Poker Timer How do you set up a poker clock app on an iPad or iPhone for the table?
Lean the iPad or iPhone against something in the middle of the table, open a structure and tap START. Before that, spend two minutes in Settings on the alert sounds and the warning time, because those decide whether anyone notices the blinds going up.
The warning blip is brief: one 880 Hz tone, 0.12 seconds. In a loud room it is easy to miss, so the countdown also changes colour as a backup.
Settings worth a minute
- Tap the gear icon at the top left of the home list to open Settings.
- Under Sound & Haptics, leave Sound Alerts on. These tones are generated by the app and play as media, so the ring/silent switch does not mute them, and they mix over whatever music is playing.
- Set Warning at 30s left to taste: 5 to 120 seconds in steps of 5. Raising it to 60 gives a dealer in the middle of a hand more notice.
- Under Display, Keep Screen On During Tournament is on by default. Leave it, and plug the device in.
- Back on the home list, pick a structure and tap START. The first time, allow notifications.
What each sound is
| Event | Sound | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Warning before a level ends | One 880 Hz tone | 0.12 s |
| Level or break changes | Two notes, 660 Hz then 990 Hz | 0.44 s |
| Tournament finishes | Three rising notes | 0.74 s |
None of these is a ringtone you can swap, and the volume follows the device volume.
| Warning at | Tone plays at |
|---|---|
| 30 s (default) | 19:49:30 |
| 60 s | 19:49:00 |
| 120 s | 19:48:00 |
iPad or iPhone in the middle
The same app runs on both. On an iPhone it turns to portrait or either landscape; on an iPad it also follows upside-down. The type scales with the screen, so the blinds are bigger on the iPad. Leaning the iPad against a cup works in a pinch, but a stand is better.
Phone locked, or the app in another window
With the clock open, tones play as above. Once the app goes to the background, the level change reaches you as a Blinds up or Break time notification, and that one follows the phone's normal notification and silent settings, so it can be muted. A Live Activity keeps the level and the countdown on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island.
A bigger screen
There is no TV mode. The app suggests screen mirroring from the system on its own onboarding page, and that is all it does: the same screen, mirrored. A tablet on the table is the easier path.
Free, ads and what Pro changes
The clock, the sounds and every setting above are free, and no ad appears while a level counts down. The free version has a banner on the home list and in Settings, and Pro removes the ads. Pro also adds two colour themes, Midnight and Crimson, which change colour and nothing else.
No remote control from a second device, no Apple Watch app, no sync. One clock, one screen.
Questions and answers
Is there a poker timer for iOS that works without internet?
Can I change when the poker clock warns me?
Will a poker clock on my iPhone stay on all night?
Can I show the poker clock on a TV?
More Poker Timer guides
- Poker blind timer app: run the tournament clock from your iPhone or iPad
- Poker blind structure for a home game: five templates and your own
- How often should blinds go up in poker, and how long will the tournament last?
- Poker tournament payout calculator: how to split the prize pool
- How to run a poker tournament at home with one phone as the clock
- How do you plan the breaks on a poker blind clock?
- How do you run a charity poker tournament?
- All questions about Poker Timer
- Back to Poker Timer