Poker timer app that players could see on their individual phones? (1 Viewer)

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Jake14mw

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Since almost everyone has smartphones these days, and they are already at the table, does anyone know if there is a way to "cast" or share the poker timer from a computer via wifi or bluetooth to everyone's phones? One timer, or Tournament Director running that could be shared with all phones? I would think there must be somebody doing something like that already?
 
i dunno - seems unnecessary to me. then again, i primarily play in 1-2 table tourneys where the clock is easily accessible by - at most - a quick 180º turn of the head.

*shrug*
 
I can see this being handy if you have a home game with multiple tables, and the tables are in different rooms.

You could use something like RealVNC in presentation mode. Run VNC on the server, and have users connect over wifi using a VNC client. Only downside is the lack of sound. I do that with my laptops to have the timer visible from multiple places in the room ...otherwise the support poles block the view for some players.
 
I was actually considering writing a poker tourney app/timer that would do just that... but then I got a full-time job and am too busy. :(
 
links_slayer said:
i dunno - seems unnecessary to me. then again, i primarily play in 1-2 table tourneys where the clock is easily accessible by - at most - a quick 180º turn of the head.

*shrug*
Click to expand...
It's definitely not necessary. There are tons of things that aren't necessary, nicer tables, lighted rails, etc. etc. I just think it would be a cool thing to have, and it would eliminate those questions from the second table that can't see the laptop very well. And further along the lines of things that are unnecessary, I was thinking that a small older spare Android phone that I have with the App Running could replace the dealer button! THAT's unnecessary :)
 
Mesnik44 said:
....
OP: Yes you can do it. I use The Tournament Director software and I have a web host that receives posts from the program...
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I thought this could be done. But, since I don't know what "I have a web host that receives posts from the program.." even means, I guess that means that YOU can do it, but I can't! I have a few techie guys that play at my games, maybe I could pass on what you said and see if they could help. Thanks for everyones suggestions.
 
I use an app called "Team Viewer". On the main computer (running the timer), 1/2 of the 2 living room tables can see it, on my laptop (linked in via Team Viewer) the other 1/2 can see it. In the kitchen, my iPad runs the app showing the time there as well, and my wife's computer (view-able from the kitchen) also syncs in.

The program/apps can also carry over the sound, though I usually don't let it because there is a fragment of a second delay which drives me nuts if you are standing in a location where you can hear both the living room and the kitchen at the same time.
 
Team Viewer is similar to VNC, but it supports audio (causes issues in my setup, however...the host system gets a loud buzz non-stop).

Both TeamViewer and VNC run on Android.
 
I ran VNC for years. Upped to Team Viewer (now on v10) for the audio, then muted the audio. Of course, you'd be allowing everyone access to your system if you let them use their own phones, so there's that....
 
Thanks very much guys. Which one do you think is easier and more reliable to use for a non-techie?
 
Neither is techie. If you can build a profile on PCF, you can manage to install/run the software. Here's the jist:

  1. Google Team Vierwer (or VNC) for your computer, and go to the appropriate app store for each device.
  2. Click Button that says download
  3. Follow instructions as they pop-up
  4. Run program when it is complete
  5. It will give you a code for your computer
  6. Enter this code into each device
You may need to resize (pinch/zoom) on some devices, depending on how much real estate your timer uses on your main screen, but you don't need to be 12 to figure it out.
 
TeamViewer is better for the non-tech. For VNC, the only real gotcha is an idle timeout that defaults to one hour...it drops connections unless you set that value to 0 to disable it. It's an "expert" option that is set under advanced settings. If you want the details, send me a PM.

I would definitely go through the settings in both to disable keyboard and mouse for remote connections. Otherwise, shenanigans will start...
 
Thank you very much, I will give this a try. If I can get it to work, the next step would be to make an NFC tag for it.
 
Can it be set up so that the guy who runs the computer during the tournament could operate Tournament Director from his phone in his seat rather than getting up?
 
Hmmm...can you have one player with full access and others view only? Let me check...

Edit: In TeamViewer, Access Control under Advanced Settings can let you decide which type of access each connection uses. VNC has a "QueryConnect" parameter under Expert Settings which provides a prompt on the server to allow a connection, reject it, or set it to "view only". That would work, but you would have to set it for each connection, which is a nuisance. Ideally you could set it to identify your tablet / phone as a full access connection (probably by IP address), and everyone else as view only by default. Will continue to play with it tonight...

The main downside is the size of the controls on the phone. You will probably have to zoom and pinch a lot.
 
Last edited:
I played around with VNC Server and Viewer (vendor: RealVNC) using the free version.

1) I was able to select if a connection was view only or full access when they connected. Still searching to see if I can automate it. Setting is QueryConnect and set to True.

VNC_Query_zps6ezmueek.jpg~original


2) Don't forget to set the Connection and Idle Timeouts to 0. Otherwise, the server will drop connections without warning. I found this out the hard way...

VNC_time_zpsnmfjjcta.jpg~original


3) Here it is on my main PC (in the middle) running the server, with my Galaxy Tab 10.2 and an old Dell PC on each side in view-only mode.

VNC_PC_zps00frtquv.jpg~original


I'm using PokerDIY, but it should work similarly for Tournament Director.

4) And here's a screenshot from my phone. Note that you don't "tap" directly on buttons...you have to drag the mouse pointer over the button you want to press, then tap it. But it works.

VNC_Phone_zps0pb5lfr6.png~original


If you go this route, definitely try it BEFORE game night to work out the kinks. I would suggest connecting your phone first as full access, then set every connection after that to view only.
 
Same idea, but with TeamViewer.

1) The setting is "Access Control" under Advanced. You may have to select "Advanced Settings" when the app starts on the server.

TV_Setting_zpskmw7qkiz.jpg~original


2) On the three machines...

TV_PC_zpsayc7lnfd.jpg~original


3) On the phone with access control enabled.

TV_Phone_zpsba112kj4.jpg~original


Again, you can determine which machine can control the server from a pull-out list of connected machines on the right hand side. I would also set up the access for "Incoming LAN connections" to be "access exclusively". That ensures that the only connections are from the local lan, as opposed to through TeamViewers servers (which is the default).

I like VNC more personally, as it seems to be lighter on resources and I'm more comfortable with it. The sound on TeamViewer wasn't that great (very choppy). Might be because my machines aren't exactly state-of-the-art, but I also haven't played with the settings to increase performance to the same extent. One weird thing was that if I moved the mouse on tablet, it moved the mouse on all machines, but they couldn't "click" on anything. I found it distracting.
 
I tried it, and you are right, it's very easy to set up and use. Thank you very much!
 

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