The iPad and its Potential With Online Poker

Although most online poker players use Windows PCs, there has been a growing swell of players using Apple Mac computers, be it MacBook Pros or iMacs. The mac-centric poker niche is growing with four major poker sites now having native software clients: PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, UB.com and Absolute Poker for Mac OS X. Popular hand history tracking utility PokerTracker 3 came out recently with a Mac OS X beta edition of their software. With the release of Apple’s tablet computer, named the iPad, there’s been plenty of speculation about the iPad’s future with online poker.

When thinking about the iPad and its potential for being used for online poker we need to keep the following questions in mind:

What are the hardware specs of the iPad?
Is the interface going to be applicable to an online poker software program?
Will the screen quality and resolution level make online poker practical?
Does the iPad have enough bandwidth connectivity to have a lag-free online poker experience?
Is the iPad OS something that a poker site can work with to create an App?
Will the legal environment allow a poker site to release an App for its poker room?

The iPad is a high resolution 9.7-inch LED-backlit computer that weighs just 1.5 pounds. It’s touted as being perfect for web browsing, watching movies or viewing photos. The unit works in either portrait or landscape mode, very similarly to an iPod Touch or iPhone. The multi-touch screen on the iPad is based on the current iPhone technology. It’s been totally reengineered for the larger surface to be more precise and responsive. The battery life is said to last up to 10 hours by using a special lithium-polymer technology. The iPad uses an A4 chip which was custom designed by Apple engineers to be extremely powerful but at the same time very power efficient. Units will have an option for a 16, 32 and 64GB of internal flash storage.

All iPad units will have built-in WiFi with 802.11n which is currently the fastest wireless protocol available. In addition, there will be 3G models with data speeds up to 7.2 Mbps on the AT&T network for coverage anywhere without a WiFi network but with a 3G signal. Units are expected to start shipping at the end of March and the base unit costs just $499. The interesting thing to note here is that with a 3G enabled unit, with an unlimited data plan of just $29.99 per month, it’s conceivable for your unit to have internet access just about anywhere you go in a major United States city.

The iPad interface is the multi-touch screen which has been made more precise and responsive to help counter the potential problems it would face with a much larger screen. The resolution of the iPad’s 9.7-inch screen will be 1024×768 which is a bit inferior to what most experts predicted it would be.

With all the glitz and glamour of the iPad now out in the open, as poker players, we’re wondering about its capabilities for online poker. The unit on the surface seems like a great little online poker machine. The touch screen seems perfect for interfacing with a poker table. You could use the bet slider with the flick of a finger, fold or check by tapping the appropriate button and even muck your cards by flicking them into the middle of the table. Interface wise, there’s no question that the touch-screen interface of the unit will work splendidly.

The next question for whether or not the iPad would be feasible and practical for an online poker player is how a table would look on the screen. There’s plenty of screen available for a single poker table to load up in the 1024×768 space. In fact, if there was some sort of streamlined intelligent table, it’s feasible to probably even have four tables load up at the same time. The graphics capabilities of the unit were on display rather impressively during Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ presentation with a few video games, so we know it can handle the minimal graphics required by many of the poker rooms.

Another question we have to answer is about the iPad being able to bring in the necessary bandwidth to play one or even four tables at the same time. Since most poker rooms really only require a dial-up connection, which is surpassed in spades by both WiFi and 3G connections, there’s absolute no concern about the unit not having enough bandwidth to handle the rigors of playing online poker.

The iPad uses a new operating system that works very similar to that of the iPhone OS with more capabilities to take advantage of the unit’s more robust power. Because the development kit is already available to software developers, there wouldn’t be much of a stumbling block quickly developing a solid iPad version of their software.

So with the all the questions answered fairly positively when asking the question whether or not the iPad will work with online poker, we’re down to our final question – Will the current legal environment allow it? Since Apple is based in California within the United States and it controls the App Store, the worldwide distribution of Apps for the iPad will be based on United States laws. Obviously, the legal environment in the United States is described as murky at best with online poker, with virtually zero chance of Apple approving an App created by a major poker site for real money poker play. With that being the case, it would seem foolish to expect a poker site to invest money and resources toward a project that would only meet failure.

The potential future of the iPad and real money online poker is huge. The unit is perfect for those who want to sit on their couch, relax and play a few hands of poker. Maybe you’re stuck at the airport or who knows where and you want to log on and play a few hands. The iPad certainly has the technological power to handle the task. The only stumbling block, like so many other things in the industry, is left up to the legal environment. For now we’ll probably just enjoy whatever random Texas Hold’em video games Apple approves in the iPad App Store to satisfy our poker cravings.

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Useful poker terms:

OUT - [1] A card that will improve your hand, often substantially. A hand with many OUTS is preferable to a hand with only 1 or 2. [2] Folded, ineligible to bet or win this hand. "I'm out" is often a synonym for "I fold".
SEVENTH STREET - The seventh card dealt in 7-card stud.
BLUFF - To make a bet or raise with a poor hand, in hope that the remaining active player(s) will fold.
OVERPAIR - In Hold'em, a pair in the hole that is larger than any community card on the board.
SCOOP - To take all of a pot that is normally split, either by winning both halves outright or winning one half when no players qualify for the other half.
WIRED [PAIR] - A pair in the hole. In 5-card stud, a door card that pairs the hole card.

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