I recently spent around a dozen hours on airplanes and in airports with my family. Before we took off, I stocked my iPod Classic with a couple of new games -- The Sims Bowling (reviewed here) and Texas Hold 'em.

Texas Hold 'em is a poker game for iPods of recent vintage (i.e. 3rd generation iPod nano, iPod classic, and 5th generation iPod). Unfortunately, it's also one of the least enjoyable iPod games I have purchased to date as well as one of the most mediocre poker simulations I've played on any platform.

The game is no limit Texas Hold 'em and the object is to win tournaments. When you do, you can use your winnings to enter bigger tournaments with more tables, more players, and bigger payouts.

So far, so good.

The user interface isn't the problem -- it is no better or worse than other iPod games. The cards are dealt. . .

Then you choose an action -- Bet, Check (selected), or Fold in the figure below -- using your iPod's click wheel. . .

Finally, press the Select (middle) button on your iPod to enter your choice.

Each hand continues until either all players but one have folded or one or more players win (in case of a tie, two or more players may split the pot). This routine goes on until you either lose all of your money or all of the other players lose all of their money and are eliminated.

In a multi-table tournament, you're rewarded with a screen like the one below if you win your table. That's the good news. The bad news is that Table 2 looks and plays just like Table 1; Table 3 looks and plays just like Table 1 and Table 2, and so on.

If it's not your turn to act, you can press the Select button at any time to accelerate the action. This is a nice feature but it's marred by the fact that if you press the button one time too many you click the default button, which may not be the button you wanted. For example, say I have a lousy hand and want to fold. I click the Select button once to accelerate past each player at the table who acts before me. Alas, if I happen to click the button one time too many, I'll see that I accidentally called the bet or raise rather than folding. And, of course, there's no undo command.

Another problem is that the maximum number of players at a table is 6, which requires an entirely different strategy than a table with 8, 9, or 10 players -- the table size in most Texas Hold 'em tournaments.

Furthermore, the artificial intelligence of the computerized players is not particularly intelligent. They mostly act predictably and unrealistically which makes it easy to tell when they're holding good cards or bluffing. And, you can usually bluff them out with a small bet or raise if they're not holding a superb hand.

Another negative is that there is no "advice" mode, so if you're a beginner you'll get no help from the game, which is too bad.

Finally, you're limited to a single type of poker game -- Texas Hold 'em -- and a single betting variation -- no-limit. If you want to play other poker game types such as 7 card stud, 5 card draw, Omaha, or any other (there are many), or if you would rather play in a tournament with a fixed (or pot) betting limit, you're out of luck. It's no-limit Hold 'em or nothing.

Texas Hold 'em is compatible with the 3rd generation iPod nano, iPod classic, and 5th generation iPod only. It cannot be played on your computer nor is it compatible with other iPod models including the iPhone and iPod touch.

The Bottom Line

Texas Hold 'em for iPods is boring, repetitive, inflexible, and not very challenging. Unless you absolutely and positively want to play poker on your iPod, almost any other iPod game provides more fun.