Poker players now have a new app to check out from anywhere in the world to work on their skills and compare against others. The Match Poker Online app officially launched on Feb. 14 and allows players to sharpen their skills for free.
The app is much different than a traditional free-to-play poker app. Match Poker turns the game into a sporting competition without having to wager your own bankroll. At the same time players can test their strategy and abilities against players worldwide.
“It’s not poker as you’ve ever played it before – it’s a Battle Royale where you compete against opponents playing the same hand as you to survive elimination,” Match Poker Online head of customer relations Jake Colman said in a news release.
“This makes it a pure test of skill – a sport – an official mind sport. And, for the first time in the history of poker, you can obtain an official world ranking. No other poker experience gives you this.”
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What is Match Poker?
The initial launch features a “Battle Royale” game. All players jump in a poker situation that includes 36 contestants.
Each seat is dealt the same hand across tables. Whoever scores best in each situation moves on and is awarded points.
This allows luck to be phased out and the app focuses on player results in each situation. The app shows a player how to play that hand with the best possible outcomes.
“Match Poker shows you how better players played exactly the same cards, offering a unique learning experience,” Colman says. “Plus, the app collects stats on your play and uses them to tell you if you are playing too aggressively, too passively, too loose, or too tight.”
The app contains statistics, graphs, and some fun gameplay. Players learn from seeing how their own play measures up to others who have played the same hand in the exact same seat.
Future Olympic event?
Once the app takes off, developers plan to launch a “Seasons” feature. This will allow players to be nationally ranked and climb leaderboards.
Match Poker plans to hold national events at every ranking level. According to the company, the goal is to get this style of play into an Olympic eSport.
While that remains a way off, Match Poker Online officials hope the app grows and brings something new to the game. Players can gain insight into their own game and carry some of those skills learned over to live or other online poker tables.
Other upcoming plans include:
- Players can access the Match Poker database to evaluate results of thousands of different hands
- A “Famous Hands” feature that allows players to jump into some big poker moments. Users are thrown in a monumental hand from poker’s past to see how they would have played the hand themselves.
- A fantasy-style game mode, where players can form mini-leagues to see how they’re skills stack up against friends.
After years of development, players can now test their skills by using real-time updated data. Match Poker Online is now available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.