of poker now and then.
Next online poker site to launch a poker app for mobile was the former Ongame network owner Bwin. Bwin had initially launched their first mobile app in 2007 but now they were back with an up-to-date iOS version. Bwin Poker for iPhone was the first native real money iPhone Poker App and it was released in January 2011. It was also the first real money mobile poker app that was allowed in the Apple App Store.
Like the Full Tilt and Switch Poker apps the Bwin iPhone Poker was very simple. Common to all of these apps was that they were stripped down versions of their desktop poker clients and didn’t have all the features and game variations that players were used to. But there was one big player lurking around the corner and waiting for it’s change to really change the game. That big player was PokerStars and the game changer PokerStars Mobile.
