Comparison

SD Poker vs TheStrangerX

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

SD Poker2 screens
TheStrangerX4 screens

Verdict

The call

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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

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.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

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.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
SD Poker versus TheStrangerX: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSD PokerTheStrangerX
Price$59.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (2 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings2 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 8 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — betteriPhone
Requires iOS12.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size27 MB81 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMartin EiseleJonathan Levit Consulting

Customer experience

SD Poker

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

TheStrangerX

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SD Poker

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

TheStrangerX

One-time2
  • Borrowed Phone$149.00
  • StrangerX Full Unlock$299.00

Questions

Is SD Poker free?
SD Poker costs $59.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is TheStrangerX free?
TheStrangerX is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, SD Poker or TheStrangerX?
SD Poker and TheStrangerX are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 2 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do SD Poker or TheStrangerX have ads?
Neither SD Poker nor TheStrangerX shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SD Poker or TheStrangerX?
SD Poker ships an update every 8 months, and TheStrangerX every 2 weeks. Most recently, SD Poker was updated on November 2, 2026 and TheStrangerX on October 31, 2026.

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