Why You Can Trust CNET Play Texas Hold 'Em video poker with your friends for free
Don't let sheltering at home keep you from watching your friends' tells as you bluff your way to the showdown.
For years, I've invited a slew of friends over to my house every Friday night. We'd play board games, pinochle and poker until the early morning hours. That's off the table now -- no pun intended -- thanks to the coronavirus. Well, I've got some good news. Friday night poker can now continue thanks to a free app that lets you play live video poker with up to four of your friends. Just download Poker Face: Live Texas Holdem for iOS for free.
I'll be honest: I really dislike the goofy name. But Poker Face is a free app for both iPhone and Android phones (you can also download Poker Face: Live Texas Holdem from the Google Play store for free) that lets you connect a group of up to four of your friends around a virtual poker table and play Texas Holdem no matter where you are social distancing from.
What I like about Poker Face is that it's not single-mindedly focused on the game itself. It lets you chat before, during and after each game, with all five players appearing onscreen in small video windows. And that means you can look your opponents in the eyes and play rounds almost as if they were in the same room. Which is something we all really need right now.
One word of warning: Poker Face demands access to your phone's contacts; you can't invite other players to a game without giving up your entire address book. If you're worried about what the developer is going to do with all that information -- and yeah, you should probably have some concerns -- consider yourself warned. Will that stop you from trying out Poker Face? Let me know in the comments.
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