A few decades ago, the only way to play poker was live, in casinos, poker rooms, or friendly home games. Then came a major transformation in the poker industry with the introduction of online poker in the late 90s. Players now had access to their favorite games from the comfort of their own homes without having to go out looking for a poker game.
With operators realizing the need to introduce something beyond the traditional poker games, the world’s first club-based online poker app was introduced less than a decade ago. Since then, the popularity of club poker games has simply gone to a whole new level, with a plethora of club poker apps flocked by the majority of online poker players.
A club poker app is not just any other platform to play poker, but it’s a complete ecosystem that allows players to create private clubs and host games with their friends. But, with plenty of club poker apps existing in the market, it is a must to equip your club poker app with features that will make it stand out in the poker market.
Essential Club Poker Game App Features
#1 Club Creation and Club Joining System
The most essential and core feature of any club poker is the ability of players to be able to create and join clubs. Players should be able to create a club with a unique name, club avatar, and a club notice, which provides brief information about the club. Players invite their friends by sharing the club’s ID and approving joining applications. Gamers can also join other clubs by entering the club ID and sending a joining request.
Create Club:
Club owners can:
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Create private clubs
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Customize club rules, limits, and rake settings
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Approve the club’s join request
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Create customized private tables
Join Club:
Players can join other clubs by:
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Enter Club ID and Referral ID (if any) and send a join request
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Wait for approval from the club owner
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Send chip request to club owners or upline
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Start playing private games in the club
#2 Union and Super Union System
To support large-scale operations and a player pool, the club poker app should have a Union and Super Union system in place within the app. A Union is a conglomerate of many clubs within the app, which come together to share their player pool and games. Club Owners can still manage their downline members, but the Union owner is the supreme authority to manage games and clubs within the Union. A Super Union, on the other hand, is a conglomerate of multiple Unions to form a humongous player pool and share the same games.
Union:
Multiple clubs come together to operate within a common network.
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Clubs share the common player pool.
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Access to all games for every Union member.
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The Union owner manages the games and access to the clubs within the Union.
Super Union:
A Super Union takes scalability to the next level.
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Thousands of players within multiple Unions share the same network.
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The Super Union owner can set the local currency for each Union.
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The Super Union owner manages the games and Unions within the Super Union.
Additional Read: Essential Features Every Poker Software Should Have
#3 Super Agent and Agent Hierarchy System
A club poker app should have a multi-level agent system in place where the club owner and managers have the ability to assign members as Super Agents and Agents. These agents constantly add players to the Clubs and manage their downline members by directly dealing with the club owner on behalf of their downline members. A Super Agent has the authority to assign members under his downline as agents, and the agents deal directly with them rather than the club owner.
Club Hierarchy: A typical club hierarchy looks as follows:
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Owner
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Manager
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Super Agent
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Agent
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Member
Every Role has its designated access within the club.
Super Agent:
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Usually has multiple Agents under their downline.
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Can assign any downline member as an agent.
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Set Rake back deals of Agents and members mapped under them.
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Control the access level of the Agents.
Agent:
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Adds players to the clubs, usually for attractive Rakeback deals.
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Players have to put the Agent’s unique referral ID while joining the club to get mapped under the Agent.
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Manages all players under his downline. Send and Claims chips to and from the players.
#4 In Built Rake-Back System
Another must-have feature for a club poker app is to have an in-built rakeback system, where the rakeback can be configured for all hierarchies of club members and seamlessly distributed to them as per the rakeback cycle. The club owners should be able to configure the rakeback for all their downline members, including the Super Agent and Agent, and it should automatically get distributed as per the rakeback cycle. The Super Agents and the Agents should also be able to handle the same for their downline members.
Key features of an effective Rakeback system are:
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The Club Owner and Managers can configure the Rakeback for all club members.
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Super Agents and Agents should be able to configure the Rakeback for the members mapped under them.
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The rakeback cycle can be set as daily, weekly, or monthly, and the system should automatically distribute the rakeback on the completion of each cycle.
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The upline members (Owner, Managers, Super Agent, and Agent) should also be able to process the rakeback manually for any members under their downline.
#5 Robust Admin Panel for Complete Control
A club poker app is incomplete without a robust admin panel. The app owner should be able to manage games in the app, monitor the reports, such as rake generated, hand history, and revenue from the app owner’s admin panel. A club app should ideally provide an admin panel to the Club owners, Union owners, and Super Union owners, so that they can seamlessly manage the games and monitor player and game trends, which cannot be done within the club poker app.
