_ Playing real money poker on the iPhone has never been easier.  There are now a selection of cash game native poker apps and web apps available for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.  Poker players no longer need to jailbreak their iPhones or use complicated VNC software in order to play a few games of real money Texas Hold’em on their iOS device.

However, there are a few considerations that new iPhone poker players should take into account before they begin playing mobile poker.

Do I live in the United States? – If you live in the U.S. then I’m afraid you are out of luck when it comes to mobile poker.  None of the Android or iPhone poker rooms currently accept real money players from the United States.  You can play for fun if you wish.

Web apps or native poker games? – There are currently 2 types of real money poker apps available to iPhone poker players.  Native apps that are download from the iTunes app store and web apps that are played from the Safari browser of any Apple iOS device.

If you live in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Hungary or Austria, the Bwin iPhone poker app can be downloaded from the App Store.  Poker players from other countries can play mobile poker by just browing to any of the web based poker rooms, such as mFortune or Terminal Poker.

Do I want Rakeback? Not all mobile poker rooms offer rakeback, so you should check first if this is a deal breaker for you.  Terminal Poker currently offer 30% rakeback to all their players.

Who offers the best sign-up bonuses?  Growth in online poker has stagnated recently, so poker rooms are relying on smartphone poker apps to provide them with a new batch of poker players.  As a result, many poker rooms now offer new players very generous welcome bonuses.  If you are deciding on which mobile poker room to play at, you should look closely at the various sign-up bonuses on offer.

Most poker rooms offer 100% sign-up bonuses which means they will double your initial deposit.  This means if you deposit £100 to begin with, they will double your balance to £200, giving you £100 free for just signing up.  MFortune alsooffer all new poker players £5 worth of free credit without having even making a deposit.

Do I want to play for free?  Maybe you don’t always want to play at the cash tables.  Sometimes you may just want to play a few hands for fun.  Although most iPhone poker apps now offer Play Money tables, some rooms such as Terminal Poker only offer real money poker tables.

Can I play against friends?  Sometimes playing against friends can be more fun.  You don’t have to worry about poker sharks and can enjoy a few casual hands of poker against your mates.  The mFortune iPhone app now allows user create private tables where you can play a few games against invited guests.

Do I want to play multi-table poker?  Many experienced poker players have to play at more than one poker table at a time.  Unfortunately, not all iPhone poker rooms support multi-table play so you need to check first if this is a prerequisite.

Do I want to play high-speed poker?  Full Tilt poker developed a unique fast paced poker format called Rush Poker that allowed poker players play hundreds of hands per hour.  The Terminal Poker iPhone app is currently the only high-speed poker format.

Would I like to play at tournaments? - Not all of the current mobile poker games offer tournaments.  Terminal Poker currently offer hourly freeroll tournaments to their players.

We hope you will find this real money poker guide useful when you are choosing the best iPhone poker app for you.