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Ten years ago, Scott Balay was renting a single-room office from a software company in Denver as he designed small web games, but wanted to foray into something larger. He grew to be friends with others in the office, often spending after-hours playing poker with the group. Not much later, the idea for Triplejack was born.
“A poker game was the obvious choice for the new project, as I was already surrounded by programmer friends who also love poker and might be convinced to do some testing and give feedback,” said Balay, founder and creator or Triplejack. “I didn’t have a grand vision. I didn’t plan ahead, I was just happy to be working on something new and exciting.”
Working alone, Balay knew he was on to something when his after-work poker games turned into his officemates play-testing his new venture, sometimes even during work hours (don’t worry, their boss wasn’t a fan at first, but a decade later, is still an Triplejack frequenter).
“Working alone for so long, it was just too tempting to not take full advantage of my autonomy and the dynamic nature of the web,” said Balay. “It is really empowering to have an idea pop into your head and immediately start writing code to bring it to life, without having to hold a series of meetings and do cost-benefit analyses. The ability to create something and immediately make it accessible to the world is really amazing.”
Soon, Balay wouldn’t be alone in his quest to grow Triplejack. In 2006, Balay welcomed a partnership with an investor and Triplejack LLC came to fruition. Beyond the initial investor, Triplejack also accepted donations from users and created a monthly membership model that kept users playing with in-game currency, allowing them access to more features and different play styles. Incentives like iPads and other prizes were offered through Triplejack’s scheduled tournaments, and undoubtedly built Triplejack’s credibility.
“Triplejack was built with almost no money spent on marketing or search engine placement, and as a result, relies on word-of-mouth for growth,” said Balay. “We are nothing without our users.”
After 10 years of growing a loyal user base, Balay has his eyes set on growing Triplejack. “The game will never be ‘done,’” said Balay. “My to-do list has only grown and there are endless possibilities to pursue.” Among them is creating a mobile app for Triplejack. Balay said the mobile component has a lot of moving parts, and Triplejack has yet to find the right partner to move forward with the task, in part due to finding more investments for the project.
“It’s possible to grow Triplejack in its current form, but marketing a poker game is difficult in such a saturated market, especially considering our take on poker is unique and not what a serious poker player is expecting to find,” said Balay. “Moving forward, we probably need to form a new partnership to get the game in front of fresh eyes and a new source of traffic.”
But for now, Triplejack enjoys users that love the laid-back nature of play, giving them the experience gambling sites or online casinos just don’t offer. Balay has met many of Triplejack’s players and is impressed with how diverse his users are. Some users even hold international parties to allow fellow players to meet one another in-person, and some users have ended up getting married after meeting while playing online.
“Young, old, male, female, rich, poor… on some level, everyone enjoys casual gaming, and I’ve seen firsthand that Triplejack has attracted a wide spectrum of people,” said Balay.
