World Poker Tour

Poker's here. Poker's there. Poker's everywhere!

Aided by innovative TV coverage that shows you what cards players are holding via tableside cams, Texas Hold 'em poker has turned into a global craze. People are playing online for real money, round at friends' houses for spare change, and they're even playing for fun on their game consoles. So it's long been something of a sure bet that we'd see Texas Hold 'em crossing over to mobile phones, too.

Mforma's World Poker Tour is the most polished mobile poker game so far, and it's also based on one of the most recognisable poker brands. What's more, its visual look will be instantly familiar to anyone who's played online.

The table is displayed from an overhead perspective, with different players represented by avatars sitting around it. Because the table is inevitably wider than the screen, the view scrolls back and forth – a neat solution to the portrait orientation of mobile displays.

The game has two modes, Freeplay and Tournament.

Freeplay is poker at its simplest: you sit down and try and win as much cash as you can from the mobile-controlled players. The rules are standard Texas Hold 'em – don't worry if you're new to this poker lark as there are instructions on how to play.

Meanwhile, Tournament mode gives you a set number of chips, and has you duking it out with five AI players for the top prize. It's all well presented and the hands happen at a rapid pace, with players betting, raising, checking and folding at speed – perfect for a quick game sandwiched into a bus or train journey, in other words.

We've got two problems with World Poker Tour, though. First, it could do with a bit more meat. A career mode, for example, where you play bigger and richer tournaments against better opponents would have been nice. As it is, the game can feel a bit repetitive, with no real progression over time.

Second, the game is single-player only. Over in the US, World Poker Tour has a multiplayer mode, too, where you can play against other gamers over the mobile network.

Its omission here in Europe is less Mforma's fault and more a result the lack of a suitable billing model (in the States, players pay a monthly subscription for the game, the revenues from which Mforma uses to pay for maintaining the multiplayer mode). But it's still annoying for those of us left to play solo.

Still, if you've got the poker bug and you're not too fussed about long-term substance, World Poker Tour should suit you just fine.