THANKS to Palm Addicts for the recent mention! Plus, check out Palm Addicts for lots of great mobile technology related news you may be interested in. It’s well worth a visit!

Much apologies for the late posting. As mentioned, I am working every day and it’s very hard to be posting reviews in a timely basis but I am trying very hard to do so. Please accept my apologies.

It’s time for another installment of Palm Discovery’s wReview Wednesday!

Astraware Casino for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Astraware Casino (iTunes Canada)

How many of you make at least a yearly trip to Vegas to play a round or two of poker, or slots or betting on the horses? How much did you win or lose? Ouch. Well, what would you say if I were to tell you that you can play and enjoy all those casino games without breaking your bank and still enjoy playing whether you win or lose? You’d probably tell me I’m crazy. But no, it’s true! The casino experience along with 11 of the most popular casino games are available at a fraction of the cost of flying down to Vegas, booking your hotel and of course, your wagers. And you can get all this for the measly price of $0.99! Get real, you say. But it’s true.

Astraware, the people who many of us from our Palm and Windows Mobile days have created the casino app for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad called Astraware Casino, offering 11 of the most popular casino games. Play Keno, 3 Card Poker, Blackjack, Texas Hold’em (limit and no limit), Slots, Video Poker, Craps, Baccarat, Roulette and also the Derby, for those who love to bet on horses all in the palm of your hand, anywhere, anytime and costs a fraction of the price of even a drink in Vegas, never mind the flight, hotel and tips.

Forget those planned trips to Vegas and save your money!

Thanks for visiting and supporting . If you are not reading this article from Palmdiscovery.com, the website you are reading it from is copying and posting my content without consent. Please visit Palm Discovery for the original source of the material.

For those who want to skip over all the detailed review and just want a summary, you can jump to the review summary

Astraware Casino is a game that is eleven games in one! Choose from games of Keno, 3 Card Poker, Blackjack, Texas Hold’em (limit and no limit), Slots, Video Poker, Craps, Baccarat, Roulette and Derby for those who enjoy betting on horses. You are initially given $1000 in your bank. Withdraw the maximum $200 out at a time to play any of the eleven available games. Should you run out of money, the Casino offers an overdraft service, where you can draw an additional $5000 should you wish to get yourself in such a hole and maybe, if you’re lucky, can win back some of what you’ve lost. Thankfully, the game offers the much needed option of “resetting” your bank should your financial situation get so out of hand. If only we’d have such an option in real life.

The game starts, as I’ve mentioned already, the initial $1000 in your bank. You’ll need to withdraw some money from it in order to play any game in the casino. The maximum withdrawal each time is $200. Once you’ve got money in your wallet, you can play any of the eleven different games available in the casino. You’re provided with the main screen which shows the ten different tables, the bank and the toolbar at the bottom, offering an About screen, Souvenirs, Statistics, and Options. To play any game, simply tap on the name or the actual table on the casino floor.

For each game, the screen will display either the top down view of the table or a video or machine screen showing the video terminal or slot. At the bottom, there is an Instructions button with the “i” which will display how the particular game is played and how to win. There is also a “Back” button should you wish to go back to the casino floor and an “Options” button which offers certain settings you can change or select. Also, depending on the game you’re playing, there are game specific buttons or selections available such as “Deal”, “Raise”, “Bet”, “Play”, or specific denominations of poker chips, “Spin” or others.

With eleven games to choose from, who has time to go to Vegas anymore?

More details of Astraware Casino for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad (taken from Apple iTunes store)

Try your luck with Astraware Casino - a collection of 11 of the most popular casino games all in one pack. Enjoy all the fun of a real casino without losing your shirt!

Includes:

? Texas Hold ‘Em No Limit Poker
? Blackjack
? 3 Card Poker
? Texas Hold ‘Em Limit Poker
? Roulette
? Craps
? Video Poker
? Slots
? Baccarat
? Video Derby
? Video Keno

You’ll also get $1000 in your virtual wallet so you can start playing right away.

Astraware Casino includes instructions on how to play each of the games, so you can enjoy trying them without playing with real money. Play starts with low stakes tables, with higher stake tables unlocked as you play, and offering bigger bets and larger wins. Astraware Casino also includes a bank where you can get an overdraft if your luck is out, or stash your cash if you win big!

Like a regular vacation, when it’s fun to bring back souvenirs, Astraware Casino gives you your own Souvenir Suitcase. As you play various achievements unlock different items to go in the suitcase to remind you of your trip to the Astraware Casino!

Astraware Casino includes the new OS 3.0 iPod integration so you can choose your own casino music soundtrack from your iPod within the game!

What’s New In Version 1.11.000

Fix for the options menu not scrolling on iPhone.
Blackjack - various minor bug fixes.
Three Card Poker - trophy now correctly awarded.

Slideshow of Astraware Casino for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Video of Astraware Casino for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Video review of Pocket Casts for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad

Here are my observations:

I Liked:

Simple, easy to play

The app is relatively easy to play. Simply tap on a button or selection and the app will make the selection and perform the action. There are also instructions on how to play various different games should you require them.

Game instructions available

One of the nice features I like about this app is that there are instructions on how to play each individual game. Considering that I’m not much of a gambler, it’s nice to understand how each game is played so that I get a bit more experience on playing it so that if I ever wanted to play it at a real casino, that I would be an old pro at it. LOL.

