One of the biggest breakthroughs in mobile poker has arrived, as Terminal Poker is now available for play on both the iPhone and the iPad.
While mobile poker has been a feature of several rooms for a few years now (to see a full list, give this online poker guide a read), there has yet to be a fully-featured client that works for Apple mobile devices. The major reason for that lack is that the majority of mobile clients rely on Flash in order to operate, and Apple has, somewhat notoriously, disallowed Flash from running on their mobile devices.
Terminal Poker sidesteps that bullet by not requiring Flash in order to play poker. Bonus: Terminal Poker is a Rush-style client, meaning that you zip from one hand to the next the instant you fold. That’s perfect for mobile devices – no one wants to sit and stare at their screen waiting for the next hand to begin.
Terminal Poker isn’t without downsides, however. The first is that traffic at the site is somewhat low, with only a few dozen players comprising the typical player pool. The second is that the room is not open to players from the US, meaning that Americans reading this article are still lacking a viable iPhone poker option.
Finally, Terminal Poker doesn’t allow you to deposit with PayPal, a significant restriction for those who prefer to make their deposits for poker with paypal. Those drawbacks aside, the core advantage of the room – being able to play on your mobile device – will outweigh any negatives for many players.
It’s unlikely Terminal Poker will be the only iPad and iPhone poker client for long. More and more rooms are likely to develop mobile-friendly poker styles like Rush Poker and find ways to work around Apple’s limitations. Until then, however, to get your poker iFix, Terminal Poker should be your room of choice.
