Vi testar mobil poker: Ongame vs PokerStars

Long road ahead for mobile poker

Mobile poker clients have been around for a long time, although they never really took off. Betsson, among others, had already released a mobile version of their client around 2005-2006. The problem at the time was that there were no mobile phones that were particularly well-adapted for that type of software.

Eventually, most mobile plans fell into disuse, and when the smartphone market really exploded, especially with the advent of the iPhone, many thought that it would be quick to get poker clients for mobile. It took a while, though, and Full Tilt’s release of Rush Poker was actually the first successful attempt to get a good poker client for real money play on mobile. When Full Tilt went bankrupt, the void that existed when it came to mobile poker resurfaced, and it was to last for a while.

Ongame vs PokerStars

Some time ago, however, Ongame released a poker client for mobile, and recently PokerStars released its own. We have tested both clients, on iPhone and iPad. In Ongame’s version, we tested bwin, but there are other sites on the network that offer games on mobile, including Bet24.

Compared to Full Tilt’s RushPoker client, the main difference is the graphics. Both PokerStars and Ongame have put time into making aesthetically pleasing software and have done a really good job of it. In both cases, it is presented very nicely, both in the lobby and at the tables.

From what we’ve seen, the Android versions don’t seem to differ from iOS. Downloading from the App Store went very smoothly for both Ongame and PokerStars, and when you log in with the same account details as when you previously played ”normally”, it’s quick to get started.

Some of the biggest differences between the two sites are in the lobby. Ongame only offers cash games, and the choices here are whether you want to play no-limit, limit or pot-limit and at what level. Both HU, short-handed and full ring are available. A big plus for a clear balance statement in the lobby!

PokerStars set the bar higher, offering cash games, sit & gos and multi-table tournaments at all levels. If you want to play the Sunday Million on your iPad on Sunday, that’s fine. You can also get your balance on PokerStars, but it’s a couple of clicks away. A minor thing, but it still bothers me a little. On the other hand, once you’re in the balance information, you also have access to VIP status, Frequent Player Points and so on.

Sitting at the table

Inside the tables, the two software are quite similar, with clear information and solid buttons for your choices. It works fine to play on mobile as well. It is certainly subjective, but I feel that Ongame’s client is somewhat more clear, especially on small screens. This applies, for example, to whose turn it is to act, and how much time you have left. I also find that their betting slider is easier to handle than PokerStars.

Besides the fact that you can play sit & go and multi-table tournaments on PokerStars, the biggest difference between the two sites is that PokerStars also offers multi-tabling. Four tables on mobile and five on iPad, if we haven’t missed anything in the settings. It’s really possible to play 3-4 tables on mobile too, and thanks to a nice visual solution it’s easy to keep track of whether you’re in a hand or not, even at tables that aren’t currently shown, as well as whether it’s your turn to act. For understandable reasons, you only see one table at a time.

A lot of functionality is also included in this simplified poker software, and both Ongame and PokerStars, for example, offer four-color play here too, which can be very nice when you’re looking at a screen that’s only a few inches in size.

Mobile poker: To be or not to be?

You can discuss how big the need is for players to be able to play poker on their mobile phones; for the sites, the need is obvious as it is of course about finding new ways to increase accessibility. For me, it is above all interesting to have poker on the iPad as I think it is cool to lie down on the couch with the ”toad” instead of the laptop. So it is not the possibility of playing outside the home that attracts to the same extent as the option of being able to play some ”point” poker directly instead of booting up the computer and using a mouse etc. Simplicity rather than accessibility in other words. It is of course something that is different for each person, and of course more poker will be played outside the home both on mobile phones and tablets with these releases.

If you want to play tournaments or multi-table, PokerStars is of course the obvious choice, but if you just want to play a few hands while waiting for something else and think a table cash game works fine, there are two largely equivalent clients, possibly with an information advantage for Ongame when it comes to small screens.