Pocket52: Nitesh Salvi on Building India's Largest Poker Network
In the high-stakes world of online gaming, Nitesh Salvi isn't just playing his cards right; he's reshuffling the entire deck. As the Founder and CEO of Pocket52, Nitesh has built India's largest poker network, but his vision goes far beyond just running a gaming site. He's created a B2B infrastructure that allows other companies to launch their own poker platforms instantly, sharing a massive pool of players. It's a classic "network effect" play in one of the country's fastest-growing sectors: real-money gaming.
Nitesh's journey is a quintessential story of grit and transformation. Hailing from Udaipur, Rajasthan, he moved to Mumbai to study at IIT Bombay—a shift he describes as "life-changing." The rigorous academic environment and the vibrant hostel culture instilled in him a deep sense of independence and ambition. "IIT gave me the freedom to make my own decisions and face the consequences," Nitesh recalls. This spirit of ownership led him to reject lucrative campus placements and dive straight into entrepreneurship, starting his first venture, Plancess, an ed-tech company for JEE aspirants, right out of college.
The Poker Network Model
Pocket52's unique selling proposition lies in its Liquidity Network. In online poker, having active players at tables 24/7 is crucial. New platforms often struggle to attract enough users to keep games running. Pocket52 solves this by pooling players from multiple partner sites into a single network. "We allow other gaming companies to plug into our infrastructure," Nitesh explains. "They get instant access to a massive player base, ensuring their users always have someone to play with, while we handle the technology and security."
From Ed-Tech to High-Tech Gaming
After a successful exit from Plancess, Nitesh was looking for his next big challenge. He saw a massive gap in the Indian gaming market. While games like Rummy and Fantasy Sports were booming, Poker was still fragmented and plagued by trust issues. "The biggest problem in online poker is trust," says Nitesh. "Players are always worried about the randomness of the cards."
To address this, Pocket52 built a Cryptographically Secure Random Number Generator (RNG), certified by global labs, ensuring that every card dealt is truly random and tamper-proof. This technological rigor, combined with their B2B network model, allowed them to scale rapidly, partnering with major players like MPL and Paytm to power their poker offerings.
Building a Team with Shared DNA
For Nitesh, building a startup is 99% about the team. "The idea is just 1%," he asserts. "Execution is everything, and execution comes from people." He emphasizes the importance of hiring for "DNA fit" over just skill. In the early days, he looked for people who shared his hunger and resilience. "I don't look for someone who knows everything. I look for someone who can figure out anything," he says. This philosophy has helped him assemble a team that can navigate the regulatory uncertainties and technical complexities of the real-money gaming industry.
Nitesh's Entrepreneurial Playbook
- Solve for Trust: In industries like gaming or fintech, trust is your most valuable currency. Invest in technology that guarantees fairness.
- Leverage the Network Effect: Build platforms where the value increases with every new user or partner. Pocket52's shared liquidity is its moat.
- Hire for Resilience: Startups are rollercoasters. You need a team that doesn't get off when the ride gets bumpy.
- Research is Key: Spend more time researching the market before building. Understanding why something won't work is as important as knowing why it will.
The Future of Gaming in India
Nitesh is bullish on the future of gaming in India, predicting the rise of "Super Apps" that consolidate various gaming experiences under one roof. He also sees a huge potential in the casual gaming sector and the integration of esports with real-money gaming. Pocket52 aims to be the backbone of this ecosystem, providing the tech stack that powers the next generation of gaming unicorns.
Pocket52 by the Numbers
- Network Power: Powers poker for major platforms like MPL and Paytm.
- Technology: Certified Cryptographically Secure RNG for fair play.
- Scale: India's largest poker network by player liquidity.
About the Guest
Nitesh Salvi is the Founder and CEO of Pocket52. An alumnus of IIT Bombay, Nitesh is a serial entrepreneur with a deep passion for technology and consumer internet businesses. Before Pocket52, he founded Plancess, an ed-tech startup that helped thousands of students prepare for competitive exams. With Pocket52, he is bringing his engineering mindset to the gaming industry, building a robust, secure, and scalable poker network for India.
Pocket52 is India's leading online poker network, offering a seamless gaming experience across desktop and mobile. It operates on a B2B2C model, providing a white-label poker solution to other gaming companies while also running its own consumer-facing platform. By aggregating liquidity, Pocket52 ensures that players always have action at the tables, making it the preferred destination for poker enthusiasts in the country.