Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Poker Mavens require a dedicated server?
- Can I install the game server on a virtual private server (VPS)?
- Can I install Poker Mavens on my web site?
- How do I customize the poker table graphics?
- How do I get the SMTP email functions to work with the Secure Connection option?
- Can I use Google's Gmail SMTP server for the email functions?
- How many simultaneous logins does Poker Mavens support?
- Is the system scalable?
- What programming language is Poker Mavens written in and is the source code available?
- I would like some custom features, can I get a custom version made?
- Where can I hire a programmer to customize my web site using the Poker Mavens API?
- Why do images not display correctly with the Opera web browser?
- How do I backup the player accounts and other site data?
- Does Poker Mavens require a dedicated server?
The Poker Mavens server module is a conventional Windows application so it will run on a regular desktop computer (Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or 7) as well as dedicated server or VPS running Windows Server 2003 or 2008. On a residential cable modem or DSL Internet connection, the upstream bandwidth (or lack thereof) will be your bottleneck so the Lite version (with its single table limit) is probably more suited for that installation. You can test your downlink and uplink speeds at www.speedtest.net. Pro/Gold version users who expect more players (dozens to hundreds) may want to consider a VPS or dedicated option from a hosting service, as described in the next item.
- Can I install the game server on a virtual private server (VPS)?
Yes, any Windows VPS running Server 2003 or Server 2008 will run Poker Mavens. The official Poker Mavens demo site is running on a low-cost Windows VPS system provided by BurstNET. Use Remote Desktop Connection to connect to your remote server from your local PC to install and manage the poker server. The RDC program is included with all versions of Windows under Start | All Programs | Accessories | Communications. Enter your remote server's IP address (or domain name) to connect. You will be prompted for a user ID (Administrator) and the corresponding password. Once logged in, the interface will appear as a normal Windows desktop. In the Options section of RDC, check the Drives box under Local Resources so that the copy of Windows Explorer on the remote server can see the disk drives of your local PC. Then you can simply copy and paste files between the two computers.
- Can I install Poker Mavens on my web site?
Not directly if it's on a shared server. Most low cost web hosts are running hundreds of accounts on a single server and thus will not allow custom software to be installed that could potentially bring down their system. You can, however, install your poker server on an external system and then embed that link in a popup window on your existing web site. Or even inside an iframe like this:
<html> <head> <title>My Poker Site</title> </head> <body> <iframe width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" src="http://12.34.56.78:8087"> <p>Your browser does not support iframes</p> </iframe> </body> </html> - How do I customize the poker table graphics?
This feature is only available in the Pro and Gold versions. See the table template page for instructions. It is highly recommended that you convert your background and logo images to the native Flash SWF format so that they will be scaled smoothly when the table window is resized by the player. An online SWF convertor is available for this purpose.
- How do I get the SMTP email functions to work with the Secure Connection option?
The TLS encryption functions used in the secure connection option require an external library from by the OpenSSL Project, which provides a link to a Windows installation package. Alternatively you can download and unzip the raw DLL files ssleay32.dll and libeay32.dll and copy them to the Poker Mavens program folder where PMServer.exe is installed. Also, you may need to use port 465 or 587 instead of 25 for the secure connection, depending on the requirements of your Internet service provider.
- Can I use Google's Gmail SMTP server for the email functions?
Yes. Google requires a secure connection so install the OpenSSL DLL's as described above. Then set the following parameters in the Poker Mavens SMTP Server group:
- Host server: smtp.gmail.com
- Host port: 465
- Username: (your gmail address)
- Password: (your gmail password)
- From address: (your gmail address)
- Secure connection: Yes
- How many simultaneous logins does Poker Mavens support?
That depends on your Internet bandwidth (upstream and downstream) and system resources such as cpu speed and available ram. A fast system on a 100 Mbps connection should be able to support a few hundred players.
- Is the system scalable?
- What programming language is Poker Mavens written in and is the source code available?
The server in written in Delphi and the Flash client is written in OpenLaszlo. The source code is not published.
- I would like some custom features, can I get a custom version made?
Sorry, no. The software is too complex to try and maintain parallel versions on the side. If you have a feature request with wide appeal, please post a message in the Wish List section of the support forums.
- Where can I hire a programmer to customize my web site using the Poker Mavens API?
PHP and other web language programmers are plentiful and can be found at work-for-hire sites such as vWorker and Elance. You can direct your prospective bidders to the trial version of the software and the API documentation and examples.
- Why do images not display correctly with the Opera web browser?
Opera 10 and 11 do not cache images correctly in some flash applications and thus seats, avatars, and cards may fail to appear in the table window. Switching back to Opera 9 or setting Disk cache to "Off" under Preferences | Advanced | History will fix the problem.
- How do I backup the player accounts and other site data?
Poker Mavens stores system and language settings in the Windows registry and everything else (player accounts, table setups, hand histories, logs, etc.) as text files under the "data folder". For system settings, click the Help button on the System toolbar and use the Export function there. You will be prompted for a file name and the system settings will be copied there in XML format. Likewise, the Language tab has its own Export button directly on the toolbar. For all of your other data, backup the individual files in the Poker Mavens data folder, including the applicable subfolders. The default location of the data folder will depend on the version of Windows you are using. Look in the System Settings group on the System tab for the "Data folder" setting. For newer versions of Windows (Vista and later), it will likely look something like this:
C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Poker Mavens\
Or for older versions of Windows (XP or earlier), it will likely look something like this:
C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Poker Mavens\
[username] will be your actual Windows user name (e.g., "Administrator", etc.). The top level "Poker Mavens" folder will contain files like Blacklist.xml, BuddyLists.xml, RingGames.xml, and Tournaments.xml. Under this folder are subfolders such as Accounts, HandHistory, Logs, and TourneyResults that contain the remaining data for your site. AppData may be a hidden folder on your system so you may need to turn on the display of hidden folders in Windows Explorer if you are navigating there manually. You can use an archiving tool like WinZip to make a backup copy of your data folder into a single zip file.
Not very. However, you could purchase multiple licenses and run multiple servers. Then using a centralized web interface, account management and logins could be handled via the Poker Mavens API to connect players to the available poker servers.
