As the online poker gaming industry expands, so will consumer expectations. After all, the market is flooded with a variety of poker games; and with such a high scale of competition, only the very best poker platform will survive. You must develop your poker platform with robust functionalities to attract poker communities and give them an engaging experience!
Now there are many things to consider before developing your very own poker application. From design choices to features of a poker game app, there are undoubtedly, many steps that you need to perfect. In this blog, we will cover all the nuances of planning, strategizing, and developing a successful poker game software.
Analyzing the Market and Consumer Demands
The analysis of market trends and consumer expectations is a very important step. While building your online poker platform, start by identifying the target audience, i.e. the type of poker players and poker communities you want to attract.
For example, if the target audience is high-stakes poker players, then your poker platform must have poker games that offer high-stakes tournaments, big buy-ins, etc. Many high-stakes poker players also look for exclusive gaming opportunities such as club-based poker games with private tables and exclusive high-stakes poker tournaments. Offer gaming opportunities that will be appealing to your poker players.
It is also a good idea to research other poker platforms you are competing against! Learn and analyze the popular poker app features to identify the gaps. For example, Poker Face, a popular poker game platform, allows poker players to participate in video calling while playing hands. This feature has made the application extremely popular among poker communities. After all, poker players using this platform can play hands from their comfort zones while experiencing real-life poker table stimulation, making the games more engaging.
The insights that you gather from other poker platforms can help you customize your app’s design and features, making it popular among poker communities.
How to Develop Poker Game Software?
1) Poker Application Variations & Models
You cannot develop and launch poker software without taking certain decisions like choosing poker game variations and models into account.
a) Let us start by identifying the poker game variants:
There are several popular poker variants to consider:
- Texas Hold’em,
- Omaha,
- 7-Card Studs and many more!
Though each of these poker game variants has its own unique set of rules and appeal, it is important to implement only those that are popular among poker communities.
Texas Hold’em and Omaha have the biggest following with many sub-variants of these games available across a range of poker applications.
Featuring games that are most preferred by poker communities gives your app a chance at gaining popularity.
b) Poker game models:
In addition to selecting poker game variants, you must also decide on the type of poker application you want to offer to poker players. The decision to make such a choice should be based on business strategies, investment budgets as well as legalities of said demographic.
- Private Game Hosting: This model enables poker players to host private tables with friends or specific groups. The model offers an intimate and controlled experience for poker communities. Applications that offer this model exclusively get to maintain anonymity and track finances more efficiently due to the controlled participant volumes.
- Club-Based Poker: Players can create or join clubs, foster a community-driven experience through this model. Much like the private game model, clubs give an exclusive experience to their members. Club owners have prime access to data and supreme control over the members of the clubs. They can also appoint managers, agents, affiliates, etc. to better monitor and control these clubs as well as club unions. This model allows hosting of regular cash games and multi-level tournaments for their exclusive member pool.
- Public Game Hosting: A public platform model, this is perfect for larger poker communities. Games are created and managed by platform admins for large poker player base, attracting both high-stake and low-stake players. This model of poker app can also be hybridized by incorporating private hosting and club features to cater to poker communities of every standing!
For each of these game types, tournaments and regular cash games can be hosted. A combination of these variations gives flexibility to high-stakes and casual poker players.
Note: Before diving into development, it is also pertinent to consider whether you want to run a poker platform where players engage in real money or play money.
- Real money poker games can open up considerable revenue stream. However, it also opens the door to many additional considerations like legal, regulatory, and security laws.
- On the other hand, play money poker games use virtual currencies that are easier to implement and might be more suitable, especially for casual gamers.
Must Read: How to Start an Online Poker Site
2) Must-Have Game Features
To create a competitive and engaging poker app, you must focus on the absolute game features. After all, poker players are going to return for that enhanced gaming experience!
Here’s a breakdown of the must-have features of a poker game app:
a) Application Features
The foundation of a successful poker app lies in its core application attributes.
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- User-Friendly Interface: A clean and intuitive design with easy navigation functionalities always enhances a poker player’s journey.
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: Your poker community should be able to access their game from any device — whether desktop or mobile, iOS or Android.
- Secure Payment Integration: The payment gateway must be secured as poker players will be making in-app purchases and withdrawals. An additional functionality to implement is multiple payment solutions, especially, acceptance of cryptocurrencies. Enabling this feature will open up your poker app to a wider range of global poker communities.
- Account Management: Features like easy sign-up, login, password recovery, and profile management are crucial for refining poker player experiences.
- Notifications & Alerts: This default parameter helps keep poker player base interested, excited and updated regarding the recent events and interactions of the games.
b) Game Features
Developing engaging game features will help your poker app create engagement.
- Multiple Game Variants: As mentioned earlier, having multiple game variants, gives your poker community options to choose from. The goal is to ensure there’s something for every poker player.
