Idealite
← All case studies

{ Case Study }

Helping PokerBoss Get Players In and Keep Clubs Connected

Players join with accounts they already have, clubs reach members, and scores stay current; Idealite engineers worked on the backend.

Visit live site ↗ (opens in a new tab)

{ Project Overview }

About the Project

PokerBoss (listed as "PokerBoss: Club & Social Poker") is a free-to-play social poker app for iOS and Android, played with virtual chips that have no real-world value. Players jump into the lobby for instant games, play with friends, or create and join clubs, inviting players and setting up tables in formats such as NLH, PLO, OFC, AOF, Flash and Super Holdem. A club app depends on players getting in easily and clubs staying in touch. PokerBoss lets players register with a username and password or email, play as guests, or sign in with Google, Apple or Facebook, and it sends game invitations, club broadcasts and messages scheduled by club admins as push notifications. Score details also need to stay fresh. Idealite engineers worked on the PokerBoss backend behind sign-in, notifications, score data and releases, using Firebase, Redis, Docker and Kubernetes.

Industry
  • Gaming
Services

Backend Architecture • Authentication & SSO • Push Notifications • Docker & Kubernetes

{ The Challenge }

Getting Players In, Keeping Clubs in the Loop

Key Challenges

  • Sign-up friction can turn new players away
  • Away from the app, players miss games
  • Club admins needing to reach members
  • Players expect current scores without waiting
  • Shipping updates players can count on

{ Our Solution }

Easy Entry, Timely Club Alerts, Current Scores

PokerBoss — screenshot of the product
  • Sign-in with existing accounts
  • Push invites and broadcasts
  • Admin-scheduled club messages
  • Quick return to tables
  • Latest score details
  • Repeatable feature releases

{ How We Built It }

Development Process

How the PokerBoss engagement came together, step by step.

  1. 01

    Open the Doors

    Connected social sign-in alongside the app's other account options, so new players can reach a table without filling in another sign-up form.

  2. 02

    Keep Clubs Informed

    Routed game invites, broadcasts and admins' scheduled messages to players' devices, so clubs can call players to games even when the app is closed.

  3. 03

    Keep Scores Current

    Kept players' sign-ins and the latest scores ready to serve, so the app can recognize returning players and show new results promptly.

  4. 04

    Make Releases Repeatable

    Packaged the backend so every release deploys the same way, giving new features a repeatable path to players.

{ Tools We Used }

Technology Stack

  • Firebase
  • Redis
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes

{ Results & Impact }

Delivering Business Value

Technical details

Requirements, architecture, development, testing and deployment notes.

Objectives

  • Easy Player Sign-In: Let new players reach the tables with the sign-in option they prefer.
  • Reach Club Members: Help club admins keep members informed with game invitations, broadcasts and scheduled messages on their devices.
  • Up-to-Date Scores: Give players the latest scores and an easy way back into the game.
  • Dependable Releases: Get new features to players reliably, release after release.

Requirements

  • Sign-in by username and password, email, guest login, or single sign-on with Google, Apple or Facebook (per the app's terms).
  • Push notifications for game invitations, club broadcasts and messages scheduled by club admins or managers (per the privacy policy).
  • Fast lookups for authentication sessions and the latest score details.
  • Containerized, orchestrated backend deployments.

Architecture

  • Backend authentication with single sign-on; the app's terms list Google, Apple and Facebook as SSO providers, alongside guest accounts.
  • Firebase as the backend's notification manager; the privacy policy names Firebase Cloud Messaging.
  • Redis holds authentication sessions for quick lookups and stores the latest rollout of score details.
  • Backend services packaged as Docker images and orchestrated on Kubernetes.

Technology stack

  • Single sign-on (SSO)
  • Firebase Cloud Messaging
  • Redis
  • Docker
  • Kubernetes

Back end

  • Authentication and single sign-on integration.
  • Firebase as the notification manager for push notifications.
  • Redis for quick authentication sessions.
  • Redis store for the latest rollout of score details.

Deployment

  • Docker images for backend services.
  • Kubernetes deployment and orchestration.

Challenges & solutions

  • Sign-in: per its terms, PokerBoss accepts username/password, email, guest and SSO sign-in with Google, Apple or Facebook. Idealite engineers integrated authentication and SSO in the backend.
  • Notifications: the privacy policy lists game invitations, club broadcasts and messages scheduled by club admins or managers among the notifications PokerBoss sends, and names Firebase Cloud Messaging as a provider. Idealite engineers integrated Firebase as the backend's notification manager.
  • Sessions and scores: Idealite engineers used Redis to keep authentication sessions quick to look up and to store the latest rollout of score details.
  • Deployment: Idealite engineers packaged backend services as Docker images and deployed them on Kubernetes.

Outcomes

  • New players can sign in with Google, Apple or Facebook alongside the app's other account options, backed by Idealite's authentication and SSO integration.
  • Club admins can reach members with game invites, broadcasts and scheduled messages, delivered as push notifications managed through Firebase.
  • Players see current score details and get back into the app quickly, with sign-in sessions and the latest scores served from Redis.
  • Backend services run as Docker containers on Kubernetes, so releases follow one consistent deployment process.

Next case study

Helping Metaltech Turn Roof Drawings Into Consistent Estimates

{ Let's Build Together }

Let's build what's next

We partner with ambitious businesses to design, build and scale digital products that create lasting value.

Contact Us