Online casino is big news indeed in 2022 and poker is one of the largest segments of its market. There are lots of players out there looking to find top quality poker games. Most of them want these available not just for a computer but for mobile play as well.
That means that there is intense competition within the iGaming market for the attention of these poker-heads. Lots of providers are trying to grab the lion’s share of the market.
888 Casino is one of the biggest names in the industry and lots of people use its 888 Poker app for playing online poker. The app is a popular one among casino fans, and it is worth looking closer at why that is.
It hasn’t always been called 888 Poker, as it was originally launched under the name Pacific Poker. Being part of the very successful 888 brand, the name change really made a lot of sense though.
After all, given the reputation that the umbrella company has built for itself, why would you not want to make it clear that this poker app is owned and run by that company. It is now one of the big three online poker providers. And that is down to the standard of two things: the games and the overall user experience.
Those are the aspects that you need to get right if you want to survive in this very tough industry. There is a lot that the 888 Poker app is doing well in both respects.
Not the Biggest but the Best
It is only fair to state this upfront: 888 Poker does not offer the widest choice of games out there. If you just want a huge selection, then look elsewhere. But if you are more interested in really high quality poker it will definitely please you.
There are six different poker lobbies available to you when you hit the home screen. The Hold’em, Omaha, Snap and Blast lobbies take you to standard online poker games, while the Sit & Go and Tourneys lobbies are for tournament play.
Lots of poker fans love testing their skills in tournaments and entering the Sit & Go lobby will let you join ones that start whenever a table is full. The Tourneys one is for multi-table tournament play.
If you want fast, action packed poker games, the app has you covered too. Snap is a fast fold game devised by 888 that deals you a brand new virtual hand the minute you fold during a game, while Blast is a very rapid fire version of Texas Hold’em.
This app also has a feature called Play with Friends that lets you set up a tailored game of poker to play with your buddies. It is the only online strategy title that Android are currently offering.
Smart Software and Layout
The days of casino fans putting up with substandard graphics and layout to get to the games are gone. Players in the online era expect to feel like they are actually in a top casino when they log on.
The action buttons for in-game play are found on the screen bottom and give you the option of using reactions and emojis to connect with the other players in a game. 888 is also focused on improving its app in line with customer feedback.
An example of that is the recent addition of Portrait Mode play, so players can use a single hand of cards to play in more than one game at a time.
The app software used is owned by 888 and can be downloaded to either an Android mobile or iPhone. The graphics are slightly less fancy than with the online version, but still create a realistic casino feel.
Do the Promotions Deliver?
Online poker providers really have to offer enticing promotions and bonuses these days, because the competition is so fierce. The 888 poker app has one of the smaller welcome bonuses, but makes up for that with the best no-deposit one on the market.
Its welcome bonus is worth $400, which is certainly not chicken feed, however there are higher ones out there among rivals. On the other hand, the $88 free money for Texas Hold’em games that you can access without depositing any cash blows those rivals out of the water.
When you do deposit your first money, you can also claim a 100% bonus of up to $888.
Safety and Security
This app offers genuinely world-beating personal and financial data security. All deposits and withdrawals deploy state-of-the-art 128-bit encryption tech to guarantee absolute safety.
888 Poker also requires a pretty massive amount of identity verification. That means providing plenty of proof of who you are and some players find it to be too much hassle.
We are going to side with the company rather than those players on this one though. It is a positive, not a negative feature, as a real-money gaming site cannot be too secure.
Once you have completed these identification procedures, deposits can be placed immediately, while withdrawals are completed within days. Bank transfers, e-wallets like PayPal and credit cards are among the payment options that are available for online security.
Looking at this app overall, it is not completely perfect, but the games, tournaments and security mean it is clearly one of the best poker apps for Android that you can choose.
