Pub/Bar Poker in Texas

[hime]

Yeah, I totally misread that last sentence. ISATG.

[allbad]

I've played in 2 forms here in Austin, TX (not Boston, TX).

1. there's a couple of bars that have a poker table where a dealer will come in and rent the chips to the players. She swore it's "not illegal" and was doing the exact same thing with the fake blackjack tables in the bars before the poker craze. There's no nightly prize, but at the end of the month the "Top money winners" get entered into a tournament and playoff for some prize.

2. there's a couple of companies that charge a bar about $200/night to host 2 tournaments a night in their establishment. This has no entry fee and the winners all get points (100 pts for 1st, 90 for 2nd, etc.) and at the end of the month the top 8 players from each establishment/night play in a huge 100+ tournament where there's a substantial prize for 1st place (valued around $1000 usually) and paying to like 4 or 5 places.

My wife and I play in the 2nd form and enjoy it as a night out... it's not highly competitive and we have met some good friends through it. These games are not really going to resemble anything close to casino poker though because of the quality of players and getting past the whole "free chips" mentality. That doesn't mean it's a complete crapshoot though. You still have to be strategic to get in the top points to make it to the big monthly tourney.

Here's the tourney we play in:

http://www.lonestarpoker.net

Oh, and any form of poker is not "Legal" in Texas. Being free is considered a "Defense to prosecution" which wouldn't keep the fuzz from busting in with MP5s and confiscating your chips and prize money. So the DA doesn't want to prosecute, you still have to go through hell and probably just lost your business.

Hope this helps some.

[hime]

Oh, and any form of poker is not "Legal" in Texas. Being free is considered a "Defense to prosecution" which wouldn't keep the fuzz from busting in with MP5s and confiscating your chips and prize money. So the DA doesn't want to prosecute, you still have to go through hell and probably just lost your business.

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Cite, please.

[JaviSRK]

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Oh, and any form of poker is not "Legal" in Texas.
***
hime

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, that's wrong. The game itself is legal. It's the wagering of real money in a public place that is illegal.

[allbad]

[ QUOTE ]

Cite, please.

[/ QUOTE ]

Texas Penal Code § 47.02. GAMBLING


(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that:

(1) the actor engaged in gambling in a private place;

(2) no person received any economic benefit other than personal winnings; and

(3) except for the advantage of skill or luck, the risks of losing and the chances of winning were the same for all participants.

[allbad]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Oh, and any form of poker is not "Legal" in Texas.
***
hime

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, that's wrong. The game itself is legal. It's the wagering of real money in a public place that is illegal.

[/ QUOTE ]

You are correct, the game of poker itself cannot be considered illegal but not many would enjoy a game of hold'em without wagering something.

[LuckyTxGuy]

Playing a non-raked game in Texas in a private place, where the house takes no money is legal. Or is at least a "defense to prosecution" which means you aren't going to be convicted.

As to the OP's question this can be done legally. We have a small bar here in town that has a large but separate restaurant attached to it. The bar/restaurant owner hosts two free poker tournaments on Sundays in his bar. He was very adamant about the legality of this because he said his state liquor license would be revoked if the poker game was not legal and he is not willing to take that chance.

What happens is simple. You enter to bar for free and if you would like you can put your name on the list to play in a free informal NL hold'em tournament. Sometimes during the year he will put up something like $20-$40 that will be paid out to the top 2 or 3 places. There is no entry fee, no tipping, no drink or food purchase required, nothing. His goal, which is easily achieved, is to get people like myself in there from time to time, who would otherwise have never entered the place and while I'm there order some food and/or drinks. Simple enough and it works.

He's actually upped the prize and come up with a cool little idea of giving away one big prize at the end of 10 weeks. Now there is a point system and two Sunday tournaments which you can earn points by playing in. The points system is fair and well thought out. At the end of the ten weeks the top 10 players with the most points play a single table tournament and the winner wins a buy-in to a $1,500 WSOP Circuit event in New Orleans. 100% of this money is put up by the bar owner, which makes it all legal.

No matter what state I was in, before I hosted a free public game like this, I would still contact an attorney for further clarification.

[elus2]

Check the laws regarding establishments with liquor licenses. When I was running one here in BC, I ran into a lot of problems that I could win in court if I had wanted to against the Gaming and Policy Enforcement Agency. But if the Liquor Board had stepped in and said "we don't want this type of game being played in drinking establishments", we would basically have no recourse since they've been given provincial authority to say what's allowed to go on inside pubs.