Poker in California

A Brief History of Poker in California

Poker in California has a rich history, one closely tied to the state’s frontier past, gambling culture, and ever-evolving legal landscape. Without going into too much detail, we’re giving you a concise overview of what you should need to know:

Legislation and Taxation 

Over 80 licensed cardrooms are currently operating statewide. These are private clubs where players pay rake, but no house banking occurs. Must be 21+; local ordinances may add restrictions (e.g., no cardrooms in some cities). Live Poker in Tribal Casinos Legal~87 tribal casinos (e.g., Pechanga Resort Casino) offer poker under federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act compacts. Similar rules to cardrooms; some integrate video poker (Class II gaming, bingo-based).Home/Private GamesLegal (with limits)Allowed if hosted in a private residence, no rake/profit for host, and no more than occasional (e.g., nonprofits limited to one “poker night” per year under Penal Code § 330.5). Online Real-Money Poker is Illegal (unregulated). No licensed intrastate sites since the 2006 UIGEA. 14+ bills (e.g., AB 1677 in 2017) failed due to disputes between tribes, cardrooms, and operators over revenue sharing and licensing. As of September 2025, no active legislation; the 2025 session is unlikely to advance without consensus. Offshore sites (e.g., BetOnline) accept CA players but risk payment blocks/federal scrutiny. Sweepstakes/Social Poker Banned effective January 2026. Previously, the gray-area workaround (e.g., Global Poker using virtual coins). AB 831 (passed unanimously in September 2025) outlaws dual-currency sweepstakes platforms; awaits Gov. Newsom’s signature but is expected to take effect. Free-play apps (e.g., WSOP Social) remain legal.

All poker winnings (live, online, or otherwise) are treated as taxable income under both federal (IRS) and state (Franchise Tax Board, FTB) rules. California does not have a separate “gambling tax” but folds winnings into ordinary income, taxed progressively. No taxes apply to California State Lottery winnings, but poker does not qualify.

Major Poker Venues in Los Angeles

Los Angeles County hosts some of the world’s largest and most renowned card rooms, alongside tribal casinos offering poker. Key venues include:

My Own Poker Results in California

My poker travels have brought me to all these venues over time. For me, what makes these California poker rooms unlike any others in the world is the action.

First, think in terms of blinds. You have a choice from a small game of 1-2 No Limit Hold’em all the way to 20-40 No Limit and higher. Poker players can choose between No Limit Hold’em, Limit Hold’em, Seven Card Stud or Omaha. Another popular variant these days is Big O, played both limit or pot limit. Add a low rake and table-side food to this, and you have a perfect poker combination.

Then, take a look back at some of my articles about playing poker in Europe. The difference here has to be the amount of action in each pot and the willingness of players to look you up each hand that you play.

The first venue that I played at this trip was the Commerce Casino. This is one of the largest poker rooms in the world, and your choice of games to play is huge. I started by playing a no-limit game with 5-5 blinds and a max buy-in of 500, with most of the stacks around 1500.

Pretty much every hand is raised to 25 or more, and 4 or 5 players will call and see a flop with a lot of different holdings. I got lucky right off the bat by raising AK suited in middle position, and with 3 other callers, the blind decided to squeeze to 100 with only 100 bb. I pushed and was called by the blind, while another guy at the table had the same AK, so it was going to be a split pot most of the time. However, I got lucky and made a flush.

After a few hours of building my stack to about 1800, I left to play some Pot Limit Omaha at Hollywood Park Casino.

Hollywood Park Casino has a very long history behind and for me, it was one of my favorite places to play during the 1990s, when it was still attached to the racetrack. Not only could you play a lot of different poker games, but also bet the ponies if you’d like. The real value was that a lot of the gamblers who loved to bet on the horse races also enjoyed our poker games while waiting for the next race.

Anyway, back to the story. The Pot Limit Omaha game at Hollywood Park is a 5-5 blind and 1000 max buy in and it’s a mix, meaning that one round is high PLO, one round is Hi-Lo, and one round is a bombed pot double board with 15 dollars ante from each player.

My session went up and down for a few hours, until I finally got the better of a couple of players in the high-low version, where I ended up with a nut flush and a wheel for a great 2200 pot.

On my way to Las Vegas, about which you can read here, I stopped at the really nice Lake Elsinore casino for a small but entertaining game of Seven Card Stud and Limit Omaha Hi-Lo.

If you’re a local player from Los Angeles and you’re reading this article, you already know the city pretty well. However, those wanting to visit and play in the City of Angels, just take into account that traffic tends to be terrible during the day and hotel and food prices are really high. My advice is to look for a hotel close to the venue, and if you need to drive to the casino, do it after 8 p.m. when the worst of the traffic’s subsided.

A Few Final Tips

• Locations: Most card rooms are located in LA County suburbs like Commerce, Bell Gardens, and Gardena, easily accessible via the 710 or 105 freeways. Parking is generally free.
• Atmosphere: Expect bustling rooms, especially on weekends. Commerce and Bicycle are more professional, while Hustler and Hollywood Park have a more casual vibe.
• Costs: Cash games have a rake (typically 5–10%, capped at $5–$15 per pot). Tournaments charge a house fee (e.g., 20% of buy-in).
• Amenities: Card rooms offer dining, bars, and sometimes hotels (e.g., Bicycle, Commerce). Tribal casinos like Yaamava’ provide full resort experiences.