love and casino war poker blog: poker in hawaii, and home games in general

poker in hawaii, and home games in general

I received this query from a l&cw reader over the holidays:

I am looking for some hold em games in Hawaii... 1-5 up to 15 -30 or 30 - 60 maybe even some good pot limit games. can you help?

I don't know directly of any home poker games in Hawaii. It's widely believed that poker is illegal in Hawaii since it's "one of two states with no legal gambling" -- but what that phrase really means is no legal state-sanctioned gambling. According to this article from the Honolulu Advertiser, social gambling in Hawaii is legal subject to these constraints:

All parties must compete on equal terms with each other.

No player receives anything of value other than personal winnings.

No other person can receive anything of value or any profit from any source.

It is not conducted or played at any business establishment of any kind or at any public area. Social gambling may only take place in non-public areas.

All players are 18 or older.

There is no bookmaking (accepting bets from people on the outcome of future events or games).

That wording is very similar to social gambling legislation in many other states, including ours in Texas. It makes house games like blackjack and craps illegal, but allows most forms of poker.

As to actually finding a home game in Hawaii, I don't personally know of any, but there are a number of resources I recommend for locating home games in any state:

The PokerPages Home Game Forum is the most active forum I know of for locating home games.

Home Poker Games is a community site for people to list and request home games, by state and country.

rec.gambling.poker sometimes has posts about people looking for home games.

None of the above sites list any Hawaii games, but you could certainly post a request on there for a game.

I do recommend some precautions when locating games online.

Ask questions before you turn up to get a good picture of the game. Ask about structure, atmosphere, smoking policy, food/drink policy, etc.

If it matters to you, determine the legality of the game. Many games are run in manners which make them illegal, even if the hosts aren't knowingly doing so. For instance, in many states simply charging for food at a game may make the game illegal.

If you're at all uncomfortable, ask if you can turn up and just watch before you join in. Most good hosts will allow this.

Use caution, especially at higher limits. There are cheaters and thieves in poker.

Never borrow or lend money with people you don't know personally. I recommend bringing exactly the amount of money you're willing to lose to a home poker game.

Be courteous and polite and you'll be invited back.

Hope that helps!

January 6 2004 | permalink(3 players) | 0 pointers

comments

Want to organize a friendly, little poker game? What we have here is your basic euphemistic oxymoron, since we all know there is no such thing as a "friendly" poker game. There may exist a poker game played by people all of whom are friends. But poker is quiet war; it's tidy bloodlust; it's ripping the guts out of the guy next to you and tossing them back in his face with a pair of aces. Unless, of course, you let women play and use wild cards. In which case poker is a card game.

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Posted by: Robert Wilson on October 8, 2005 02:33 PM

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Posted by: kyle armstrong on October 8, 2005 02:33 PM