Ever since smartphones with touchscreen capabilities have been in the hands of poker players, they’ve wanted to see if it would be possible to play real money poker from the palms of their hands. For the last few years, many online casinos and poker rooms have developed software for iOS and Android devices with varying levels of success. Now, PartyPoker has developed a new app for iPhones and iPads via the iTunes store called “FastForward: Special Edition,” which uses swipe gestures to allow players to jump into the action and only use one hand.
A Step Forward for Mobile Gaming
PartyPoker has built the app on HTML5, which the company refers to as a new experiment in mobile app development for their team. The game, they say, is still the same. However, how a player will play using the new app is going to be something totally unique to the industry.
The development team behind the app engineered it in a way that was designed for mobile handset users. Their user experience (UX) team kept in mind how users interface with mobile devices and went one level further by designing the app based on how users should be playing card games from a mobile device.
While the app is available from the iTunes Store in certain countries, a browser-based version will be made available in all markets that can access the dot-com network. HTML5 is a browser technology, and modern mobile web browsers, such as Safari and Chrome, can display it just fine.
How the Mobile App Works
PartyPoker boasts that, “We’re re-defining what it means to play one-handed,” in a press statement when the new app was announced. They also went on to state that their new FastForward: Special Edition application boasts a new patent pending swipe-based interface that, “creates another gear to playing FastForward poker.”
Previously, players would use normal bet, raise, and fold buttons laid out on the mobile device, similar to clicking a mouse on a desktop application. Now, players use swipe motions and tap gestures to indicate what action they want to take. Players that swipe off their cards from the table will fold, and those that double-tap on the screen will check. If chips from a stack on the right side of the table are swiped in, they bet or raise.
Players have the option of creating preset bet amounts by tapping on the pot and then selecting a half, three-quarter, or pot-sized wager. There is also a slide at the bottom of the screen for creating an exact bet amount during a hand.
About the App and Where It’s Available
PartyPoker has stated that the new FastForward: Special Edition app is still considered beta software, meaning there might be some kinks to work out. That being said, players can use the app to play both real and play money games at FastForward tables, drawing from the same accounts as desktop users.
For now, the app is exclusive to FastForward tables and available as an iPhone and iPad app in the UK, Ireland, Austria, and Sweden. If you live in one of those countries, simply download and install the native iOS app from the App Store. Other PartyPoker players can go to the website to be taken to the browser-based version.
On the official PartyPoker blog, the company says they are interested in hearing player opinions of the new app, whether they play for play or real money. Feedback can be emailed to “info@partypoker.com” (make your subject: “HTML5”) or via Twitter (@partypoker) with the hashtag #HTML5 in the tweet.