Initial money available

I like how the game offers an initial amount of money in the bank available for playing the games. You are offered $1000 to start in the bank account, and as you draw down money from the bank throughout the course of the game, you can find yourself in a deep hole. However should you find yourself in the plus column, you can also choose to deposit money back into your bank account. How nice.

Overdraft available

In the game, as in real life, the Casino offers you an overdraft of $5000, to “help” you get back into the winning column again and perhaps pay back this overdraft. However, once you’re in the hole, as you may find out in the game as in real life, it’s extremely hard to get out of it, even with the overdraft. Fortunately, this game offers you a way out.

Reset bank option available

As mentioned in my previous point, this game is quite nice in the fact that you can “start over” should you ever find yourself in a situation where you are out of money and have lost all the overdraft money that’s offered. Thankfully, the game offers you the opportunity to “Reset” the bank back to it initial amount. By doing that, you can lose all the money you want, without having to worry about debt because you can start new, all over again. Like I said, it’s unfortunate that there is no such option in real life.

11 different games available

There are eleven different games, ten actually if you don’t count the difference in the limit or no limit Texas Hold’em available for playing. With ten or eleven games to choose from, you won’t find it boring to keep playing as you are playing different games all the time. Personally, I prefer either Blackjack or the Slots myself but it’s nice to be able to play other games as well.

Souvenirs available

The typical Astraware trademark, the trophies display or, in this case, the souvenir table allows you to “win” various different souvenirs that may be offered while you play the game. Obviously, the more you play, the better the odds and the greater the opportunity to win a souvenir. Much like other Astraware games, this is something that will persuade many to keep playing just to win a few more souvenirs.

Background music playback support

The game offers background music playback so you can play any number of music or tunes from your device while playing the game.

Open Feint and Game Center supported

For those who enjoy being able to compete with others on platforms such as Game Center and Open Feint, this game supports both.

Offline playing supported

Much like many other Astraware games, this game is played without any need for internet access. So, much like many other Astraware games we’ve grown to love in our Palm and Windows Mobile days, this game is played offline. I only wished that more games were like this.

I Didn’t Like:

No Pai Gow or Caribbean Poker

Considering that many casinos offer Pai Gow Poker and or Caribbean Poker, I am a bit surprised that this game doesn’t offer them. Perhaps these games, now that I’ve mentioned them, may be available in a newer update?

No casino background sounds

Considering that the game is trying very hard to provoke a casino like experience, I am a bit disappointed that there isn’t any casino like background sounds while playing the game. Where’s the background noise, the clattering of slots, the sound of chips hitting against each other? Perhaps again, in a newer update?

Roulette wheel display too small

One thing I was a bit disappointed was how the roulette wheel was displayed when it was spinning. The display, which shows up as a square image comes up a bit too small. Why not make a much bigger image of it on the screen? I don’t necessarily need to view the betting table when the roulette wheel is spinning.

No landscape mode support

Although the game renders quite well in portrait mode, I would prefer to be able to play some of the game in landscape mode like the roulette wheel perhaps or some other ones? I am always one who would like to be able to play a game in either landscape or portrait.

No deck shuffling

I’m not a gambler by any means but I watch enough card games to see the dealer shuffling the deck. Unfortunately, I don’t see any kind of shuffling in any of the card games at all. Perhaps I haven’t played nearly enough hands to force the deck to be shuffled.

No internet playing

In this day and age of internet playing, I am a bit disappointed that this game isn’t offered with an internet option of playing against others on the internet like some other games offer. I think this could be an awesome feature if it were available.

No Facebook or Twitter integration

Similar to my previous point, since the game is mainly an offline playing game, I am disappointed that there is no Facebook or Twitter integration.

No lever pulling for slots

One of my biggest disappointment with regards playing the slots is that there is no lever available for pulling. In my view, one of the most fun thing to do with the slot is to pull on the level. I would definitely love to be able to pull the lever on the slot simply by dragging my finger downwards or flicking it so that the level will pull and make the reels move.

Review Summary

Astraware Casino for the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad offers eleven casino games, all within the app, offering hundreds of hours of game play. Choose from playing Keno, Blackjack, 3 Card Poker, Texas Hold’em (limit and no limit), Slots, Video Poker, Craps, Baccarat, Roulette and Derby, just like if you were in Vegas. The game offers all the fun of the casino without the worry of breaking your bank. Even if you lose all your money at the casino, you can reset it and start all over again. This certainly beats playing at the casino any day, and you won’t have to worry about breathing in all the cigarette smoke either.

Astraware Casino (iTunes Canada)

Enjoyed this review? Check out the many other Palm Discovery software reviews here such as palm os software review, windows-mobile software review, symbian os software review, iPhone and ipod touch software review, android software review.

Thanks for visiting

: archives categories software-review reviews iphone ipod-touch ipad astraware astraware-casino casino keno 3-card-poker blackjack texas-hold-em texas-hold-em-limit texas-hold-em-no-limit slots slot-machine video-poker craps baccarat roulette derby horse-betting bank overdraft video-keno souvenirs max-bet bet three-card-poker game wReview-Wednesday