_2012 has begun and it promises to be another great year for mobile poker.  iPhone poker apps are expected from a number of major poker rooms, including PokerStars, Titan Poker, Party Poker, Mansion Poker, William Hill and Betfair.  While we wait with bated breath for these new iPhone poker games to be released, we thought we’d spend a little time reviewing the best iPhone poker apps available at the start of 2012.

We have to mention the Bwin Poker for iPhone app first because Bwin were the first poker room to convince Apple to approve a real money poker app.  The Bwin poker app is currently available in the iTunes App Store in the United Kingdom, Portugal, Austria and Hungary, and we expect the app made available in a whole range of other markets in 2012.

Although the Bwin app was one of the first real money poker games developed for the iPad and iPhone, it still remains one of the best.  The Bwin app offers a wide range of stakes, ranging from $0.05/$0.10 to $3/$6.  You can also just play for fun if you want at the free tables.

One of the coolest features of the Bwin poker app and one that hasn’t been replicated by any other mobile poker app is “one click reseating”.  If you need to take a call during the middle of a game you can return to the action with just one click. 

Bwin is part of the Ongame network so you should have not problem finding plenty of action at all levels, both day and night.  Bwin also released an Android version in 2011 so you can also take on your Droid buddies in a game of mobile Texas Hold’em if you wish.

Our favourite new real money poker app for iPhones is the mFortune Texas Hold'em poker app.  This one took us a little by surprise because mFortune are a mobile casino rather than a mobile poker room.  Despite this, mFortune have produced a quality mobile poker app that is both fun to play and feature rich.

One of the great things about the mFortune Texas Hold’em app is that it is compatible with 99% of phones.  We’re not sure how they did it but the app works on a wide varity of iPhones, Androids, BlackBerrys, Windows Phones and Nokias.  We also love the play against friends feature that allows users set-up private tables where they can invite their friends to play a few hands.

Best of all mForunte offer new players £5 worth of free credit just for signing up.  No need to hand over your Visa details or deposit money, just install the app on your iPhone and when you login there will be £5 waiting for you.

The Terminal Poker app is also a welcome addition to the mobile poker stable.  Full Tilt poker released past paced poker app called Rush Poker Mobile in 2011 but unfortunately it got binned when Full Tilt lost their gaming license.  Thankfully Terminal Poker stepped into to fill the gap by releasing a “speed poker” app for iPhones that is similar to the Rush Poker format.

The Terminal Poker app can be played from any iPhone or iPad browser.  They also run regular freerolls and offer a very generous €20 initial deposit bonus if you use the code TER20 when signing up.

We hope you enjoyed our quick run through the best real money iPhone poker apps of 2012.  For the latest updates, check out our Best iPhone Poker Apps section.

_The world of mobile poker took a huge leap in January 2011 when Bwin became the first poker room to get their real money poker app approved by Apple.  Up until this point Apple had steadfastly refused to approve any type of poker app that supported cash games.

Thankfully an update to Apple’s iOS mobile platform meant that Apple were now able to pinpoint the location of an iPhone or iPad and thus restrict the usage of certain apps to a particular geographic location where there were no mobile gambling restrictions.  The Bwin iPhone poker app was initially released in the United Kingdom and Austria although it was later added to the iTunes App Store in both Portugal and Hungary

With the arrival of the Bwin iPhone poker apps, poker players were able to play mobile poker at a major poker network for the first time.  The new iPhone poker app also sported some pretty cool features, such as automatic hand selection which displayed your best hand automatically and one click reseating which put you right back in the action after you’ve taken a call.

Bwin mobile poker players could choose from No Limit, Pot Limit, Limit games, while limits range from micro stakes to max. $3 / $6.  Users also had the option of filtering by table size and could play for real money or just for fun.

Bwin is part of the OnGame network, which is also home to Betfair Poker, Coral Poker, RedKings and Hollywood Poker.  It is expected that these poker rooms will also release versions of the same iPhone and iPad poker app in 2012.

PokerStars were the only other poker room to get the Apple stamp of approval in 2011, when their PokerStars iPhone app was released in Italy in November.  It is expected that the PokerStars app for iPhones will get a wider release in early 2012.