- Multi-Table Gaming Format: Offering poker players the chance to simultaneously sit and play in multiple active games is a very engaging strategy.
- Customizing Options: Allowing players an abundance of customization options gives them the thrill of personalized control. Right from choosing their usernames to uploading a curated avatar, this functionality is a bit hit among online gaming communities!
c) Table Features
The table is the core of the poker experience, and its features are crucial in creating an immersive atmosphere.
- Customizable Table Layout: This attribute offers poker players to choose from a range of table layouts and designs for a personalized experience.
- Interactive Chat Functions: Communication is the key! Poker apps like Poker Face have implemented video calling and voice calling, leading to highly engaging gameplay. The reason behind the success of such features lies in the need to communicate with fellow poker players. A virtual poker game transforms into a realistic experience when poker players get to interact in real-time with each other over rounds of hands!
- Realistic Card Animation: Crisp graphics mimicking real-world card dealing action is another vital feature that makes a huge difference in the gameplay experience.
d) Tournament Features
When you question ‘How to develop a poker game software?’ pay close attention to poker tournament features! They are the key to keeping poker players engaged.
- Multiple Tournament Formats: Offering a variety of tournament formats, gives poker players the chance to choose among them!
- Customization Options: Giving admins, agents, managers and affiliates the access to customize tournaments from a robust back-end dashboard increases popularity. Poker software that lets users customize rake, game types, blinds, buy-ins, etc. will have a growth in demand, making this the default feature to develop while building your poker app.
- Freeroll Tournaments: Offering free entry tournaments with guaranteed cash prizes or in-game rewards is a great opportunity to attract new poker players while boosting your app’s popularity.
e) Club Features
Developing club features for a poker app should be handed over to a trusted poker game app development company USA, Europe, or worldwide. The minute intricacies and the highly exclusive poker community-based model should have enhanced features.
- Club Membership Tiers: Introduce different membership levels for the club poker community. These memberships give access to create clubs, manage chips, invite and reject members, etc.
- Club Creation & Management: Club owners can create clubs, and assign responsibilities to agents, managers, sub agents, affiliates, etc., while the management of clubs by regulating the customizable settings is available for eah of the mentioned designations.
- Private Game Hosting: Allow club members to host exclusive, private poker games. This gives a more exclusive experience to the poker players.
- Club Union Creation & Management: This feature enables club owners to create, join and manage a club union. Following club-based poker apps such as X poker, PP poker, Suprema poker, etc. can give you an idea of the features to develop and include.
3) Designing the Prototype
This is a vital step and should be outsourced to a trusted poker game app development company USA, Europe, India, etc. as it shapes the user experience and overall functionality!
A well-crafted prototype provides a visual framework for developers to test and refine. Everything from the layout, navigation to core features must be designed to be as intuitive, user-friendly and optimized as possible!
4) Deciding the Technology Stacks & Development Process
The technology of your poker app is perhaps the most important step. Naturally, you must select the best possible technologies and implement them in your poker app.
For the front end, React JS offers responsive web interfaces, while Unity 3D and Cocos Creator create an interactive gameplay for mobile.
On the backend, Node.js with Socket.io and Express enables real-time communication, while Redis and MongoDB manages data storage.
5) Ensuring Security & Fairness
There are many essential elements that guarantee the development of a reliable and secure poker game software.
- RNG Certification
A certified Random Number Generator by iTech labs or organizations of similar stature, guarantees that game outcomes are truly random. This label will help your app build trust.
- Payment Gateway Integration
Secure payment gateways protect all financial transactions. Poker apps that integrate trusted gateways, while following encrypted protocols, help in safeguarding sensitive data.
- Anti-Collusion
Collusion detection systems can help analyze player behavior and prevent unfairness. Your poker software must integrate these automated tools to identify suspicious patterns, sending notifications upon fraudulent activity detection.
- IP Address Detection
Monitoring IP addresses helps in identifying potential frauds. We highly recommend implementing a geographic and device-based data monitoring algorithms to block poker players from accessing the same game from shared locations.
6) Determining the Cost of Development
Several factors determine the cost of poker app development. Customizations, security measures, platform compatibility, addition of features, etc., determines the overall budget. For a detailed breakdown of poker app development pricing, please refer to our comprehensive insights and budgeting tips on the topic here.
7) Planning Maintenance for the Running Application
Once your poker app is live, you also need to focus on ongoing software maintenance. Regular updates, bug fixes, security patches, etc. are highly relevant to keeping a poker app running efficiently.
Conclusion
Now that you have all the possible information on How to develop a poker game software , we suggest hiring a reliable poker app development company for the project. After all, a gaming app such as poker software, must be highly secure and interactive. Choosing a top notch poker app development company like Creatiosoft, gives you the chance to build a robust application, loved by poker communities worldwide!
