Changelog
We build in public. Here's what we've shipped as we work toward launch.
Coming Soon
Open beta
Invite-only beta for Texas private clubs. Contact us to get on the list.
Card processor (fiat deposits)
Visa/Mastercard deposits. iGaming-licensed processor spec written and vendor selection in progress.
Cash withdrawals
ACH bank transfer and crypto withdrawal flows. Withdrawal code redemption backend is already built -- UI and bank wiring in scope.
Responsible gambling tools
Self-exclusion, deposit limits, session time reminders, and cooling-off periods. Spec complete -- implementation queued post-beta.
Geofencing enforcement
Location verification to restrict play to Texas and other permitted jurisdictions. Geofence admin dashboard is already shipped -- enforcement layer in scope.
Mobile app
iOS and Android. Responsive web is already playable on mobile -- native app to follow post-launch.
April 13–14, 2026
Homepage redesign — poker table hero & icon sections
The hero image was a generic MacBook mockup showing an unrelated app. Replaced with an HTML/SVG poker table rendered directly in the page — green felt, community cards on the board, five players with chip stacks, action buttons, and the tick-fee reminder. Three supporting sections were also rebuilt without external images: “Play Your Way” tabs became a 4-card icon grid, “How It Works” became a centered 3-step flow, and “Why Choose SPN” became a 3-column icon layout. No external images required anywhere on the page.
Games page — native variants clarified
Games page updated to clearly present SPN’s three native variants: No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and Omaha Hi-Lo. Additional variant cards (Stud, Razz, Mixed Games) now reference the roadmap.
AI build series — Post 1 of 4
We Built salty.poker with AI. Here’s the Part Nobody Saw. — The first post in a four-part series on what integration testing actually looks like after an AI-driven build sprint. The parts that don’t make the changelog.
April 9–12, 2026
Integration testing underway — end-to-end flows verified
Login, lobby, seat selection, buy-in, and table observation are all tested end-to-end against the live dev environment. Table engine, web app, and real-time connection service confirmed working together. Bug triage and fixes are running in parallel as issues surface during testing.
Table view UI — nav, help & seat selector
Several bugs fixed in the in-game table view discovered during testing: the lobby navigation button, table name and stakes display, seat selector with buy-in dialog, and in-game help overlay (“?” button) are all working correctly. Multi-table tab switcher also added for players at more than one table.
Help center — game rules for all 16 variants
Dedicated rules pages added to the Help Center for every game type SPN supports — Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud, Draw games, and mixed formats. The help index now lists all game categories with direct links to each rules page.
April 7–8, 2026
All services connected to Azure Key Vault — platform fully operational
Every service now reads its credentials from Azure Key Vault at startup via managed identity — no secrets in code or environment files. This is the final infrastructure step before the platform can serve live traffic end-to-end.
Anti-fraud velocity checks protecting all deposit and withdrawal flows
Automated velocity monitoring flags accounts that exceed deposit or withdrawal thresholds within a rolling time window. All flags are reviewed by compliance staff before any action is taken — no automated bans.
Production and staging environments passing all health checks
Full smoke test suite passes against both staging and production. Application Insights telemetry is live. Platform is operationally ready for go-live.
Security hardening
Rate limiting on all authentication endpoints, strict Content Security Policy headers, CORS locked to production domains only, database audit logging, and an anti-fraud velocity baseline for deposit and login events.
RNG transparency
Every hand's shuffle seed and deal sequence is recorded and cryptographically committed
before cards are dealt. Players can verify any hand independently using the open-source
spn-rng-verify CLI tool.
Observability & alerting
Structured logging and telemetry across all services. Alert rules fire on error spikes, latency anomalies, and failed health checks. Correlation IDs trace every request end-to-end across microservices.
End-to-end & unit test coverage
End-to-end tests covering login, lobby, cashier, and table flows. Unit test coverage at or above project thresholds for all services. Integration smoke tests run automatically on every build.
On-demand environment control
Staging environment can be suspended and resumed on demand. Promotion and demotion workflows manage the lifecycle between staging and production. Zero-downtime deploy runbook documented for operations.
