Ever since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, things have been booming across the US for live poker, with new poker rooms opening up and old ones receiving record traffic numbers.
From the West to the East Coast, the USA is the single country in the world with the most poker rooms, casinos, and private games you can play at.
If you are looking for the best places in the US for live poker, you are in the right place, as we have compiled a list of the best states to play live poker in the US.
We looked at how many poker rooms are available, how good the games are, and even included the ability to play online poker along the way.
#1 – Nevada
Whether you are a professional poker player looking to grind all day and all night or a recreational player looking to jump into a poker game, Nevada isn’t just the Mecca of US for live poker, but the entire world, with some of the world’s best poker rooms found in Las Vegas that will never leave you hanging.
With over 60 unique poker rooms in the state, many of which are located in the world’s gambling capital of Las Vegas, Nevada has a higher number of poker tables per square mile than any other region in the entire world.
The Las Vegas Strip alone hosts 18 poker rooms, including the likes of Aria, Bellagio, and Wynn, all legendary poker rooms that attract the best poker players in the world.
Away from the Strip, you will find official and unofficial poker games across Las Vegas, as well as in other towns such as Reno, which used to be the center of Nevada gambling activities back in the day.
Las Vegas hosts No Limit Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Mixed Games of all sorts all year long, but the summers are a special time, as the World Series of Poker rides into town.
Over the two months of the WSOP, thousands of poker players come into Las Vegas and flood the Nevada poker rooms with action across all stakes and game types.
Both tournament and cash game players can find action around the clock in Nevada, as it’s one of the few places where daily tournaments and various tournament series can be found at almost any time of day.
Nevada is also one of the few states in the US that offers legal online poker, as players can log into the WSOP.com app and play online games while simultaneously grinding it out in one of the dozens of poker rooms spread across Sin City and beyond.
#2 – Texas
The most popular poker game in the world is called Texas Hold’em Poker, so it comes as no surprise that Texas is very high up on our list of the best states in the US for live poker.
What is quite surprising, however, is the fact that live poker isn’t exactly legal in Texas, as poker clubs are not allowed to run their games the old-fashioned way.
In fact, poker clubs in the Lone Star State are not allowed to take rake from pots, which would make it impossible to run any cash games in the state if not for a little workaround that was discovered some years ago.
Poker club owners discovered that they could run private clubs and charge players for the time spent at the tables instead of rake, which is the model used by more than 50 poker clubs across the state.
With anywhere between five and 68 poker tables, various social poker clubs in the state of Texas offer fully legal poker games, including both cash games and tournaments.
Cities like Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio are poker hubs, but you will find an occasional club anywhere in between them as well, mixed in with plenty of private games on the sides.
If you are looking for real action, Texas is the place to go, as Texas poker games are notorious for playing bigger and being wilder than any others.
If you walk into any of the bigger Texas social poker clubs, don’t be surprised to see players sitting at the $1/3 cash game tables with $10,000 in their stacks, as this is the norm down in the South.
Major poker clubs in Texas host both low and high-stakes poker games, with the famous Lodge Card Club in Austin even live-streaming their high-stakes games via YouTube a couple of times a week.
#3 – California
Away from Nevada and Texas, California is the place to be if you are looking to play some poker, and it really doesn’t matter what part of the state you visit.
The city of Los Angeles is host to some of the biggest poker rooms in the world, including The Gardens, Commerce, and Hustler, all of which offer non-stop cash game and tournament action.
San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento all offer poker rooms of their own, while plenty of poker clubs can be found in other parts of California, away from the major cities.
With over 50 poker rooms in total, California is the perfect place to hone your poker skills and enjoy the game at any stake and in any format you prefer.
Poker rooms in California run everything from the smallest stakes cash games and tournaments to the absolute nosebleeds, including the live-streamed games on Hustler Casino Live that you can regularly watch on YouTube.
Much like Texas, California tends to produce some big and wild cash game poker, as poker here is not played by the traditional norms you might find in places like Las Vegas.
#4 – Florida
The state of Florida has been a poker hub for many years, hosting some of the most exciting recurring poker tournaments and regular cash game sessions across its 30 legal poker rooms.
