Sponsored Feature: All in with Texas Poker

Once the sole preserve of shady gangster types and off-duty cowboys, poker’s image has enjoyed a renaissance of late, lifting it out of the saloon and firmly into the mainstream.

You can now watch live poker on TV, play for money in any number of online casinos, and – more importantly – download a wealth of poker-themed games and apps for your iPhone.

With so many titles vying for your attention, it’s often hard to tell which ones are bluffing, and which really have the full house of features that you’d expect.

Luckily, A. Kurulenko’s Texas Poker is one of the more accomplished poker games out there.

Texas Poker puts all the fun of a poker game in your pocket, allowing you to connect to online games against real people.

The advantages of playing against human opponents are rarely more apparent than when playing poker. A human element transforms the experience from a simple risk-assessment probability game to a tense psychological standoff, packed with drama, intrigue, and high-stakes risk.

The game takes place in a virtual poker lounge in which you’re free to join any game you like using a set of simple, intuitive options.

Buying chips is easily managed in-app, so you’ll never need to worry about being short of the credits needed to play.

Once you’ve converted some cash into plastic, it’s time to hit the tables.

Texas Poker gives you the choice of a number of virtual tables at which to play.

Once you’re seated, the plays come thick and fast. Each turn has a time limit, causing your device to vibrate should you take too long. This ensures that the game stays lively, and that overly pensive players don’t get to grind everyone’s fun to a halt.

If the action gets a little too hot for you, don’t panic. The game also allows you leave the table you’re at and seek a more comfortable game elsewhere.

In fact, the game’s packed with features intended to ease amateur Pokerists into the experience.

There’s an in app guide, to talk you through the basics of rules and strategy. The interface is also clean and simple, with options to call, raise, check, or fold assigned to neat on-screen buttons, so they’re only a tap away.

The ability to view player profiles is Texas Poker's real trump card, though.

Not only does it allow novice players to scope out a fair opponent, but it also encourages people to get involved with the game's impressive social features.

It’s sociability that really gives Texas Poker lasting appeal.

As a client for established Texas hold ‘em network Pokerist, this game already has the benefit of an enormous online community waiting to be explored.

You can create your own personal profile, consisting of general information and poker playing statistics. You can also freely browse other players' profiles, in order to find like-minded friends to play with, or hunt down a worthy opponent once you’ve built up your skills.

There’s also a chat function that lets you reminisce after a particularly tense game, share strategies, or simply make small talk with your online poker pals.

There’s an easy, one button ‘Invite Friends’ function via Facebook Connect, too. So in no time you could be raking in the chips of your real-world friends.

All this adds up to Texas Poker being a friendly, safe way to play online poker.

As Pavel Egorkin, one of the developers, explained to website Top iPhone News:

“We love poker and think that it is a really great intellectual sport. It’s all staked on chance, experience and psychology. We were playing in online poker rooms but didn’t like that. They’re filled with professional poker players with bots and software. We decided to create our own poker club where we can play poker, meet our friends and sharpen our skills.”

If that sounds like your kind of game, Texas Poker is out on the App Store now, for free.