The Lodge Raid series — Parts 4 & 5
April 5–6, 2026
Web app & table renderer
Full React web application with a PixiJS-powered canvas table renderer. Animated hole cards, community cards, chip stacks, and pot display. Lobby with live seat counts, stake filters, and waitlist support. Cashier UI for deposits and withdrawals. Tournament HUD with blind level timer.
Themes, audio & customization
Felt color, card back, and extended theme choices saved per player. Audio system with 8 event types and per-event toggles. Action bar bet presets and big-blind/dollar display toggle, all persisted across sessions.
Admin portal
Staff-facing dashboard covering player management, club oversight, tournament controls, finance reporting, marketing tools, knowledge base editing, and geofence management. Compliance scrutiny queue with KYC override and flag review. Live table list with hand history and hand replay viewer.
Knowledge base
In-platform help center with 18 articles across 5 categories covering rules, deposits, withdrawals, KYC, and tournament formats. Searchable and versioned. Admin editor for creating and updating articles without a code deploy.
Navigation & SEO updates
Simplified site navigation to 6 items. Merged Contact into About page. Added Help Center with FAQ. AI search optimization with llms.txt and structured data. Updated author to The Salty Korean across all posts.
The Lodge Raid series — Parts 1–3
April 3–4, 2026
Texas Hold'em engine
Full ring game and tournament play -- cryptographic RNG, provably fair hand histories, all betting actions, side pots, and showdown logic. Verified against 10 million hand simulations. NIST statistical randomness tests pass.
Table engine & real-time connections
Full state-machine table engine managing seat assignments, hand lifecycle, action timers, and auto-fold logic. Real-time updates streamed to all players with no polling.
Tournament engine
Multi-table tournament support with blind schedules, late registration, re-entries, bounty and PKO formats, satellite qualifiers, freerolls, scheduled recurring events, entry codes, and automated prize distribution.
Tick-fee billing
SPN's no-rake model. A flat time-based seat fee replaces pot-percentage rake. Charges are aggregated per session, dormancy holds managed, and processes account closure per state requirements.
Crypto deposits
Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and more -- deposited instantly via iGaming-licensed payment rails. On-chain confirmations verified automatically.
Chat, social & referrals
Real-time table chat with automated moderation and per-player mute controls. Social features including player follow, referral tracking, and promo code system. Announcements and content service for in-app messaging.
Accounting integration
Daily financial summaries and monthly settlements sync automatically to our accounting system.
Analytics, surveys & marketing
Behavioral analytics capturing session and engagement data. Login survey system for post-session player feedback. Email marketing integration with birthday bonus triggers and opt-out management.
April 2, 2026
Cloud infrastructure & CI/CD
20+ microservices deployed across cloud infrastructure with managed database, Redis cache, and global CDN routing traffic to play.salty.poker. Automated CI/CD pipeline deploys on every merge to main. Separate production and staging environments with isolated secrets and container registries.
Passkey authentication
Players register and log in with Face ID, Touch ID, or a hardware security key -- no password required. Passkeys are bound to play.salty.poker for phishing resistance. Password fallback with secure hashing also supported.
KYC / identity verification
Player identity verification powered by a licensed third-party KYC provider. Document upload, liveness check, and AML/sanctions screening fully integrated. Required before first deposit. KYC re-verification triggers on account changes.
Player wallets & double-entry ledger
Every transaction -- deposits, withdrawals, tick fees, tournament buy-ins, prize payouts, and revenue splits -- is recorded in a double-entry ledger. Balances are always reconciled. Full audit trail per player.
Clubs
Private club infrastructure for Texas card rooms. Club managers create password-protected tables, manage membership, and configure house rules. Club revenue splits are calculated and settled automatically.
Fraud detection
Every login and deposit is screened for proxy/VPN usage, bot activity, and high-risk IP patterns. Flagged sessions are blocked before reaching the table.
March 2026
March posts
February 2026
Launch posts
This changelog is updated with each platform release. Follow our Blog for deeper dives into what we're building.