Despite the lack of native poker apps for iPhones in 2012, iPhone poker players were not short of options thanks to an assortment of quality web apps that were released from poker rooms such as mFortune and Terminal Poker.  A full list of all mobile poker rooms can be found in our Best iPhone Poker apps section.

_Playing real money poker on the iPhone these days is pretty straightforward (providing you don’t live in the United States).  All you need to do is browse to a mobile poker room from the iPhone’s Safari browser and away you go.  This makes real money poker games the perfect travelling companion.  Whether you’re waiting for a delayed flight or enduring a long train journey, you can always take out your iPhone and enjoy playing a few hands of real money mobile poker.

At iPhonePoker.net we’ve put together a few simple rules and tips that will further enhance your mobile poker experience while one the move.

Good Connection

Personally I like to play real money poker on my iPhone over a WiFi connection.  If the 3G connection is weak, the games can lag a little which can be very frustrating. Thankfully most trains, buses and even planes now offer free Wifi to their customers so you should always check first if there is a free WiFi connection available.  You really don’t want to lose your connection while playing a strong hand.

The good news is 3G connections have improved dramatically over the past couple of years and the next generation of 4G networks are already being rolled out which promise even faster speeds.  Which is great news if you like to play a few hands of poker on the go.

Play Against Friends

Playing multi-player poker on the iPhone is great, but sometimes it’s more fun to play against friends.  Many mobile poker apps now allow you to create private tables where you can invite friends to play.  If you’re on a journey with a bunch of friends, why not create a private poker tablet and challenge them to a game.  You can just as easily challenge friends or family at home to a few games of Texas Hold’em or Omaha while travelling.

Bring Head Phones

Some people find the sounds affect on poker apps very distracting and just turn them off.  I find they really enhance the game and make for a more authentic poker experience.  If you like hearing these sound effects, you should bring along a set of earphones so you can get lost in the mobile poker game and drown out the noisy train station or airport.

Your Native Poker App May Not Work

If you are travelling outside of your country, there is a chance that native poker apps may not work.  Native poker apps that are downloaded from the iTunes App Store only function in designated countries.  Once you cross a border by just a few miles, your native poker apps may stop working.

If you are planning on taking a long trip outside your country, you should check first if the iPhone poker app will still work in the country you are visiting.

Poker apps that are played from the browser of the Safari browser of your iPhone will always work, regardless of which country or continent you find yourself in.

Bring an iPhone Charger

One of the benefits of using an iPhone over an Android is the superior batter life.  You can generally get at least a day’s heavy usage from a fully charged iPhone 4S battery.  Despite this, if you are planning to play a lot of mobile poker on a journey, we recommend fully charging the battery before you leave.  Personally I never go on any type of journey without having an iPhone charger in my bag.  It’s pretty easy to find a spare power socket at most airports or train stations where you can give your phone a quick charge before you board.

If you are running low on juice, one thing you can do is turn off WiFi if you are not using to preserve the battery life.  You could also adjust the iPhone brightness level to buy yourself a few extra minutes.

We hope you enjoyed this simple guide.  Visit our Best iPhone Poker Apps section for a list of

_ 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.

mFortune, a leading mobile casino, has just released a real money Texas Holde'm app for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.  The new multiplayer poker game is one of the only cash game poker apps currently available for Apple iOS devices.  The new poker app is also compatible with 99% of phones, including Symbians (Nokia), BlackBerrys and Androids.  The mFortune app is currently NOT available to players in the United States.

The new iPhone poker app offers 3 levels of blinds that should suit mobile poker players of all skill levels - 10p/20p for newbies, £1/£2 for intermediates, and £10/£20 for pro players.  If you don't want to risk your hard earned cash or would like little practice before you put your money in the pot, mFortune also offer free to play poker tables.

One of the sweetest aspects of this new iPhone poker app is the ability to create private tables if you would like to play against friends.  You can now hook with pals from around the globe and play a few hands of Texas Hold'em on your smartphone or tablet, regardless of whether they are using an iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Nokia Symbian or iPad.  The mFortune app offers iPhone poker players the choice of either heads-up poker or 5 and 8 seater tables.

