Pyralinks vs Optimal Hold
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Pyralinks
Engage your logic and intuition with a unique puzzle system based on building pyramids from tiles. Discover hidden patterns in language and math-based challenges. Future updates promise more diverse puzzle types.
- Unique pyramid-based puzzle system
- Daily puzzles
- Clean visuals and calm flow
- Reasoning and intuition challenges
- Language and math puzzles
- Tile dragging and arrangement
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Pyralinks is a daily puzzle game where every tile connects with the ones around it. Each puzzle takes the shape of a pyramid, and every connected pair of tiles must form a correct link. Swap tiles until the full pyramid is solved. Three puzzle types, with new puzzles every day: - Pyragrams: word pairs that combine to form a phrase, like "point blank" and "blank check" - Pyraphemes: word fragments that combine to form words - Pyrithmetic: arithmetic expressions formed from three numbers and an operator How to play 1. Drag one tile onto another to swap them. 2. Tap a link to mark connections you think are correct. Marked tiles move together. 3. Submit a guess. Correct links turn green and lock in place. 4. Use what you learn to fix the rest before you run out of guesses. Features - New puzzles every day - Streaks and stats to track your progress - Share a spoiler-free summary of your solve - A free account unlocks the puzzle archive and syncs your progress across devices Pyralinks Plus An optional monthly subscription that removes ads. Manage or cancel anytime from the Account page in the app. Terms of Use: https://www.pyralinks.com/terms Apple Standard EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Play. Think. Connect. Created by TMBoyz LLC
Optimal Hold
Master video poker strategy with real-time Expected Value (EV) analytics. Build custom scenarios and analyze your decisions against mathematical best plays to maximize returns. Perfect your game with detailed breakdowns and performance metrics.
- Real-time EV calculation
- Deep strategy breakdown
- Custom deal sandbox
- Advanced performance metrics
- Interactive paytable
- Premium casino aesthetic
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Stop guessing on the hold. Train with real-time Expected Value (EV) analytics, build custom hand scenarios, and perfect your video poker strategy to maximize your returns. Whether you’re stepping onto the casino floor or playing for fun, video poker isn't a game of pure luck—it’s a game of precise mathematics. Optimal Hold is the ultimate video poker training companion designed to turn you into a mathematically flawless player. Focused on the classic casino standard—Jacks or Better (9/6 Paytable)—Optimal Hold gives you an authentic felt-table experience backed by a powerful, exact probability engine. No shortcuts, no approximations. Just pure, optimal strategy tracking. WHY OPTIMAL HOLD WORKS: The app tracks your decisions on every single deal and compares them against the absolute mathematical best play. Learn exactly why holding a low pair might beat chasing a 3-flush in specific scenarios, and close the gap on house edge. KEY FEATURES: Real-Time EV Calculation: Tap your cards to make your selection. The app instantly calculates the exact Expected Value (EV) for every possible combination to score your decision. Deep Strategy Breakdown: Win or lose, unlock a comprehensive post-hand EV Breakdown. Review every alternative hold combination to see exactly how much value your choices generated compared to the mathematical baseline. Custom Deal Sandbox: Want to test a specific tricky scenario you encountered at the casino? Use the built-in Card Picker to hand-select any 5 cards from a 52-card deck and instantly analyze the optimal strategy. Advanced Performance Metrics: Go beyond simple win/loss tracking. Monitor your comprehensive Accuracy Percentage, track your hands played, credits won, precise Profit & Loss (P/L), and your actual rolling Return to Player (RTP%) margin. In-App Interactive Paytable: Instant, beautifully rendered access to the standard 9/6 Jacks or Better payout structures so you always know what you're drawing toward. Premium Casino Aesthetic: Immerse yourself in a distraction-free, elegant deep-felt interface complete with fluid card physics, modern typography, and clean tactical layouts. Perfect your play. Protect your bankroll. Achieve the Optimal Hold. Optimal Hold is a strategy simulation and training tool. All gameplay does not involve betting. We do not process cash bets, deposits, or payouts. Terms of Use (EULA): By using this app, you agree to the Apple Standard Terms of Use (EULA) available at https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ The Privacy Policy is available at https://sites.google.com/view/optimalhold/home/
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Optimal Hold at none against Pyralinks's shown. Optimal Hold also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 83%). Pyralinks's advantage is ratings volume (77 vs 4) and monetization model (ad-supported vs freemium). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and device support 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
Both are free to download. Pyralinks sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month and Optimal Hold sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Optimal Hold holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Pyralinks has 77 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 83% of Pyralinks's written reviews are positive against 100% of Optimal Hold's.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Pyralinks | Optimal Hold |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (77 ratings) | 5.0 (4 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 82.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 77 — better | 4 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 2 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Ad-supported — better | Freemium |
| Best chart rank | #69 — better | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 78 MB | 17 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 17+ |
| Developer | TMBoyz LLC | BRANDON HAOYANG WANG |
Customer experience
Pyralinks
Optimal Hold
In-app purchases
Pyralinks
- Pyralinks Plus$1.991 Month
Optimal Hold
- Optimal Hold Pro: Monthly$2.991 Month
- Optimal Hold Pro: Yearly$19.991 Year
- Optimal Hold Pro: Lifetime$49.99









