If you’ve been paying attention to poker news over the last couple of years then you have probably noticed that more and more people have been getting busted for their home poker games. And no I’m not talking about the rinky dink games where buddies get together and throw a couple of dollars in the pool to play. Rather I’m talking about bigger games where several hundred to several thousand dollars are exchanged back and forth on a regular basis.
It is these types of games where the participants take a real risk in playing since courts don’t exactly look favorably on poker - especially if rake is taken by the home owner. In fact, in states like Oklahoma, a person can go to prison for a couple of years if they are caught operating a rake-based poker game from their home. Even the players themselves can wind up in jail for a few months if they’re just caught playing in the games.
So obviously, choosing to have a big home game is definitely a risk in many states. Still, some people love the feel of big home poker games so much that they choose to take this risk - sometimes to the detriment of themselves. Some recent busts have been made in Colorado and South Carolina where people will be facing jail time as well as some hefty fines.
On the other hand, some judges side with the game of poker such as the Pennsylvania judge who ruled that the men busted in a Colombia County poker game were innocent because poker is a game of skill. Even so, there are still plenty of problems facing those who choose to participate in these underground poker games. And, unlike the UIGEA, I don’t see a whole lot of people fighting to lift these sanctions any time soon.