What Is Club Poker & Why Is It Frowned Upon In Texas?

Of all of the casino games available in the industry today, poker is arguably the most popular of them all and understandably so. Developed in the 19^th century, this game originated from America, but has since grown into a global phenomenon. However, while this popular pastime is accepted as being a bit of a fun in most countries, there are some places that aren’t so keen on the game and the gambling that often comes alongside it – and Texas is one of those places. Their current war on Club Poker has appeared in the news a lot as of recent, but what exactly is ‘club poker’ and why are Texas so against it?

What Is Club Poker?

Club poker doesn’t refer to any specific type of poker, exactly. In fact, it’s barely a term at all. Instead, this refers mostly to ‘Underground Poker’, a branch of the poker industry that takes place in underground, secret and most importantly illegal clubs, usually within countries that have illegalised gambling altogether. Texas is one of these countries. However, underground clubs aren’t just limited to countries where poker or gambling in general is illegal. In fact, New York is well known for its ‘seedy’ hidden poker tables, despite the fact that a handful of land-based casinos allow the play of poker throughout the city legally. In fact, it was only last year when underground poker club Wendy’s Club in Midtown Manhattan was infiltrated and raided, but that wasn’t enough for the club to close its doors.

The question that remains in this situation, however, is to why poker players would opt for an illegal, unlicensed poker club when they could instead opt for a perfectly legal casino to play the exact same game. Underground poker clubs tend to generate high revenue of profit for the host through ‘rake’ or house fees. Side games, food and drink and much more have been known to claw in even more profit for the owners, so it isn’t difficult to see why hosts are so keen to set up their underground poker clubs – so why are they so frowned upon in Texas?

The Club Scene In Texas

The laws on gambling in Texas are strict. In fact, gambling has been illegal within Texas for decades, and this has acted as a catalyst for the spread of underground poker clubs across the state. While a game of poker is as simple as crossing the border into the next state across in any direction, these clubs have been appearing regardless, and Texan officials have a fight on their hands trying to shut these illegal set-ups down.

By current law, the Texas Penal Code has laid out three different parameters for what activity can be exempt from being considered gambling, and they are as follows:

• The activity takes place in a private place
• No person receives an economic benefit apart from their own personal winnings
• All participants have the same chances of winning or losing, aside from skill or luck

With that in mind, legal poker clubs have been popping up and closing down faster than anyone can keep up with. It initially began when a greenlight was given by city officials to a pair from a small town, allowing them to open card clubs in Kingsville. This town only had about 25,000 people so it was a small start, but a start nonetheless. As a result, the Rounders Poker Club and Kingdom’s Poker Club opened, but law enforcement quickly scrutinised this and the clubs closed down.

This situation began to repeat itself, with poker clubs operating in the open but while some of these clubs operate with little trouble, others who are also acting within given parameters are still scrutinised and shut down. Those looking for something more trustworthy want to avoid the underground poker clubs, but it’s becoming an increasingly difficult thing to do.

The Problem

The legal grey area that allows clubs to open but promptly need to close down is just one of the many reasons that these shadier underground poker clubs are so prominent within the state and are proving to be an issue. Local politicians and law enforcement tend to disagree regarding many of the clubs, and as with any career, people come and go and this can shake things up even more. As a result, club owners are struggling to cater to unofficial and extremely unclear regulations, and usually just close down. This grey area is preventing legal poker clubs from thriving and taking the attention away from illegal ones, and so the issue of illegal club poker certainly doesn’t look like it’s going away anytime soon.

Texas’ stance on gambling is certainly one of the strictest within America, but with it’s unclear rules, poker clubs are appearing across the entire state. While it’s arguable that an agreement between politicians and law enforcement could help to streamline the entire process, it could be years before this becomes a possibility.