To mark the launch of this real money poker app for the iPhone, mFortune are giving all new players £5 completely free for just signing up.  What's great about this welcome bonus is that you don't need to make a deposit or hand over your credit card details in order to receive the free credit.  As soon as you've registered (which takes 2 minutes) the £5 welcome bonus is waiting in your account so you can begin playing real money poker on your iPhone straight away.  If you win, you get to keep the cash.  It's that simple.

One feature I haven't seen before is the ability to use your phone bill or phone credit to fund your account.  Regardless of whether you are with 02, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile, or 3, you can now play real money poker and just pay with your bill.  No need for a credit card.

Sign-up with mFortune today and start play Texas Hold'em cash games on your iPhone or iPad.

Many online poker players lament the fall of Full Tilt Poker.  Not only were they the first major poker room to develop iPhone and Android poker apps, but they also created “Rush Poker” - the high-speed poker game.  Thankfully, a brand new poker room called Terminal Poker have just released a “Speed Poker” app for the iPhone and iPad.

For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, here’s how it works.  Instead of joining tables, players instead join pools of poker players from which they are randomly selected.  Once a player has finished a hand, usually when they fold they are immediately seated at a new table and dealt a hand.  This eliminates waiting around and makes for a much more enjoyable poker experience.  Rather than playing just 60-70 hands per hour, it is now possible to play anything from 300-600 hands per hour.

This type of fast paced poker format is particularly suited to playing poker on an iPhone or iPod Touch.  Mobile poker players typically want to play a few quick hands while they are commuting or when they have a few free minutes during the day.  The new iPhone poker app from Terminal Poker allows them to do this by cutting out the waiting around.

Terminal Poker is browser based so you don’t need to bother installing an app from the iTunes App Store.  Just browse to Terminal Poker website and start play real money Texas Hold’Em on your iPhone and iPad from the iPhones Safari browser.

Besides offering a quality iPhone poker app, Terminal Poker also offer some of the best promotions for new and existing players.  New players who sign-up using the Code: Ter20 receive a €20 deposit bonus after playing just one hand.  Terminal Poker also offer their iPhone players a standard 200% deposit bonus up to €400.

Daily freerolls are also available and players can apply to Terminal Poker for 30% rakeback.

Besides supporting real money mobile poker on the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, Android and BlackBerry users can also experience hign-speed poker at Terminal Poker.

Bwin iPhone Poker
Bwin is a great poker app for new poker players.  They offer “Play for Fun” tables that allow you to practice against real people for free.  Bwin also offers the lowest micro stakes $0.05/$0.10 for beginners who don’t want to break the bank. 

The Bwin iPhone app also has a really cool hand selection feature that is ideal for new poker players.  It automatically selects the best hand which could really new players who are unfamiliar with the rules.

MFortune Texas Hold'em
mFortune is also a great beginners iPhone poker app but for different reasons.  They also offer Play for Fun tables where inexperienced players can get up to speed for they risk any money.  What’s great about the mFortune app is that they also offer new players a free £5 welcome bonus without having to deposit anything.

Another great feature for novice poker players is the ability to be able to play against friends at private tables.  The first time you play poker at a real money table can be kinda nervewrecking, so being able to learn the ropes by playing against friends is a great way to start.  Low Stakes are £0.10/0.20 which might be a little hight for some beginners.

Terminal Poker – This is a high-speed poker game so it is not suitable for new poker players.

Conclusion:  iPhone poker apps are free to download so it won't cost you anything to play a few hands at the free tables.  Everyone is different so the best advice we can give is to play at a bunch of mobile poker rooms until you find the one that is right for you.
_

If your real money iPhone poker app stops working when you travel outside a particular country, it probably means that its use is restricted to a particular region.  NOTE:  This is only applicable for Native poker apps that are found in the App Store.  Web Apps do not have any geographic restrictions so should work anywhere providing you have WiFi or 3G coverage.

For example, the Bwin iPhone Poker app is only available in the Apple App Store in the following countries: Portugal, United Kingdom, Austria and Hungary.  Before the Bwin app will work, it needs to verify that you are in one of these countries by using the iPhones geolocation feature. 

Thankfully most iPhone poker apps are web based and will work in any country.