App owner panel should include the following:
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Platform management, including creating clubs, unions, and super unions.
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User Role management, including club owners, managers, agents, etc.
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Financial and rake management.
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Reports and analytics.
A club owner panel should include:
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Club management
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Tables management
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Monitor player trends
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Reports and insights.
Super Union and Union owner panels will also include features like managing unions and clubs, managing games, and data analysis, besides other essential features.
#6 Real Time Data Access
To maintain transparency and analyse the game trends, hands, and player behaviour. The club poker app should generate real-time data that provides crucial insights. The access level to the data will be limited as per the roles of the members (club owner, manager, super agent, agent, and member). Members with downline members mapped under them should be able to access their gameplay, rake, and other data, as well as the data of their downline members. Club owners, managers, super agents, and agents should be able to download the data reports and share them with the downline members upon request.
Data Access by Roles:
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Owner and Managers: Full platform data, including the data of each member of the club.
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Super Agent: Their own gameplay data and their downline agents and members.
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Agent: Their data and their downline members’ data.
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Members: Should be able to access their gameplay data, hand history, and chip movement (trade record).
All of these data reports should be exportable in Excel or CSV formats. The data export feature is not available for club members with any downline members mapped under them.
#7 VIP Cards for Detailed Statistics
VIP cards are useful for regular and professional players who spend a lot of time playing games on club poker apps. These VIP cards have a plethora of benefits associated with them based on the level of the VIP card. These cards can be purchased from the shop/store section within the club poker app. Players use them to get detailed insights into opponents’ gameplay stats, protect them from disconnection, and get extra time to make decisions in some hands.
Some of the key benefits of the VIP cards are:
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Opponents’ stats: VPIP, Hands Played, Cbet, Pre-Flop Raise, Steal, Fold to 3 Bet, etc.
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Disconnection Protection: Protects a player’s hand from folding during disconnection.
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Time Bank: Provides extra time when involved in big pots.
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Rabbit Hunting: Players can see the remaining community cards after everyone folds.
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Special Emojis: To be used on the table, which are otherwise not available to Non-VIP users.
#8 Multiple Poker Game Variants
A great club poker app lets players enjoy different types of poker all in one place. Whether someone likes classic games or wants to try something unique, having multiple options makes the app more exciting. It also helps clubs create a platform that appeals to all skill levels, keeping players engaged and encouraging them to return again and again.
Popular Poker Variants:
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Texas Hold’em
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Omaha
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Seven-Card Stud
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Open Face Chinese (OFC)
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Razz
#9 Advanced Game Modes
Another really interesting feature of the club poker app is the inclusion of some exciting game modes that keep the players engaged and increase their retention rate. Game modes such as bomb pot, call time, maintain VPIP, and sequential opening are some of the highlights of these exciting game modes.
Some of the popular game modes are:
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Bomb-Pot: All players contribute an equal amount of chips pre-flop, and the flop is opened. Betting starts only after the flop cards are dealt.
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Call-Time: Avoids players from hit-and-run. Once in profits, players are required to play for a minimum duration before they are allowed to leave the table.
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Sequential Opening: Players see their cards only when it is their turn to act.
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Maintain VPIP: Players are required to maintain a minimum VPIP and are removed from the table if the condition is not met.
#10 Voice and Video Chat
Voice messages and video chat while playing your favorite poker games make the gaming experience for the players really exciting. Players can now interact with their opponents and express themselves freely, making it a wholesome experience for the players.
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Real-Time video chat feature.
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Voice Messages, where players can record and send messages on the table.
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Enable and disable the chat features as per their preference.
Additional aspects to keep in mind while developing a Club Poker app:
Cross-Platform compatibility: The app should perform seamlessly on all devices.
Scalability: The games should run smoothly regardless of the number of players.
Fair RNG: The RNG should be certified by reputed labs.
Security: Secure transactions, anti-collusion and fraud detection, among other security measures.
How Creatiosoft is the Best Choice for Club Poker App Development
Creatiosoft brings over 12 years of experience in developing high-quality online poker applications for clients worldwide. Recognized as one of the best companies to work with, we have successfully delivered more than 10 club-based poker apps across the USA, Europe, Brazil, and Asia. This strong track record has earned us a reputation as a reliable and trusted name in the global poker industry.
The Bottom Line
In the current poker industry, nothing can match the popularity of club poker applications. As the demand for such apps rises, the new entrants should carefully consider all the features and aspects shared above before developing a club poker application. When you focus on player needs and deliver a smooth experience, your app becomes more than just a game. It becomes a place players love to return to again and again.
