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Texas Online Poker

Updated: Oct. 10, 2024

Texans can take part in poker tournaments and ring games at social poker sites like Global Poker and Clubs Poker. These social poker rooms allow you to play for fun, but you can also redeem their Sweeps Coins for cash prizes if you win.

The Lone Star State only has one land-based poker room, located at Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino, so social poker sites are popular among Texans. There are also various private poker clubs in cities like Houston, Dallas, and Austin, but their legal status is questionable.

This page breaks down the various options available to poker players in Texas. We will also break down the state’s poker laws and examine the future outlook for Texas online poker.

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Can I play online poker in Texas?

Yes, you can play online poker at social gaming sites like Global Poker in Texas. They accept players aged 18 or older in the Lone Star State.

Law	Texas has not legalized real money online poker, but social casino sites comply with the Texas Business and Commerce Code
Launch date	Social poker sites have been available since 2016.
Available games	Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, Crazy Pineapple
Age to play	18
State population	30 million

The best online poker options in Texas

Poker in Texas seems like a no-brainer. After all, the most popular poker game in the world bears the name of the state. However, Texas has not yet legalized traditional online poker rooms, as several prominent lawmakers are morally opposed to gambling.

Fortunately, social poker sites offer a strong alternative. These sites comply with federal laws, along with local regulations such as Title 13 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code. They allow you to play with two currencies:

Gold Coins: These coins have no monetary value. You can use them to play poker tournaments, ring games, SNGs, and jackpot SNGs for fun.
Sweeps Coins: Premium coins, which you can redeem for cash prizes or gift cards if you win. You cannot buy Sweeps Coins, but you can earn them for free via bonuses, mail-in requests, social media competitions, or as a gift if you buy Gold Coins.

These are the best online poker options in Texas right now.

Global Poker

Global Poker is an established social poker site that has been welcoming Texans for many years. You can earn free Sweeps Coins via many different bonuses, promotions, social media competitions, mail-in orders, and purchase offers. They are redeemable for cash prizes, but be aware that these funds come with a 1x playthrough requirement.

Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, and Crazy Pineapple games are available
Hosts ring games, tournaments, SNGs, jackpot SNGs, bounty poker
Blinds for ring games range from 0.05 SC/ 0.1 SC to 10 SC / 20 SC
Tournament buy-ins go from 0.11 Sweeps Coins to 218 Sweeps Coins, but the site occasionally runs tournaments with larger buy-ins
Major weekly tournaments include the Sunday Scrimmage, Golden Scrimmage, and Sunday Eleven
Some signature annual or seasonal tournaments include The Rattlesnake Open, Grizzly Games, The Goat, and the Eagle Cup

Clubs Poker

Clubs Poker is a well-designed social poker site that offers a similar setup to Global Poker. We were impressed by the quality of the user interface at Clubs Poker. It is easy to find games and tournaments that suit your playing budget, style, and preferences, as there are lots of simple filter tools.

Hosts Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi/Lo, 5 Card Omaha, 5 Card Omaha Hi/Lo, 6 Card Omaha, Stud, Stud Hi/Lo, 2-7 Triple Draw, 2-7 Single Draw, and mixed games available
Hosts ring games, tournaments, SNGs, Spin & Go tournaments, progressive knockouts
Blinds on Clubs Poker’s ring games range from 0.005/0.001 Sweeps Coins to 10/20 Sweeps Coins
Tournament buy-ins start at 0.5 Sweeps Coins and go up to 55 Sweeps Coins
Popular tournaments at Clubs Poker include the Nightly 55, Daily 22, Nightly 22, and MixMaster

Can I play with players in other states?

Yes. Texans can play poker with people in other states at social poker sites. For example, Global Poker welcomes players from 46 states, plus every Canadian province and territory except for Quebec.

For that reason, social online poker rooms often benefit from busier traffic and higher liquidity than traditional real money poker sites in states like Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Michigan.

Nearby or potential online options

Only eight states have legalized real money online poker rooms, and none of those states are particularly close to Texas. Some of them have small populations, so traditional online poker rooms have launched in just four states: Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

Nevada is the closest state to Texas with traditional poker sites, but it is still more than 700 miles away from the westernmost point of the Lone Star State. As such, it is highly impractical for Texans to play online poker in Nevada, so we expect social poker sites to remain popular for the foreseeable future.

Potential Texas online poker sites

No forms of online gambling have been legalized in Texas. There are no online sportsbooks or casinos, and there are no commercial casinos either, so it would be a major surprise if lawmakers decided to introduce a regulated online poker market.

However, if Texas does eventually legalize real money online poker sites, these are the leading candidates to launch.

PokerStars WSOP Online BetMGM Poker

This is the world’s largest poker site, with more than 13 million players. PokerStars has launched in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and it would be keen to expand into Texas if given the opportunity.

