Poker Million The Masters

Understanding the rules of a game like Texas Hold 'Em is incredibly hard if you're a novice. In fact, it almost feels as if the poker gods have tried to make the game as inaccessible to newbies as possible by making up their own language.

Just look at this description from the Poker Million's tutorial: "The player to the left of the dealer posts a small blind."

A small blind what? Rabbit? Surely transporting small, visually challenged mammals as part of a simple game of cards is a bit beyond the pale? Someone had better call the RSPCA...

The confusing terminology doesn't stop there. When the first three cards are placed on the table, that's called 'the flop'. When the final card's placed on the table, it's called 'the river'. You can imagine that trying to eavesdrop on a conversation between two experienced poker players could end up being a bit of a confusing experience, what with all this talk of posting a small blind mammal up the river after the flop.

Joking aside, if you're a novice to the game of Texas Hold 'em, Poker Million The Masters actually does a pretty good job of easing you into the terminology and psychology of the game. If you're confused by poker speak and don't really know the difference between a full house and a high card, you'll be in good hands here, as the game comes fully-equipped with a useful tutorial system that takes you hand-by-hand through every last detail you'll need to know.

There are two main modes on offer – a cash mode, and a career mode – and each offers a slightly different style of play.

The cash mode is a free-form mode, which lets you play at a table with ever increasing blinds, and a never-ending stream of opponents, basically letting you play for as long as you want. As the blinds increase, so to does the AI of your opponents, and it'll get harder and harder to lure them into betting all-in against your full house.

When you do (eventually) lose and have to leave the game, Poker Million will provide you with a detailed breakdown of exactly how many types of cards you played, and even gives you tips on how to improve your game, telling you whether you're playing too aggressively, or not aggressively enough.

The main part of the game, however, is found in the career mode, and it's here you'll find the majority of your big betting fun. First enabling you to create your own character (even choosing their name and how they look), you can take your poker rookie all the way from playing in small town halls through to the big leagues, simply by winning at the tournaments.

When you're playing a game of Texas Hold 'Em, Poker Million provides one of the best and most user-friendly poker experiences we've seen. The game moves much more quickly than other mobile poker games we've played, with each AI opponent taking less than a second to work out what they want to do, making the game that much more suited to a mobile platform.

The interface is minimal, yet very functional, letting you access all the information and betting tools you could ever need. Even better is the fact that you can quit out of a game half-way through, and have the game remember exactly where you were for next time.

It's fast, fun and easy to use, and it comes with a great tutorial, rule book and even a dictionary of poker terms for the novice. Whether you're a poker addict who's looking for a way to enjoy their passion on the move or a novice who's after an easy way to break in, Poker Million The Masters is the game for you.