When it comes to playing poker games Texas has been immortalized and people all over the world will play the state’s namesake every day in Texas Hold’em. So why then is the most popular poker game in the world not named after Nevada or Monte Carlo? What is even stranger than having a card game named after the state is that the gambling laws in Texas are so restrictive. In fact the laws in Texas do allow the odd game of cards but compared to the rest of the U.S. they are still in the last century.
Gambling was outlawed back in the 1920s in Texas, during the times of the prohibition which included gambling as well as alcohol. It even went as far as prostitution but a town called Galveston drew the line at including that. Galveston was the original sin city long before Vegas earned the moniker.
There are of course legal ways of gambling in the state of Texas but to do so you have to follow some very strict guidelines. Which, if you really wanted to play poker games Texas accommodated you and the rules are worth abiding by as they aren’t over the top or crazy as far as laws go. To play a game of poker, you have to play in a private setting such as your own home. That is probably how most intend to do it anyway so there shouldn’t be any problems there.
Secondly, each person that is taking part in gambling must have an equal chance of winning. So this comes down to interpretation a lot at this point because some people would say that everyone has the same chance of getting the best cards. What the State believes to be true though is that if someone has more money to bet than someone else then they have an advantage over someone who cannot afford to the same risks.
So what they are basically saying is that in order to get a game going among friends, you would all have to contribute toward a kitty. Then with the money in the kitty, you would each play for the top prize and even a second and third prize if there were that many of you playing. In reality, as long as it is a private function you could realistically rent a venue and ‘invite’ a group of players or ‘friends’ for a friendly tournament.
Well the theory of renting a venue in order to play ‘private’ games has already been tested by a group of friends from Texas. The venue was eventually investigated and the Fifth District of Texas at Dallas came to a conclusion and files an opinion in March 1994. Unfortunately for poker games Texas did not agree with this socialist ideal of splitting costs of a venue.
When the police busted this so called apartment they came across a very professional set up. Apparently a group of friends had hired a dealer to deal the cards and a waitress to serve food and drinks. The costs of the dealer and the waitress as well as any food, drinks, cigarettes , telephone and so on came out of each winning hand.
This sounds all fair and honest enough and the only thing that let the group down was that the apartment was rented in only one of the player’s names. With this in mind, the court said that whoever had the apartment in their name was benefitting where the others were not. That meant that the case which is logged as Gaudio v. State was unsuccessful. From that point on for poker games Texas were once more a myth.
Well that is of course unless you realized that there are American Indians that operate like a state within a state and so can gamble to their hearts content. It seems a little strange that something which is illegal right across the state can find itself a home in with the Kickapoo tribe. They run a twenty four hour casino and which has bars and restaurants inside and whilst it is moderately sized, it has all the makings of a good casino. So why does it have to mean that for people looking for poker games Texas residents either rely on the Indian community or have to travel to Louisiana? Or of course, risk prosecution and run a private game themselves.
It’s not all bad though as was proved when two casinos were raided by police. The Austin Poker Club was closed down back in 2003 and the Redmens club was closed in 2004. At the time of writing, neither of these clubs were ever prosecuted which was strange considering the Redmens club started more or less in place of the Austin Poker Club. The Poker scene in Austin is still quite lively today though but now it is advertised as free. So for poker games Texas residents can still have their fun but it’s an all together low key affair.
