Texas Hold 'em Poker

The chances are good that if you own a mobile phone and have ever had the slightest urge to play a Texas Hold 'em poker game, you might have discovered there are quite a few to choose from.

And it doesn't happen that often that if you've already bought one game of a certain type we'd recommend you fork out on another one.

But in the case of Gameloft's Texas Hold 'em Poker, we actually might. Because it's one of the most comprehensive poker games we've played yet.

For a start, it caters for every type of poker player of any experience level. For beginners, the game comes with a Classroom mode where you're taught how to play from the bottom upwards and then given multiple choice quizzes to check you've actually absorbed the difference between a small blind and a preflop.

More expert players, meanwhile, can jump straight into a game in one of the three modes - Exhibition, Career and Heads Up - and simply choose to ignore the help screens that are accessed at the push of a button at key points in the game.

All three of the play modes on offer are subtly different. So Career is a lengthy challenge against increasingly tough tables of opponents in venues across the world, while Heads Up is a simple challenge against one other player.

What they all share are great visuals, with the poker tables viewed top down in Exhibition and Career, but in a point-of-view style sitting opposite another player in Heads Up.

They also gain from attention to detail that includes speech - the other players all vocalise whether they're going to check, raise or fold - and even player profiles, which give you an idea of what you're going up against.

Some players, for instance, are reckless, some are brilliant bluffers and others are cautious. With so much variety and multiple difficulty levels too, few games feel similar.

Adding to the atmosphere is occasional music that kicks in when the game reaches its most tense points.

The game's control system is commendably simple, and can be carried out almost entirely using a phone joystick or nub. Pushing left lets you check or call, right raises, down folds and up lets you go all in.

Pressing '#' at any point gives you a play hint, and '5' lets you view your cards. It's incredibly simple, but in case you forget, all the control information is displayed on the screen.

On top of the single player options, there's a multiplayer mode playable over Bluetooth. In fact, the only thing Texas Hold 'em Poker is lacking at all is the online, real money option you'll find in some poker and casino games, and clearly most people will be happier betting virtual cash anyway.

With so many bells and whistles, it's hard to find fault at all with this poker simulation. The tutorials, depth of options (selecting numbers of players, speed of play etc), multiple modes of play and slick visuals make it a superb game that we're willing to bet won't be beaten for a while.