Ladbrokes are without doubt one of the oldest and also the largest gambling companies in the industry. There are very few that have over 50 years’ worth of experience and it’s definitely a positive that the company has over many of its rivals. For many years Ladbrokes has been solely related with sports betting, but as the other recreational gambling commodities continues to grow such as poker and casino, Ladbrokes has definitely evolved into much more of a gambling portal rather than an exclusive sportsbook.
Their poker network has seen a lot of changes of the relatively – compared to how long the company has been established- short time frame it’s been in operation. Switching from their won standalone network to more mainstream networks has certainly given them a greater number of players and an appeal to a much wider audience. But with that does have its limitations, no larger than that of being able to add their own innovations.
But it’s these sorts of network moves that have allowed the company to develop their own iPad poker app in an area within the poker industry that is growing rapidly. Throughout this review we will see how well their iPad poker app performs.
The Ladbrokes iPad poker app is actually very easy to navigate. You can pretty much dive straight into the action with the welcome screen showing you the lobbies for your choice of game and also extra sections including banking, promotions, help and account.
There are two forms of games on offer within the app; Texas Holdem and Blaze. Unfortunately there are no Omaha or a mixed game variant which immediately sets them back from some of their competitors and will put players who do not wish to play Texas Holdem off the app. But that being said they have included their ever popular Blaze Poker which is basically Ladbrokes version of speed poker. For those of you unaware with the format then basically Blaze poker allows you to play hands instantly within a pool of players. Once you have made your decision you will be moved to another table where you immediately get to a fresh hand for you to once again make an instant decision.
The Blaze poker lobby allows you to choose between just two stakes; 5c/10c and 25c/50c. Whilst there are only two levels at the time of writing we do expect, over time, for these to increase as popularity and growth of the app continues. The Texas Holdem section has a little more selection with games ranging from 1c/2c up to 50c/€1. It’s pretty common for most poker apps at the minute to max at around this level but we have come across apps where they reach much higher stakes leaving Ladbrokes behind a little.
An interesting point to pick up on is that there is no way to table select on the app. Once you have picked your level you will instantly be seated at a random table. This means you can’t see how many players are online and it’s also virtually impossible to table select.
Jumping back into the lobby allows you to enter their banking section which we are really pleased to see is integrated into their app. Having to load up your mobile browser to fund your account is often a pain and very time consuming. The promotions tab is also something we are very keen on as Ladbrokes are synonymous with running monthly, weekly and even daily offers for their users.
Finally there is a play money section included by Ladbrokes that essentially allows you to play for free. We would recommend that if you are playing on the app for the first time to give this a whirl to get used to the table dynamics of which we will discuss more in the next section of the article.
The tables are pretty much what the whole app is about and it’s clear Ladbrokes have worked hard to create something that looks slick, modern and works seamlessly with the rest of the app. It’s a very cool looking table and something that just seems to sit really well with the eye. The graphics are sharp without ever being overpowering and the games play out super-fast; essential for mobile play.
Whilst at the table you are able to swipe across the screen to bring up a number of options that include toggling with animations, sounds, auto post blinds and even the option to upload a custom avatar. Unfortunately though there is no inclusion of a four coloured deck of which we feel should be an important of any mobile poker app due to the somewhat limited screen size on offer.
The betting section of the app could also do with some work. We like the fact there are quick keys such as All-In, Min bet and 2/3/4x the blinds, but the included scroll bar takes some getting used to and flicking between numbers with this is on a degree level.
When anything is released by a company that has the history, power and reputation that Ladbrokes does, it’s pretty fair to expect a quality product. Whilst the Ladbrokes iPad app is certainly not poor by any stretch of the imagination, it fails a little to be as good as it could be.
A few niggles include the lack of four coloured decks, the betting scroll bar and also the lack of variation of games. But then again, the design of the app and the integration of the banking software do pretty much make up for these losses.
The Ladbrokes certainly isn’t the best on the market, but it’s a really solid effort from Ladbrokes and something that we wouldn’t be shy to recommend to our readers.
But it’s these sorts of network moves that have allowed the company to develop their own iPad poker app in an area within the poker industry that is growing rapidly. Throughout this review we will see how well their iPad poker app performs.
The Ladbrokes iPad poker app is actually very easy to navigate. You can pretty much dive straight into the action with the welcome screen showing you the lobbies for your choice of game and also extra sections including banking, promotions, help and account.
There are two forms of games on offer within the app; Texas Holdem and Blaze. Unfortunately there are no Omaha or a mixed game variant which immediately sets them back from some of their competitors and will put players who do not wish to play Texas Holdem off the app. But that being said they have included their ever popular Blaze Poker which is basically Ladbrokes version of speed poker. For those of you unaware with the format then basically Blaze poker allows you to play hands instantly within a pool of players. Once you have made your decision you will be moved to another table where you immediately get to a fresh hand for you to once again make an instant decision.
The Blaze poker lobby allows you to choose between just two stakes; 5c/10c and 25c/50c. Whilst there are only two levels at the time of writing we do expect, over time, for these to increase as popularity and growth of the app continues. The Texas Holdem section has a little more selection with games ranging from 1c/2c up to 50c/€1. It’s pretty common for most poker apps at the minute to max at around this level but we have come across apps where they reach much higher stakes leaving Ladbrokes behind a little.
An interesting point to pick up on is that there is no way to table select on the app. Once you have picked your level you will instantly be seated at a random table. This means you can’t see how many players are online and it’s also virtually impossible to table select.
Jumping back into the lobby allows you to enter their banking section which we are really pleased to see is integrated into their app. Having to load up your mobile browser to fund your account is often a pain and very time consuming. The promotions tab is also something we are very keen on as Ladbrokes are synonymous with running monthly, weekly and even daily offers for their users.
Finally there is a play money section included by Ladbrokes that essentially allows you to play for free. We would recommend that if you are playing on the app for the first time to give this a whirl to get used to the table dynamics of which we will discuss more in the next section of the article.
The tables are pretty much what the whole app is about and it’s clear Ladbrokes have worked hard to create something that looks slick, modern and works seamlessly with the rest of the app. It’s a very cool looking table and something that just seems to sit really well with the eye. The graphics are sharp without ever being overpowering and the games play out super-fast; essential for mobile play.
Whilst at the table you are able to swipe across the screen to bring up a number of options that include toggling with animations, sounds, auto post blinds and even the option to upload a custom avatar. Unfortunately though there is no inclusion of a four coloured deck of which we feel should be an important of any mobile poker app due to the somewhat limited screen size on offer.
The betting section of the app could also do with some work. We like the fact there are quick keys such as All-In, Min bet and 2/3/4x the blinds, but the included scroll bar takes some getting used to and flicking between numbers with this is on a degree level.
When anything is released by a company that has the history, power and reputation that Ladbrokes does, it’s pretty fair to expect a quality product. Whilst the Ladbrokes iPad app is certainly not poor by any stretch of the imagination, it fails a little to be as good as it could be.
A few niggles include the lack of four coloured decks, the betting scroll bar and also the lack of variation of games. But then again, the design of the app and the integration of the banking software do pretty much make up for these losses.
The Ladbrokes certainly isn’t the best on the market, but it’s a really solid effort from Ladbrokes and something that we wouldn’t be shy to recommend to our readers.