Mobile apps are incredibly popular right now, with the vast majority of the world spending the most of their day staring at a tiny phone in their hand. In fact, in the US alone, the mobile app market is expected to reach revenues of nearly $200 billion in the year 2020.

Yes apps deprive you of human contact, make you appear rude and ignorant and fry your brain, but they are pretty damn good. They give you the power of having everything you ever wanted in the palm of your hand and frankly make life easier.

The games sector of mobile apps has advanced incredibly in recent years and has moved from simple games like Doodlejump to immersive thrillers like Into the Dead. Another area that has improved vastly is mobile gambling - poker and mobile casino games are now better than ever.

These improvements however have led to huge swathes of apps appearing on the market, so how on earth do you find the right one for you? Well that's where we come in, we've trawled through the good, bad and ugly of casino apps to give you the lowdown. In this review, we take a look at 888 Poker's app.

Background

Now established as one of the world's leading online gambling brands, 888 have risen from obscurity at a rapid rate. Originally starting out as 888 holdings, the group sought to exploit the advent of the World Wide Web in the mid-nineties to capture remote gamblers.

Since then they have gone from strength to strength, often leading the market with innovations to capture new customers. Virtual reality and Augmented reality games have been pioneered by 888 to revolutionise Poker, Roulette and Blackjack games. Now the company have branched out to real money gambling apps to cater for their 10 million registered users in the United Kingdom.

Accessibility

The app is available on both Apple and Android devices and will be the first result when you type in '888 Poker' on the App Store or the Play Store. The app will require a fairly low amount of memory (2.6MB) with most of the information being transmitted via wi-fi or 4G.

If you're already registered with any 888 service you can link your account to your app fairly easily, and if you're a newbie, all you'll need is your personal details, your bank card and a decent connection.

It's all fairly quick and easy, which is a bonus as we've lost count of the amount of times we've deleted an app in fury because the loading screen takes too long or the sign-up is too convoluted.

4/5

Security

Not the most glamorous part of the review, but one of the most important, especially when you consider you'll be using the app to transfer and withdraw money. The 888 Poker app uses the exact same security as the company's website so McAfee, Game Care, ICRA certification and encryption technology are all used to protect your personal details.

As an added extra, you can also set gambling limits to ensure you don't get into gambling difficulties.

5/5

Variety

The 888 Poker app isn't a one trick pony, and it gives players a huge range of games to play including Texas Hold 'Em, Omaha Hi-Lo and 3 and 7 card stud varieties. Games are usually full of players and there are regular cash tournaments to keep you entertained.

For a poker game there's plenty of variety and easy access to it too, so the app scores well on that front.

4/5

Graphics

The visual appeal of the app has been described by some reviewers as 'crisp and clear', but we're not entirely in agreement with that verdict. Yes, there are clear lines and little clutter allowing you to focus on the game at hand.

But, some of the overly bright colouring and table features make the app look a little cheap in our opinion. A stripping back of some of the 'shinier' elements of the app's graphics would be an improvement.

3/5

Functionality

No-one likes an app that looks good on the surface but turns out to be clunky and glitch, fortunately, 888 Poker is not one of those apps. The small size of the app means that it runs incredibly smoothly on Wi-Fi and 4G networks.

Using the app itself is pretty easy too, choosing your game and wagers are as easy as tapping an option and using a slider. 888 Poker's app scores really well on functionality.

5/5

Features

There are two stand-out features on this app that make it a great app in our opinion, that's snap poker and live poker. Firstly, in snap poker you can select what game you want to play, and if you fold, seamlessly merge into a new game. You don't have to sit out the rest of the hand, wait for all the other players or waste any time, you're immediately playing again.

That feature is a real bonus on a mobile app because it mitigates battery loss and data usage when out and about. Then there's the live poker, which is a relatively new feature but works great for players and highlights 888's dedication to using the newest and most updated technology.

A live HD stream from a land-based casino is fed into the app, all controlled by a fully professional croupier. Players can interact with the dealer at any time as well as other players by using the in-app chat board.

The live stream adds an authenticity to the app and helps to broker that divide between virtual poker and real poker.

5/5

Summary

The 888 Poker App is probably the best one on the market in our opinion, the graphics could do with a little work - but in truth, we're nit picking here. The app is almost too easy to use and provides little to no barriers to actually playing. Our favourite parts of the app are the live stream and snap poker features. All in all, we've given it a pretty high-score overall, and we would definitely recommend it!

4.5/5