Parent company Flutter Entertainment also owns FanDuel, which is now the most popular online sportsbook and casino in the country. The company runs an online racebook called TVG too, so it operates in most states, and has experienced legal and compliance teams, which could help it gain a license in Texas.

Nevada-based casino giant Caesars Entertainment runs this popular online poker room, which is live in Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The site pools players in Michigan, Nevada, and New Jersey, as they are all members of the Multi-State Internet Gaming Agreement, and Caesars would naturally be eager to add Texas to the list.

The WSOP brand is well-known among serious and recreational poker players, as the annual World Series of Poker event in Nevada is a major event. Caesars Entertainment has a large footprint in the region, with casinos in Louisiana, Arizona, and Nevada, and it is also the official casino partner of the Houston Texans.

BetMGM is another major online gambling brand, which competes with FanDuel, DraftKings, and Caesars on a nationwide basis. The BetMGM Poker site is live in Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and it has proved popular in each state.

Entain, the co-owner of BetMGM, owns the renowned PartyPoker brand, which was once the busiest real money poker site in the United States. BetMGM Poker runs on PartyPoker’s software, which offers a smooth user interface. It would be another leading contender to launch online poker in Texas if the market opens up in the future.

Retail poker rooms in Texas

There is only one legal retail poker room in Texas. You will also notice private poker clubs, which we have discussed in the next section, but this is the only official, real money poker room in the Lone State State.

Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino Hotel

Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino is one of just two tribal casinos in Texas. The other one, Naskila Casino, offers only bingo-based gaming machines and does not have poker or table games.

By contrast, Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino offers a private poker room, a bingo room, and more than 3,300 slot machines. The only downside is that it is inconveniently located for most poker players in Texas, as it is more than two hours southwest of San Antonio, the nearest major city.

If you make the trip to Eagle Pass, you will find Texas Hold’em dealt seven days a week in the 12-table poker room at Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino. There are occasional poker tournaments too.

Address: 794 Lucky Eagle Dr, Eagle Pass, TX 78852
Open 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday-Thursday, 2 p.m. to 5 a.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday each week
Texas Hold’em only
Always hosts $1/$2 No Limit Hold’em with buy-ins of $100 to $300, plus $3/$6 Limit Hold’em with minimum buy-ins of $30, and hosts $2/$5 No Limit Hold’em with buy-ins of $200 to $500 at weekends
No Limit Hold’em tournaments are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays

Poker clubs in Texas

There are several land-based poker clubs in Texas. They operate as private clubs by exploiting a loophole in Chapter 47 of the Texas Penal Code.

So, they cannot charge a rake. Instead, you pay a membership fee or a cover charge to play poker at these venues. However, they operate in a legal gray area. These poker clubs occupy a similar legal status to poker games played between friends at home, even though they are nothing of the sort.

The state attorney general has thus far declined to issue an opinion on their legality, allowing them to continue operating. However, they could be shut down quickly if the attorney general rules that they are illegal.

The number of land-based poker clubs in Texas can fluctuate, as many of these clubs do not last long.

Unregulated poker sites

Some unregulated poker sites may try to attract players in Texas. These sites are based in countries like Costa Rica, Curaçao, and Panama, and they have not gained legal permission to operate in the United States, but that does not stop them targeting Texans.

However, we recommend avoiding these unregulated poker sites. They do not fall under the jurisdiction of state or federal authorities, so you have no legal recourse if you are scammed, which is unfortunately a common occurrence at offshore gambling sites.

Many American players have been cheated, and others have had their data stolen, as some offshore sites have weak security measures. Ultimately, you cannot rely on unregulated poker sites to keep you safe, treat you fairly, or even pay out when you put in a withdrawal request, so we advise players to avoid those sites.

Future outlook for online poker in Texas

Texas is highly unlikely to legalize online poker any time soon. The Lone Star State has not legalized any forms of online gambling, and there are two major roadblocks for anyone hoping to see online poker rooms, casinos, and sportsbooks introduced.

The first is cultural. As part of the Bible Belt, many Texans have serious moral issues with gambling. Prominent politicians led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have thwarted previous attempts to bring commercial land-based casinos and online sportsbooks to Texas, and it would be difficult to convince them to change their stance.

The second issue is financial. Texas is a wealthy state with vast natural resources, and it has a large budget surplus. States like New Jersey are grappling with long-term budget deficits, which encouraged them to legalize various forms of online gambling. They hope to make up some of the shortfall by taxing online poker rooms, casinos, and sportsbooks, whereas that is unnecessary in Texas.

For those reasons, we do not expect to see real money poker sites rolled out in Texas any time soon. If you want to play online poker in the Lone Star State, you will need to use a social poker site like Global Poker for the foreseeable future.

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