PurePoker /Shipped Fall 25'
The only legal, compliant, rake free, real-money poker platform
Overview
PurePoker set out to be the most trustworthy, modern, and social real-money poker product in the world
Millions of Americans play on offshore or illegal poker apps with predatory fees, no oversight, and outdated software. Pure will replace the house with a social network that enables anyone to wager on anything they want, against whoever they want—legal and rake-free—by pairing rigorous compliance with delightful UX.
My Role
Over the past six months, our Beta Community on PurePoker.club has wagered more than $3,000,000 and saved nearly $100,000 in rake by playing on Pure
As the team's first designer, I helped establish our design system, shipped key mobile and web experiences, and led the social feed and flagship features.
Solution
A social feed for poker moments
Make poker feel truly social by turning raw hand histories into short, scannable highlights. Think Strava, but for poker.
Community feed
Users can easily share a hand history on their feed, and engage with other players' posts.
An Observation
Poker is inherently social, but online platforms lack ways for players to share their memorable hands and connect over them
Poker has always been a social game — players love to relive their crazy hands, talk strategy, and celebrate wins. But online platforms often strip away that social layer, turning the experience into isolated gameplay.
To better understand how to make the experience more social and rewarding, I analyzed social media and gamified apps that successfully highlight achievements and foster community engagement.
Facebook / Instagram
Strong hierarchy and visual variety
Bold, visual recap posts that grab attention immediately.
Strava
Uses medals and community validation
Gamify poker by showcasing "wins" and "bad beats" like athletic milestones.
Simple post interactions—likes, replies, share
Encourage quick and frictionless engagement
These findings highlighted an opportunity to make the feed not just functional, but celebratory and contagious—something players want to interact with and share.
Based on these, we focus on the following 3 objectives
Boost engagement & retention through leaderboards and daily highlights
Grow user acquisition via sharable hand histories
Increase user acquisition by inviting people and sharing links.
Minimum Viable Product
With the founders, I defined the P0 scope for the first version of the feed.
Layout & Interaction Explorations
Deposits & Withdrawals
Fintech polish for gaming momentum
Moving money in and out felt tedious and overly “bank-like.” Trade-offs between methods weren’t clear, the primary action didn’t stand out, and on mobile tiny inputs and lag added friction. We set out to make the flow feel confident and fluid.
Inspired by polished banking flows and markets like Kalshi and Robinhood, I used gameplay-forward language , clarified options, elevated primary actions, and added subtle micro-animations for transitions and confirmations. The result feels fast, transparent, and safe.
Larger, tap-friendly amount controls for mobile ergonomics
Seamlessly switch between payment methods
Added option-level clarity: instant vs. free, processing time, fees
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Key Takeaways
Social + Behavioral Design
Working on PurePoker reinforced how powerful social mechanics are—turning hand histories into Strava-like moments transformed passive play into a vibrant, retention-driving community
From Real-World Energy Into Product Mechanics
Translating the thrill of real-life poker into digital interactions required not just design skill, but deep immersion in players’ psychology and the perspectives of every stakeholder.
