PokerListings Builds An Ecosystem Where Everyone Wins

PokerListings is one of the most well-known and long-standing poker projects, with a strong history and reputation as one of the oldest sites in the game. For Already Media, bringing PokerListings on board was an all-in move with a strong hand that opened new doors.

How has the company already improved the project, and what cards does it still have up its sleeve? How is PokerListings keeping up with today’s challenges? What new tools is it bringing in, and is it ready to raise the stakes?

In this interview with Maksym, Head of Project at PokerListings.com at Already Media, we talk about strategy, data, AI, content updates, and how the team plans to stay ahead.

Hello! Tell us about your experience in iGaming. Have you always been interested in poker? What career milestones do you consider the most significant?

My journey in iGaming started in 2002: I was actively involved in esports (playing StarCraft: Brood War). I found out that many professional players were also making money on online poker. The mathematical aspect of the game caught my attention, and soon, I was playing multiple tables at the same time.

In 2008, I was invited to contribute as an author to a major poker project in the CIS. A year later, I became the chief editor and stayed with the company for over a decade. During this time, I witnessed the evolution of online poker in the region and picked up a lot of skills that formed my future career in the industry.

What brought you to Already Media? We know you’ve been following the PokerListings.com project—did the company lead you to the project, or was it the other way around?

Since I got into online poker fairly early, I needed a lot of information, so I started reading English-language resources. PokerListings was one of the first sites I followed—back then, it was a highly popular portal that covered major tournaments and events in the poker scene. I felt that this format would be a great fit for the CIS audience as well, but at that point, my attempts to connect with the site’s owners hadn’t been successful.

Later on, I continued working in the CIS market, occasionally checking in on how PokerListings was evolving. Over time, I learned that Already Media was planning to take on the project. The company’s representatives reached out to me with an offer to run an audit and develop a growth strategy for PokerListings. In January 2024, I joined the Already Media team, and we began updating and expanding the project.

The foundation of every successful project—and every successful leader—is the team. Tell us, who is behind PokerListings.com? Has anyone from the original team worked on the project since you joined?

When we took over the project, the technical team handled the domain transfers while I met with the staff. Many had experience with offline poker tournaments, but the online direction required a different approach, so we partially reassigned roles. In the end, part of the team stayed on and continued to handle essential tasks. The complete restructuring took about six months.

Currently, the project involves approximately 20 people: the affiliate department, financial and legal specialists, editors and writers, the SMM and media department, the SEO team, and developers. Most work remotely, yet we effectively coordinate our collaborative efforts online.

​Do you involve regional teams in your work?

In the first year, we focused on the main English-language site and put work on nearly 20 regional sites aside until 2025. Now, we are forming local teams who know their markets well. They work closely with the main PokerListings and Already Media team. We have already tested this approach in Africa and Latin America, and now we are focusing on European regions.

For example, take our media department: they come up with the concept and basic script, while regional specialists adapt and promote the content. Sometimes, the best ideas come from local teams, as they see new trends firsthand.

PokerListings.com is one of the notable players in the poker market, but what exactly makes it stand out from other platforms?

Our biggest advantage is strict compliance with the laws of the countries we operate in, along with a commitment to transparency and integrity. This approach aligns with the ideas in Jeremy Miller’s book on Warren Buffett’s investment methods: we focus on long-term, transparent partnerships rather than short-term rewards.

PokerListings has been around since 2003 and already has a solid audience. Most of them are recreational players who stick to low stakes, look for poker rules, and enjoy freerolls. We started creating content and tools to make things easier for them. For example, we put together a detailed guide that can be downloaded and read anytime. We also revamped our educational materials and added new content to keep beginners engaged.

At the same time, we’re gradually introducing new tools, including AI-driven solutions, to support more experienced players at lower stakes.

How do you see the role of technology in the future development of PokerListings.com?

AI solutions advance very fast, make data collection and processing cheaper, and change the web, especially sites with organic traffic. AI-generated texts are already nearly indistinguishable from human-written ones, and over time, that difference might entirely disappear. Websites are being filled with thousands of such articles, which can be reworked in seconds, and it’s unclear if people will even read them, knowing they were created by a machine. On top of that, much of this content is written more for search algorithms than for real readers. All of this pushes us to go deeper into a media format and focus on smart data usage.

Speaking of data in online poker, I can think of several services that carved out their niche years ago but have since stopped evolving. With AI becoming more accessible, it’s time for change. We’re open to working with some of them and the others will be pushed off their pedestal.

Let’s get back to basics—what was PokerListings like when you first took it on? What changes have you and your team made since then, and how would you assess the project’s current level? Where does the team stand now, and what steps have already been completed?

When we started working with PokerListings, significant updates were needed to meet market demands. Over the past year, we have: created a new brand identity, built an efficient team, established strong partnerships, updated the main site and several regional versions, and, of course, entered a new market that is new to us.

