SD Poker vs TheStrangerX
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SD Poker
This app is a specialized tool for magicians, designed to assist in performing a specific poker-themed magic trick. It analyzes card stacks to help you deal any requested poker hand, with features for customization and presentation.
- Analyzes card stacks for poker hands
- Supports user-defined stacks
- Optimizes for fewest moves
- Stealth mode for hidden assistance
- Proximity sensor for shuffle sound
- Export results via email
- Continuous dealing mode
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IMPORTANT! THIS APP IS FOR MAGICIANS ONLY! IT IS BASED ON PIT HARTLING'S EFFECT 'THE POKER FORMULAS' FROM HIS WONDERFUL BOOK 'IN ORDER TO AMAZE' PUBLISHED IN 2016 (PAGE 102). YOU HAVE TO BE FAMILIAR WITH HIS TRICK TO UNDERSTAND/USE THIS APP. IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, YOU SHOULD ORDER HIS BOOK HERE: www.inordertoamaze.com The App will analyze any stack and tell you when to use SD's in order to receive any poker hand asked for. I refer you to Pit Hartling's book for the general concept. Features: - No internet connection needed Stacks: - Aronson and Tamariz already built in - Up to 10 User-defined stacks can be stored / used Optimizations: - Fewest SD's - 0-SD Rounds - 0-SD's on last Round of Dealing Export Function - Results can be exported and sent by e-mail for further use in different forms Full-House-Coding: - Different Styles on how to indicate the Two-of-a-Kind Continuous Mode - Allows you to continue dealing Poker hands without undoing the last deal. The Programm recalculates the Stack by using the last dealt poker hand. ------------------------ Version 1.1: Stealth-Mode In this mode, the playing cards show the chosen poker hand. The code is secretly hidden inside the playing cards. So the whole presentation can be changed and the iPhone/iPad is only a 'tool' to explain the poker hands, but in reality it helps you to perform the effect. Proximity Shuffle: If the Proximity Sensor of the iPhone is covered in portrait mode (by e.g. the playing cards), the sound of a riffle-shuffle is played. This can be used for the presentation. Disclaimer I have built the app to my best knowledge and it is provided as is without any guarantees or warranty of any kind! If you find a problem / mistake, please let me know and I’ll do my best to fix it. Version 1.1 uses: --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vectorized Playing Cards 2.0 - http://sourceforge.net/projects/vector-cards/ Copyright 2015 - Chris Aguilar - conjurenation@gmail.com Licensed under LGPL 3 - www.gnu.org/copyleft/lesser.html --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you have a lot of fun with this App and great performances! Martin Eisele P.S. I’d love to get some Feedback from you under sd-poker@martineisele.de
TheStrangerX
This tool enables magicians and mentalists to create impossible effects by having a spectator dial a number and hear a stranger reveal their thoughts. It features conversation recording, a marketplace for sharing performances, AI transcription, and community forums.
- Spectator dials unknown number to hear thoughts revealed
- Conversation recording within the app
- Marketplace for sharing and downloading performer recordings
- AI-generated transcripts of recordings
- In-app community forums and groups
- Perform from a spectator's borrowed phone
- Live stranger calls and auto-advance features
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The Stranger, reborn. Same impossible impact. Streamlined, expanded, and finally as easy as it should have been. Stranger X is a performance tool for magicians and mentalists. A spectator picks up a phone, dials a number nobody could have known, and hears a stranger tell them the thing they only just thought of. NEW IN X Conversation Recordings, made in the app. Record directly in Stranger X. No separate studio, no importing files, no workaround. The single largest ease-of-use gain in the release. The Marketplace Publish your recordings for other performers to find, and download theirs. Search by title, author, region or tag. A library that grows without you. AI transcripts Generate a transcript of any recording automatically, using your own API key. Community, from inside the app Regional groups, announcements and support without leaving Stranger X. Borrowed Phone Place the call from a spectator's own phone. EVERYTHING THE STRANGER ALWAYS DID Live Stranger Calls. A real person, on a real call, anywhere in the world. Conversation Recordings. The same impact with nobody else awake. Auto Advance and Fallback. The call cycles through your list until someone answers. Convincers. Voicemail and auto-disconnect passes that make the dial feel ordinary. Smart region awareness. Correct numbers and formats wherever you are, in thirty languages. BUILT FOR PERFORMERS Drag to reorder your Strangers. Tap one to make it default. Switch anyone off for the night. Choose your reveal mode, your call type and your convincers from a single screen, then perform. Practice and Tutorials are built in. Rehearse against a recording before you ever do it for a person, and every lesson sits one tap from the screen it explains. Seven years. Thousands of performers. Regional communities across four continents. The Stranger, reborn.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: TheStrangerX at Free against SD Poker's $59.99. TheStrangerX also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 8 months). SD Poker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and device support (4 vs 1). On rating, review sentiment, ratings volume and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
TheStrangerX is free to download; SD Poker costs $59.99 up front. TheStrangerX sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. SD Poker asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for SD Poker against 5.0 for TheStrangerX. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.
SD Poker ships an update every 8 months, TheStrangerX every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SD Poker | TheStrangerX |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $59.99 | Free — better |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 8 months | Every 2 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Paid | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 18.6 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 81 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Martin Eisele | Jonathan Levit Consulting |
Customer experience
SD Poker
TheStrangerX
In-app purchases
SD Poker
No in-app purchases
TheStrangerX
- Borrowed Phone$149.00
- StrangerX Full Unlock$299.00









