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How To Build a Poker App from Scratch

App marketing has truly exploded in the recent years, and the trend is only expected to continue in the near future. It’s actually estimated that by the end of 2017 there will be 4.4 billion people worldwide using mobile apps.
What this means for affiliates is simple: Start creating an app if you haven’t already.
A poker app, for example. Here’s how to get started:
Understand the Rules
Let’s set one thing straight, building a gambling app is not all that kosher in the Apple App Store, and even less so in Google Play.
Both platforms have their own sets of rules that you need to understand thoroughly before beginning any development. Even the slightest detail about your app’s construction can lead to it being banned from the app store.
For example, quoting the Apple App Store:

“Apps that offer real money gaming (e.g. sports betting, poker, casino games, horse racing) must have necessary licensing and permissions in the locations where the App is used, must be restricted to those locations, and must be free on the App Store.”

And now Google Play:

“We don’t allow content or services that facilitate online gambling, including but not limited to, online casinos, sports betting and lotteries, or games of skill that offer prizes of cash or other value.”

Even though the above sound very restrictive, this doesn’t mean that you’re lost from the get-go. Just by doing a simple search on Google Play, for example, we can see that there are loads of gambling apps that have been around for quite a while:

So your homework is to read through the guidelines, and find what can be built for poker players that doesn’t violate the official guidelines.
Enroll With Your Desired Program
You can’t just start building apps on your own, you need to be part of the developer program with your desired platform.

Learn About the Popular Poker Apps and Mimic Them
Popular apps are popular for a reason. It sounds obvious, but many developers tend to forget about it and try to reinvent the wheel, instead of mimicking what already works.
Check this list of the top iPhone poker apps. Think if you can build something that caters to the same audience or offers an additional benefit that those apps don’t have.
Get to Know Android
Android has its own traits and unique interface characteristics that you should learn prior to even drafting the main concept of your app.
That being said, the topic is huge and we can’t possibly explain it in this short guide. To get the most in-depth information visit Smashing Magazine.

Experiment With a Simple App (Android)
Just like with every programming project, it’s always best to get to know the environment by building a simple, example app. Feel free to visit this guide. It talks about how to build a simple mp/h to km/h converter.

Learn From the Source (Android)
When building for Android, there’s probably no better overall source of information than the official guide at android.com.
This is where you get started. This guide has multiple chapters talking about various aspects of the mobile app development process, like adding the action bar, managing the activity lifecycle, saving data, and so on.

Experiment With a Simple App (iOS)
Just like with Android, we’re going to start our iOS adventure by building an example app. This time, it’s going to be a rather strange thing, an app rating scary bugs. No matter the topic, again, while building it, you will learn how iOS works.

Build Apps Without Programming Experience (iOS)
We’re not attempting to trick you here, having some prior programming knowledge will allow you to have a much better app built. But, you can still get started without it. Here’s a great set of guides to take you through the process.

Pick the Right Name
As it turns out, naming your app is just as crucial as the code quality and overall market fit, so don’t make a hasty decision. Take your time and also check out this great guide.
This is especially important when tackling the poker niche, considering all the guideline limitations and all.