The likes of Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood and Palm Beach Kennel Club rate among the biggest and best poker rooms in Florida, but a variety of clubs in Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, and beyond all make Florida a poker player’s paradise.
Florida poker games may be a bit more conservative than those in Texas or California, but players in this state can be sure they will always find a game not too far away from their homes and with plenty of players waiting to play.
Florida is a true paradise for tournament poker grinders, as major poker tours stop in its casinos in each season, while poker rooms host plenty of daily tournaments to keep players sharp and ready for the big ones.
Florida may not be the number one choice if you are looking to travel somewhere to play poker, but if you live there, poker action will be guaranteed at all times.
#5 – Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania may not sound like a major hub in the US for live poker, but if you live on the East Coast, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are two of the best places to play poker on a regular basis.
In fact, apart from Atlantic City, it is not easy to find legal poker games on the East Coast, which is why the Pennsylvania casinos get so much action from the neighboring states, including New York.
Philadelphia’s most popular poker rooms, such as the ones at the Parx and Harrah’s, draw in huge crowds for their daily tournaments, regular cash games, and seasonal tournament series.
With dozens of tables each, these poker rooms are always crowded, and the games there tend to be quite a bit softer than those in Las Vegas.
Pittsburgh is another major poker hub in Pennsylvania, with Rivers and Meadows casinos being the most frequented venues among the poker players.
If you live anywhere on the East Coast, taking the trip to Pennsylvania should not take longer than a few hours, and the action you will find there will prove well worth the trip.
What’s even more, Pennsylvania is another state that offers legal online poker and casino games, which means you can get some digital action in while playing at the live tables of Pennsylvania’s major live casinos.
#6 – Connecticut
If playing poker in Pennsylvania is not your preference, Connecticut is another state on the East Coast where you can find poker games on a regular basis.
Namely, the state’s Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos offer some of the best action in the East, with Foxwoods actually having one of the biggest poker rooms in the country.
Note that these casinos are located outside of major urban areas, and you will need to drive out specifically to play poker or gamble anytime you want to get a piece of this action.
Yet, once you get there, you will find plenty of old-school poker players and gamblers whose game has not progressed much over the years, which means there will be plenty of easy pickings for you to pick up.
Foxwoods hosts some of the best tournaments in the US for live poker on a regular basis and is only a couple of hours away from major urban hubs like Boston and New York.
If you are serious about poker, you should consider paying Foxwoods a visit during one of the major tournament series and testing out the waters in a state you might not have considered in the past.
#7 – New Jersey
Once upon a time, Atlantic City used to be the gambling hub of the East Coast and a gambler’s Mecca for players from all over the world as shown in one of the best poker movies of all time: Rounders.
The glory days of AC may be behind us, but New Jersey still remains one of the best states in the US for live poker, all things considered.
The biggest poker room in Atlantic City these days is the one at the Borgata, which offers over 50 tables for cash game and tournament action.
On top of that, you can also play some cards in Harrah’s and Tropicana, while other casinos on the Boardwalk no longer spread poker games.
That said, there are plenty of places for NJ poker players to play even outside of AC, as poker rooms like the one at Delaware Park, Hollywood Casino Morgantown, Live! Casino Philadelphia and Parx Casino all operate within driving distance.
If you live on the East Coast, New Jersey is still one of the best states to play live poker, and access to regulated online poker sites won’t hurt your action either.
So, What’s the Best State in the US for Live Poker Players?
This is a question poker players have been asking for ages, and the truth is there isn’t a single answer that works for every person.
Nevada is technically the one place where you will find the most poker games, but states like California, Florida, and Texas all spread so much poker that you will never be left wanting for a game.
The games in these states play wildly different, and you will often find a lot more action games in places like Austin or Los Angeles than in Sin City.
If you live out in the East, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut can all be great places to hone your poker strategy, and even driving to games out of New York is not out of the question.
Ultimately, most American poker players will be able to find a live poker game close to their home as poker continues to thrive from West to East and without showing any hints of slowing down. Other than that, you can always try some online games on sites like ClubWPT Gold or Stake US Poker that are legal in most of the states.
