THETA Poker plays its hand on the iPhone

Every form of gambling has its own language and set of social rituals, and if you don't understand them you're destined to lose. Getting yourself educated about the world of horse racing is the only way to gleam any kind of enjoyment from a trip to the bookie, and figuring out the intricacies of card-based strategising is just as important when looking to take pleasure from a game of poker.

THETA Poker has just appeared for the iPhone, and while it makes no attempt to dazzle players with fancy, casino-based backgrounds or flashy animations, it does take computerised poker to new levels of artificial intelligence.

While playing the Texas Hold 'em hand of the famous card game, the iPhone application is apparently able to evaluate hand strength, position and opponent styles to really test your poker face to its elastic limit.

You'll need to learn the gambling language, however, as the intricate system makes full use of techniques such as blind steals, slow-plays, check-raises, continuation bets, short-stack handling and bluffs. If you don't know what any of this means, leave your wallet at the door.

If cards are your bag, however, THETA Poker could well be dealing you a hand you don't want to ignore.