legality of this type of home game? No rake, but a monthly fee?

[allbad]

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Can the players gain, or is it illegal of somebody wins?

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Yes a player can gain. So in Texas, it is written in law that it is a "Defense to prosecution" if the three conditions are met:

1. it is in a private setting,

2. each player has an equal chance at winning, AND

3. non players gain economic benefit from the game.

(they may be out of order or worded a little differently)

What I find interesting is there's a pretty big free-roll pub poker scene here that basically ignores the 1st and 3rd condition technically. Also note it is a "Defense to prosecution" which means your home game can still be raided and all monies confiscated, and it's up to you to prove you're not running an illegal casino. So far this has been rare in Austin... not so much in Dallas and now Houston from what I hear.

ok i better stop before this thread gets moved to the legislation forum.