All these efforts have been focused on stabilizing the project and forming the base for growth. The next steps include refining technical and legal aspects and improving local platforms. We expect to complete the main phase of planned changes by the end of the year and get a clear view of the next steps.

What’s the plan for 2025, and which elements are the high-priority?

We really have plenty of plans, with releases scheduled month by month. Among the main directions: a new service for tracking poker room traffic, a dedicated section for live tournaments, a player database, an updated set of poker calculators, an annual award, and a tool for analyzing poker hands.

All of this is an important part of PokerListings’ update, and over time, we’ll implement these solutions across regional sites as well. Meanwhile, day-to-day operations continue, including partner support, site optimization, SEO, and more. Our goal is to roll out new tools as efficiently as possible throughout the year to set the platform up for future growth.

PokerListings.com had its own annual award. Are there any plans to bring it back, and how do you plan to guarantee it to be fair? Also, what’s your personal take on industry awards in general?

PokerListings has a rich history: the project launched a major European series and established its own award for operators. I really like the idea of awarding the best, but I’d like to see more objectivity in selecting winners. You often come across press releases saying, “Room X was named the best in all categories,” but it remains unclear who made that decision.

We plan to put together massive market data — both offline and online — and relaunch the award based on measurable metrics that anyone can verify. For example, the “largest room” will be the one that truly leads in traffic, and the “fastest-growing” will be the one with the quickest market share growth.

At the same time, I’d like to highlight those whose work often stays “in the shadows.” It’s hard to imagine a poker series without great dealers, yet few have heard of awards for them. The same goes for book authors, software developers, and many other specialists who make a huge contribution to the development of the entire industry.

How have changes in poker over the last 10 years affected the strategy of PokerListings.com? What trends are currently shaping the poker scene? What’s your opinion on the introduction of casino mechanics into poker?

Over the past 10 years, poker has changed significantly: the average skill level has increased, new formats have arisen, and the legislation in different countries directly influences the pace of market development. For example, in Brazil, poker may now be classified as a separate category, giving it an advantage over other forms of gambling, although additional restrictions are also being introduced there. In regions where poker is equated with casinos, operators find it more challenging to maintain accessibility and convenience for players.

According to statistics, about 60% of online players who started with poker also visit the casino sections in the same rooms, which further blurs the lines between these formats. In the world of online poker, this trend is unlikely to be stopped. Online poker will become faster, more chaotic, and increasingly resemble casino games.

Who makes up your main audience, and which regions are a priority for you? What can you say about poker content: should it be considered “trendy,” or does it maintain its relevance in the long run?

PokerListings has Swedish roots, but currently, the majority of our audience comes from the USA, followed by the UK and Canada. In addition, we have local versions for France, Germany, Spain, and Italy. Right now, we’re focusing on the Latin American and African markets — we hope they will become promising in the next 5–10 years.

We focus on “evergreen” content: interviews with ambassadors and well-known players, tournament analysis, historical overviews, and educational articles. This approach helps us maintain a high level of expertise from our authors and provide value to players across different regions without getting distracted by short-lived news for each GEO.

What is your media strategy, and how do you plan to establish offline visibility and a presence at poker tournaments?

Historically, live tournaments have been the core of PokerListings’ content and the main way of building the brand. In 2024, we reduced our involvement with offline series to a minimum, keeping only The Festival Series and Battle of Malta, which were originally created with PokerListings’ participation.

Now that we have more resources, we plan to expand our collaboration with a new series. For the upcoming Irish Open, we’ll send English—and Spanish-speaking correspondents, continuing to experiment with formats that allow us to interact closely with players and organizers.

We are often contacted by offline casinos. Additionally, poker series reach out to us, but we are carefully increasing our presence so as not to overwhelm our audience with irrelevant content. More than half of our visitors are from the USA, and local tournaments aren’t always of interest to them.

Which social media platforms are important to develop for websites like PokerListings.com, and what is your team’s focus in increasing the project’s presence?

We actively use Telegram and notice that most professional players and poker room representatives are already present. However, English-speaking poker channels and chats in Telegram are still poorly developed, which presents a promising growth opportunity.

Currently, we are focused on working with X (Twitter), YouTube, and Meta (Facebook and Instagram). The English-speaking poker community mainly prefers X, while niche groups are found on Discord — a platform where we plan to expand our presence once additional opportunities show up.

Conclusion

Today, PokerListings is going through a major update and adjusting to new market challenges. But there’s no doubt — the team has already worked out a winning hand.

The strategy for 2025 focuses on AI, content growth, and working with regional teams. These are the main steps that will lead to success. What’s next? New tools, a growing audience, and building an even stronger position. PokerListings is ready to become an even more confident and recognizable player.