Manage and Enjoy Your Home Poker Tournament - Part Three
Here's the deal - if you make money simply by hosting a home poker tournament, or one held anywhere else for that matter, you've likely broken a state or local law.
Most states or municipalities are not terribly concerned that someone walks away from a tournament with more money than they started with - provided they do so through skill rather than chance.
This means that if you charge a "fee" to play in the tournament, or take a rake from the pots, then you are likely on the wrong side of the law.
On the other hand, if you simply provide a venue for a social group to gather, collect a buyin from each participant, establish a payout schedule, and payout 100% of the buyins per that payout schedule, then in most states you are acting legally.
As of this writing there are 26 states that permit social poker play.
There are 21 that do not, and 3 others, plus the District of Columbia, where the regulations are unclear on this sort of gaming.
The states that permit social poker play are AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, HI, KY, LA, ME, MN, MT, NV, NJ, NM, NY, ND, OH, OR, SC, TX, VA, WA, and WY.
Of the 21 that do not permit social gaming, the penalty is a misdemeanor.
Many states that permit a home tournament also have other restrictions that come into play.
For instance, some states require that your poker tournament take place in a dwelling, rather than in a commercial location.
Others do not permit the retailing of liquor on the premises during the game.
So you either supply the hooch, or go BYOB.
And while FL does permit social gaming, that's with a $10 limit - "the winnings of any player in a single round, hand, or game may not exceed $10 in value".
An excellent source for more information about your state can be found at www.
gambling-law-us.
com A key factor that permits social poker tournaments in most states is the concept of "predominance".
This simply boils down to Chance vs.
Skill.
If skill is the predominant means of winning a game, then the Dominant Factor Test has been passed, and the game is legal.
So a game that is predominantly chance, like roulette, is not considered to have passed the test.
Though some may argue, there is no skill involved in deciding which numbers to cover in roulette.
An understanding of statistics shows that there is absolutely no relationship between previous winning numbers and the next number to hit.
This makes roulette a game of chance, as with slot machines.
Poker is considered more a game of skill than chance, and that keeps us legal in those 26 states.
So the way is clear in most U.
S.
states to put on a poker tournament in the privacy of your home, under most circumstances.
So why not take advantage of the opportunity to get a group of friends together for a night of fun, excitement, and maybe a little profit?
Most states or municipalities are not terribly concerned that someone walks away from a tournament with more money than they started with - provided they do so through skill rather than chance.
This means that if you charge a "fee" to play in the tournament, or take a rake from the pots, then you are likely on the wrong side of the law.
On the other hand, if you simply provide a venue for a social group to gather, collect a buyin from each participant, establish a payout schedule, and payout 100% of the buyins per that payout schedule, then in most states you are acting legally.
As of this writing there are 26 states that permit social poker play.
There are 21 that do not, and 3 others, plus the District of Columbia, where the regulations are unclear on this sort of gaming.
The states that permit social poker play are AL, AK, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, HI, KY, LA, ME, MN, MT, NV, NJ, NM, NY, ND, OH, OR, SC, TX, VA, WA, and WY.
Of the 21 that do not permit social gaming, the penalty is a misdemeanor.
Many states that permit a home tournament also have other restrictions that come into play.
For instance, some states require that your poker tournament take place in a dwelling, rather than in a commercial location.
Others do not permit the retailing of liquor on the premises during the game.
So you either supply the hooch, or go BYOB.
And while FL does permit social gaming, that's with a $10 limit - "the winnings of any player in a single round, hand, or game may not exceed $10 in value".
An excellent source for more information about your state can be found at www.
gambling-law-us.
com A key factor that permits social poker tournaments in most states is the concept of "predominance".
This simply boils down to Chance vs.
Skill.
If skill is the predominant means of winning a game, then the Dominant Factor Test has been passed, and the game is legal.
So a game that is predominantly chance, like roulette, is not considered to have passed the test.
Though some may argue, there is no skill involved in deciding which numbers to cover in roulette.
An understanding of statistics shows that there is absolutely no relationship between previous winning numbers and the next number to hit.
This makes roulette a game of chance, as with slot machines.
Poker is considered more a game of skill than chance, and that keeps us legal in those 26 states.
So the way is clear in most U.
S.
states to put on a poker tournament in the privacy of your home, under most circumstances.
So why not take advantage of the opportunity to get a group of friends together for a night of fun, excitement, and maybe a little profit?
Source...