How to put a poker clock on your TV from an iPhone or iPad

There are two ways to get a poker clock from an iPhone or iPad onto a TV: AirPlay over Wi-Fi to an Apple TV or a TV with AirPlay built in, or a cable into the TV’s HDMI port. Both work with any timer app. What the room sees depends on the app. Most apps mirror your phone’s screen. An app with a dedicated TV layout, like BlindClock Pro, shows a clock sized for the room and keeps the controls on your phone.

Which way should you connect?

Mirroring or a dedicated TV layout

Screen mirroring copies your phone’s screen to the TV, buttons and all, along with anything else you open on the phone. It works with every app, and it is how most poker timers reach a TV. A dedicated TV layout is different: the app draws a separate screen for the TV, sized for people across the room, while your phone keeps its own controls. BlindClock Pro and Felt Pro work this way. You connect the same way in both cases, with AirPlay or a cable, and the app decides what the TV shows.

Option 1: AirPlay

1. Connect the iPhone or iPad and the Apple TV (or AirPlay TV) to the same Wi-Fi network, and turn the TV on.
2. Open Control Center by swiping down from the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Tap Screen Mirroring and choose your TV. If the TV shows a code, enter it on your phone.
4. Open the tournament in your timer app. With BlindClock Pro, the TV switches from a copy of your screen to the tournament clock, and your phone shows the controls. If no tournament is open yet, the TV shows a waiting message until you open one.

To stop, open Control Center, tap Screen Mirroring, and choose Stop Mirroring. In BlindClock, disconnecting doesn’t reset the tournament.

Option 2: an HDMI cable

A cable gives the steadiest picture, and it is the way to go for a projector or a TV without AirPlay. Pick the adapter for your device:

• iPhone 15 or later, or an iPad with USB-C: a USB-C to HDMI adapter.
• iPhone 14 or earlier, or an iPad with a Lightning port: Apple’s Lightning Digital AV Adapter.

1. Plug the adapter into the iPhone or iPad, and connect an HDMI cable from the adapter to the TV or projector.
2. Switch the TV to that HDMI input.
3. Open the tournament in your timer app. BlindClock Pro shows the tournament clock on the TV as soon as the screen is connected.

For games longer than an hour or two, choose an adapter with a charging port so the phone stays powered all night.

What BlindClock shows on the TV

Big Screen Mode is part of BlindClock Pro, a one-time $4.99 purchase. The TV layout is made to be read from across a room:

• A large countdown, with the current blinds and any ante or big blind ante right below it, and a bar showing how far into the level you are.
• Along the top: your logo, room name, and tournament name, and whether the clock is running or paused.
• Along the bottom: the level number, the next blinds or break, the Time Bank, the estimated finish time, and the time elapsed.
• A break screen during breaks. When you start the Time Bank, it grows across the bottom of the screen so everyone can see it.

Your iPhone or iPad becomes the remote: pause and resume, skip ahead or go back a level, run the Time Bank, and mark players as busted. While the TV is connected, the phone doesn’t auto-lock. On the free version, the TV shows a “BlindClock Pro required” message and the upgrade screen appears on your phone. If you buy Pro then, the clock appears on the TV without restarting the app.

If it doesn’t work

• The TV isn’t in the Screen Mirroring list. Check that the phone and the TV are on the same Wi-Fi network and that AirPlay is turned on in the TV’s settings. Guest networks and some office or school networks block AirPlay. Restarting the Apple TV or the TV often helps.
• The TV shows a copy of your phone’s screen. That is plain mirroring. Either the app has no TV layout, or, in BlindClock, Pro isn’t active on this device: open the upgrade screen and tap Restore Purchases.
• The TV says it is waiting for a tournament. Open the tournament clock on your phone.
• The edges of the picture are cut off. Set the TV’s picture size to its fit option. The name varies by brand, for example Screen Fit, Just Scan, or Full Pixel.
• The picture stutters or drops out over AirPlay. Move the Apple TV closer to the Wi-Fi router, or switch to an HDMI cable.
• You have a Chromecast, Google TV, or Fire TV. iPhone screen mirroring uses AirPlay, which these devices don’t support without extra apps. Plug the phone into the TV’s HDMI port instead, or use a timer that runs in the TV’s browser.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an Apple TV to show a poker clock on my TV?

No. A TV with AirPlay built in works over Wi-Fi, and any TV or projector with an HDMI port works with an adapter and a cable.

Does it have to be a smart TV?

Only if you want AirPlay without an Apple TV. With an HDMI cable, any TV or projector with an HDMI input works.

Which poker timer apps have a dedicated TV layout?

Of the apps in our comparison of poker timer apps, BlindClock Pro and Felt Pro show a separate TV screen over AirPlay or HDMI. Poker Club HQ, NextBlind, and clock.poker open the clock in the TV’s web browser instead, and Poker Blinds: Smart Timer and Tick Tock Poker Clock have Apple TV apps.

Can I use an iPad instead of an iPhone?

Yes, the steps are the same. Without a TV, an iPad can also be the display: turn it to landscape in BlindClock for a large table display that the whole table can read, which is free.