Poker in Texas: card clubs, the Lodge and sweepstakes poker online

Texas gave the game its most famous variant and then banned almost every way of playing it for money. There are no commercial casinos, no regulated online poker and no plan to add either soon — and yet Texas has one of the fastest-growing live poker scenes in the country, thanks to membership-based card clubs that charge for seat time rather than raking pots. This page explains the grey area, the clubs, and what Texans can do online.

Is online poker legal in Texas?

There is no regulated real-money online poker in Texas, and none of the states' licensed rooms serve Texans. Sweepstakes poker is the legal-by-design alternative: ClubWPT Gold accepts Texas residents from 18, with Gold Coins for play and Sweeps Coins redeemable for prizes, no purchase necessary. Offshore real-money sites operate outside Texas law and we do not list them. This is general information, not legal advice.

Live poker: the card-club model

Texas law forbids taking a rake or house cut from a poker game, but allows private games where nobody profits from the game itself. Membership card clubs charge daily or monthly membership and hourly seat fees instead, and the model has spread from Austin and Houston to Dallas and San Antonio. The Lodge Card Club in Round Rock, co-owned by Doug Polk, Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme, is the best known and hosts the WPT Prime Lodge Championship every October; Texas Card House and Champions in Houston are among the other big rooms. The legality of the model has been challenged locally more than once, so clubs open and close; check before you travel. Minimum age at most clubs is 21.

Events

The WPT Prime Lodge Championship in Round Rock (October) is the state's marquee stop, with the Lodge's own Championship Series and the Texas Poker Open at Champions among the rest. Our tournament calendar lists the ones we track.