Best poker rooms in Houston

Gambling and most forms of poker are prohibited in Texas, the only exceptions being the lottery, bingo, horse and greyhound racing, and social gambling. Social gambling, such as charitable raffles and private card games, is permitted in Texas so long as profit is not made from the games.

Poker rooms in the state of Texas operate under a legal grey area. Although commercial casinos and online poker are illegal, there are more than 50 poker clubs in Texas. These clubs are able to operate because they fall under the exception of private card games, not technically profiting off of the casino games as they do not take rake from players like regular poker rooms. Instead, these clubs are private and charge membership and admission fees.

The most popular poker rooms in Houston and the surrounding areas are the Paramount Social & Poker Club, River Room Social Club, The Lodge Card Club, and Texas Card House.

Paramount Social & Poker Club

The Paramount Social & Poker Club is a popular club in Houston. It costs $10 to become a member at the club and an additional $10 for every visit. Paramount is open every day from 2pm to 5am.

The club has 13 tables and hosts live cash games and poker tournaments every day of the week. The cash games include No Limit and Pot Limit Omaha whilst the poker tournaments feature $1,500 freerolls, $40 Early Bird, $1,000 GTD Prize Pool, and $110 Freezeout.

Paramount always has active promotions for its members. From Thursday to Sunday, between 2pm and 5pm, there is no cash game seat rental and members can play for free. Whenever members play in a tournament, they also earn free cash game time.

Paramount has spades, chess, gin, and euchre leagues for members to participate in and features pool tables, pinball machines, and foosball.

River Room Social Club

River Road Social Club is one of Houston’s newest, luxurious poker clubs, open 24/7 every day of the week. The membership fee costs $10 and between the hours of 9am to 12pm there is no admission fee.

The club features 60 tables, a VIP room, large-screen televisions, traditional arcade games, and casino games such as poker, bullseye, spades, No Limit Hold’Em, Pot Limit Omaha. Every Thursday, classes are offered to members in poker, spades, and bullseye.

Inside the River Room is a bar and grill, featuring a daily Happy Hour from 3pm to 6pm.

The Lodge Card Club

The Lodge Card Club is located in Round Rock, just outside of Austin. It is a 2 hour 46 minute drive from Houston. The club is open 24 hours and is a favourite amongst residents. There are different membership options depending on how often players frequent the club, not including the $11 per hour seat rental fee. There is no hourly charge between 8am and 11am on weekdays.

Inside The Lodge, there are 82 tables and 40 big-screen TV’s. The club hosts regular cash games, including No Limit Hold’Em and Pot Limit Omaha, and at least 2 tournaments every day.

Texas Card House

Texas Card House is a popular poker club for those living in Houston, open 24/7 hours every day of the week. Depending how often members visit the club, they can buy a daily, monthly, or annual membership which does not include the $12 per hour access fee.

There are 20 tables inside the club and the cash games played daily are $1/$2 No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, $1/$3 No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em with 1 hand of PLO Per Round, $1/$3 Round of Each, $5/$5 No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em, $1/$3 Pot Limit Omaha, and $5 PLO Double Board Bomb Pot. Other games are available as long as there is enough interest.