There has been a lot of online poker played around the world in the last few months. With people staying home because of the coronavirus pandemic, internet poker numbers have jumped. Netflix, poker, and chill. And though we haven’t been traveling, I am sure mobile app use is up, too. To that end, partypoker recently pushed out a new update to its mobile app, the highlight of which is portrait mode for multi-table tournaments (MTTs).
When we play online poker on a computer, we play in landscape mode. After all, that is how our monitors are oriented, unless you have one of those spiffy, expensive monitors that can rotate. And so naturally, mobile poker apps were developed to use a landscape orientation, as well. It is what we are used to. Heck, it is how a real-life poker table is positioned.
The annoying thing about playing poker on a phone in landscape orientation is that, unless you are sitting with the phone on a table or other surface, you have to play with two hands. Now, for those who don’t play online poker, this may sound silly. Who cares if you have to use two hands? But hey, we have all used smartphones. We know there are tons of times that we want to have one hand free to do something else. Eat a bowl of cereal. Play thumb war. Beckon your child to come over so you can tell them to fetch you a beer.
Sure, I supposed theoretically, you could play in landscape with one hand, but stretching your thumb to be able to reach what you need to tap while at the same time maintaining a grip on the phone is quite difficult. Turn the phone into portrait orientation, though, and you are set. Partypoker has designed the app to make everything easily reachable with just a thumb. So play while you are holding onto a pole on the subway. It’s cool.
Portrait mode had already been introduced in cash games, fastforward games, and SPINS, but this is the first time multi-table tournament players have been able to use it.
MTT players also now have access to “Diamonds,” an in-game currency similar to what one might find in a typical mobile game. This in-game currency is not as insidious as other in-game currencies can be, though, as Diamonds are earned just by playing real money games. Or, this case, real money tournaments.
Diamonds don’t have much of a purpose, but not everything has to. Sometimes things can just be goofy and fun. Diamonds can be used to purchase “throwables,” which are virtual objects that you can, well, “throw” at your opponents. They have no point. They are just silliness. Diamonds can also be used to rabbit hunt, in case you were intent on torturing yourself.