TEXAS Hold'em needs to be legal in TEXAS

[Vex]

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anyone know anything about this????

"Menendez said that he plans to amend his bill before presenting it to the licensing panel to require that games be played on an electric table that deals computer-generated cards that can be seen only by the player who receives them."

that would suck so bad

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Sounds like there may be a misunderstanding. I think that is talking about a clarification to the bill. Here's the relevant text from the bill itself, with text bolded by me.

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Sec. 2004.454. ELECTRONIC POKER TABLE. (a) An electronic
poker table must:
(1) provide each player position with a touch screen
that allows the player to:
(A) view cards dealt to the player and the
remaining chips and other game information; and
(B) input game decisions;
(2) include a video screen in the center of the table
that displays game information, chips bet by each player, and cards
dealt to all players;
(3) maintain a complete hand history for a period of 30
days that is accessible to the commission by remote connection;
(4) display the collection fee for the game in a
central location viewable by all players;
(5) provide a feature that enables a replay of the
previous game; and
(6) provide a feature that enables complete recovery
of the complete game if a power disruption occurs.
(b) An electronic poker table must use:
(1) a central server to deal electronic cards to each
player in a poker hand; and
(2) a cage management system application to automate
the creation and maintenance of accounts for players at the table,
to perform cash-in and cash-out functions, and for payment of the
gross receipts tax to this state.

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Note that nowhere in the quoted text from the bill does it state that the player's touchscreen prevent anyone else from seeing that player's hole cards. The above quote sounds like he means to amend the bill to add in a provision that for electronic tables, players' touchscreens actually keep the hole cards private. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The bill does allow for live games played the old-fashioned way, with dealers and cards and chips, and even stipulates things like a deck can only be used for 50 hands. It just also allows these newfangled 'lectronic table thingies to be used as well.

Full text is here: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs...l/HB03186I.htm