Many things come to a person’s mind when they think about Louisiana, including the history and culture of such a beautiful region of the country. The state also has a large poker community, and adding the excitement of the game to the culture of the area makes Louisiana one of the most interesting poker locales in the United States.
With all the changes to regulations in poker and in other games around the U.S., there is a need to make sure players have the most up to date information about the game they love. That is what this page is all about – helping those in the South understand where to play real money poker, what possible legislation could impact Louisianans, and how to improve your game to take a run at becoming a world champion!
Online Poker in Louisiana
Much like many other states, Louisiana had a robust real money online poker scene when sites like Poker Stars and Party Poker brought poker to the masses. ON any given day, thousands of players from Louisiana could be found at cash game and tournament tables and qualifying their way online to some of the biggest land-based poker tournaments on the planet.
However, all good things must come to an end, and since these sites were deemed to be operating illegally as they were based offshore, the government managed to shut them down in 2011. In the decade since, there have been many attempts to regulate online poker in the U.S., with some states even passing local legislation to give operators a chance to be licensed. Louisiana continues to sit on the sidelines, and given the conservative nature of the government in the state, it may be a while before any measures are considered.
Land Based Poker in Louisiana
Online poker’s popularity comes in part from the land-based games that exist in Louisiana. While the real money online games have gone away, for now, the massive increase in interest in the game that it brought means that the many poker rooms in the state are posting great numbers. The multiple rooms located in Louisiana offer players a chance to sit at cash games in Texas Hold’em and Omaha (and other games if you find the right room and dealer). The tournaments are not nearly as grand as the online events that dotted the landscape, but there are a couple of mid-range poker festivals taking place in the state each year, which bring added excitement to the local poker community.
Here is a list of the poker rooms that are open for business in Lousiana:
Boomtown Casino New Orleans (Harvey, LA)
Coushatta Casino (Kinder, LA)
Cypress Bayou Casino (Charenton, LA)
Eldorado Casino Shreveport (Shreveport, LA)
Golden Nugget Lake Charles (Lake Charles, LA)
Harrah’s New Orleans (New Orleans, LA)
Horseshoe Casino Bossier City (Bossier City, LA)
Isle of Capri Casino Lake Charles (Westlake, LA)
Jena Choctaw Pines Casino (Dry Prong, LA)
L’Auberge Casino Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge, LA)
L’Auberge Casino Lake Charles (Lake Charles, LA)
Paragon Casino (Marksville, LA)
Social Poker in Louisiana
If you are the kind of poker player that isn’t interested in gambling real money, or you are just looking for a more comfortable way to practice the game before heading to the real money tables, then social poker may be a solution for your online poker needs. Sites like Zynga Poker made their mark on the Facebook platform a decade ago and have grown to massive heights with millions of players hitting the tables every month. These games are a hybrid of play money and real money in that you can earn your way up the leaderboards and into more exclusive games by playing hours at a time, or you can choose to skip the line by purchasing chips for real money from the site. While you can’t turn those chips into real cash after you win, just accessing the higher levels will have a marked improvement on the gameplay, which is definitely worth it from a training perspective.
Subscription Poker in Louisiana
Another option for playing online poker available to residents of Louisiana is subscription poker. Sites like Club WPT have discovered that sweepstakes law in Louisiana allows for poker tournaments to be run, giving away great prizes instead of cash as long as there is no purchase necessary. A Subscription Fee does not count at a purchase, so if you are willing to pay the small monthly fee, then you can access all the tournaments available on a monthly basis. Considering Club WPT have events where winners can make it to World Poker Tour events around the country, this is another way for poker players to find an alternative to playing real money online games until their return.
Mobile Poker in Louisiana
Despite all the challenges faced by the real money online poker industry in the U.S., the free play sites continue to be launched, primarily with mobile as the delivery method. Playing poker on your tablet or phone allows you to jump in a hand wherever you are located, and this is a great way to stay sharp even if only for a few minutes at a time. Most real money poker sites now have apps that players can access from around the world, so you will want to get used to the look and feel of mobile poker
Online Poker in Louisiana FAQ
I get emails all the time from sites that say they take players from the U.S. – what’s that all about?
Even though many people think the U.S. is shut out from real money online poker today, there are a few small sites that continue to poke their heads out of the ground. These sites, based mainly in Latin America, offer cash games and tournaments like the sites used to in the market, but getting your money to and from these sites can be a real pain. Add in that there is no assurance that the site will still be in business the next time you log in, and it just doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to us to try to play with these sites.
Where can I learn about other poker games like Omaha?
You are in luck! This site has a whole series of Game Guides that review the basics of games like Omaha, Razz, Stud, and many more! Learning how a game works can make a player feel much more comfortable trying it out in a real-money setting, so if you start with our Guides, you can move on to the many videos and training tips you can find online until you are ready to take the next step!
