‘Beam’ Me Up: Zynga Ups the Ante with Zynga Poker at Google I/O to Help You Play With People Near You

 Imagine experiencing the world’s largest free-to-play online poker game with friends and neighbors simply by bumping your smartphone or tablet together. Sounds like sci-fi, right? Well, now you can! At Google I/O today, Zynga announced that Zynga Poker has integrated Google’s near field communication technology (NFC) – known as Android Beam – which allows a user to invite a nearby friend to join a live poker table.

Here’s how it works:  while you're sitting at a table, place your Android Beam enabled device against your friend’s Android Beam enabled phone or tablet and touch the screen to send them the invite. As long as your friend’s phone is unlocked, they will be able to join your table and can choose to sit and play, or watch.

Zynga Poker, Zynga’s first game, launched in July 2007 and has since become the largest free-to-play online poker game in the world and one of Zynga’s most popular games.

It’s never been easier for players to join any Zynga Poker table, from the casual Hold ‘Em tables all the way up to VIP. Now, get those chips out and make room for your Android friends.  

Make sure to check out the Google TV Sandbox at Google I/O where Zynga Poker will be on demo at  San Francisco’s Moscone Center from June 27-29, 2012.