Lodge Card Club (Austin, TX)
There is an Austin thread, but as the largest room in the area I felt it was appropriate to have our own thread.
I'll per
The games were soft and loved the $1500 cap in the 1/3 games!
The Lodge is starting to move in a better direction. Where there used to be 1/2/5 PLO with 200-1K buyins, unlimited straddles from UTG to the button (i.e. it could and has hit $320 preflop before) and match the stack, recent changes now see:
1/2/5 PLO - 200-1K buyin still with unlimited straddles but buyin is now capped. No more Klaus from Germany showing up to match and wreck you when he just sat down
2/2 PLO - buyin is 60-300 and capped buyin. They do allow a $5 and a $10 double straddle which I think is still a bad design decision, but it's rare the $10 gets put on so it's a step in the right direction to having games new players can learn without getting completely wrecked.
they had lost pretty much all the PLO action to TCH for awhile and did a month where they spent upwards of $60,000 in promotions trying to win the games back. The 2/2 PLO has taken hold pretty solidly, often getting 2 tables daily. The 1/2/5 will usually get 1-2 games while TCH is still competing with that demographic and seeing 2-3 or more of those tables per day plus they have a $5 bomb pot only game as well.
The Lodge also has a secondary livestream channel for "local" smaller stakes games where they do a 1/2 NLH on Mondays and either the 1/2/5 or most recently the 2/2 PLO on Wednesdays. So while it's not the primary livestream channel, you still get to play on the Lodge Livestream at more reasonable stakes.
Just saw this posted on pokernews.com. Appears The Lodge was raided by Texas state police and TABC on Tuesday night March 10th. There is a reddit report below where it said they could not let players cash out chips at that time and had to take them home. I believe the reddit thread said they would not show the warrant and players had to provide an ID to police. If you go on Poker Atlas, it says the room is temporarily closed.
My guess is TABC caught people under 21 drinking. I was playing there just last Saturday and it was normal. Also their LCS tournament series just concluded on that same day. I am curious what develops in the next few days.
Lots of people think it's related to liquor because TABC was involved, but there are some comments on facebook saying the police seized computers and it may be something else.
Usually if they're trying to completely shut you down they hit when there's a big final day of a tournament with a TON of prize money on site to confiscate. This taking place on a quiet Tuesday morning after the tournament series wrapped up leads me to believe they aren't getting shut down, but still pretty crazy stuff.
Use code "Free Doug"
Lots of people think it's related to liquor because TABC was involved, but there are some comments on facebook saying the police seized computers and it may be something else. Usually if they're trying to completely shut you down they hit when there's a big final day of a tournament with a TON of prize money on site to confiscate. This taking place on a quiet Tuesday morning
TABC has stronger anti gambling teeth than gen state regs. If the gray market poker is legal, never been decided, the TABC regs are clear. Can’t have gambling occur where there is alcohol under a TABC license.
I lobg ago pointed out the serving alcohol opens facility to alls kinds of stricter gambling regs should someone chose to involve them.
The Lodge sent out an email to members still claiming they don't know what this is about, but search warrants are supposed to tell them what it's about, I'm confuzzled?
AI Explains It All:
It definitely seems counterintuitive, but the Lodge's claim might actually be legally accurate in the short term. While a search warrant tells you what they are looking for, it doesn't always tell you why they are looking for it.
Based on the news from Tuesday (March 10, 2026), here is the breakdown of why there’s so much confusion and how the legal paperwork actually works in Texas:
1. The Warrant vs. The Affidavit
When police raid a building, they must present a search warrant. However, the warrant itself is usually a fairly brief document.
The Search Warrant: Lists the address to be searched and the specific items to be seized (e.g., "computers," "financial records," "gambling ledgers").
The Affidavit: This is the "Why." It’s the sworn statement from an officer explaining the probable cause and the specific crimes they believe were committed.
The catch: In Texas, while the warrant is handed over during the raid, the affidavit can be sealed by a judge for up to 31 days (and extended further) if disclosure would "jeopardize the safety of a victim" or "cause the destruction of evidence." If the affidavit is sealed, the owners literally haven't been shown the evidence or the specific legal theory behind the raid yet.
2. Who Conducted the Raid?
The raid was led by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) with assistance from state police. This adds a layer of mystery:
Is it about Poker? Texas card rooms operate in a famous "legal gray area." If the raid was about illegal gambling, it would likely be a broader strike against the room's business model.
Is it about Alcohol? Since the TABC led the charge, it could be related to liquor license violations, "breach of peace," or financial irregularities specifically tied to their bar and restaurant operations.
3. The Current Situation (as of March 11, 2026)
Player Funds: Co-owner Doug Polk has publicly stated he is "personally guaranteeing" all player funds are safe, though the room remains closed and chips currently cannot be cashed out.
The Owners' Stance: Polk has called the investigation a "witch hunt" and claims he is still waiting on "additional information" before making a full statement.
Summary: If the search warrant affidavit was sealed by a judge, the owners are technically telling the truth—they know what was taken, but they haven't been allowed to see the official document that explains the "why."
The latest news
The latest from PokerNews and it's not looking good:
The latest from PokerNews and it's not looking good:
Agree. If TABC decides to push the case and in particular push the the private place and seat rent aspects, Lodge not gonna be open for quite a while.
If they want to establish seat rent model as ok but not pot rake, they might settle with Lodge to accept such a settlement. Since AFAIK this is how they already operate, Lodge likely to comply. This establishes a line wo a big court fight. The raking clubs then either comply or get picked off one by one. But I still don’t know where tournament poker would fit in with entry fee %.
But frankly, throwing in organized crime to the mix, I don’t see that as the state intent. Seems either something big went down, possibly with Lodge not knowing or state has decided now is the time to bring issue to closure with binding precedent.
But agree doesn’t look like Lodge will be opening doors soon.
Saw this in that latest pokernews.com article:
Investigators noted that, during the first two months of 2025, approximately $1.35 million was deposited from The Lodge through the Loomis cash vault, located inside the club, into a bank account held by Tempus Holdings, Inc., a business associated with The Lodge Card Club.
You also see this on the T&C of The Lodge's website
The entire content included in this site, including but not limited to text, graphics or code is copyrighted as a collective work under the United States and other copyright laws, and is the property of Tempus Holdings Inc.. The collective work includes works that are licensed to The LodgePokerClub. Copyright 2021, Tempus Holdings Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
When you bought time or membership on your credit card, this company is what showed up on the transaction. I feel the many transactions done through Tempus is where TABC will focus this case. The question is which Lodge owners had direct access to the bank account. I also agree with several here, Lodge prob wont reopen for months, if that, be able to stay in business. As many have discussed, this is unknown territory in Texas laws so unsure how this outcome will be.
I believe Tempus is just the name of the shared ownership corporation for The Lodge. When I dealt a tournament there, I was hired by Tempus Holdings.
Where can we play 2/5, 5/10 or 10/20 PLO at Austin?
The Lodge 2018 - 2026. RIP
Notsofastmyfriend!
Sounds like they won and are going to open ASAP, albeit might be a few weeks, cuz logistics of getting staff back/again!
I’ll take the over on Lodge Austin being open before Jun 1, at least with a liquor license since GJ has zero affect on TABC reg enforcement.
This is a win only on criminal charges. Criminal conviction or even charges are not necessary for TX to proceed civilly or administratively. I am somewhat surprised TX even filed with GJ.
GJ are not bound to follow law but their ‘decisions’ on the law are not binding on separate civil or administrative action. Judges are charged with interpreting law. Until a judge, and more likely appeal court, rule on the business model wrt the economic benefit exemption, this remains a gray area.
A possible plan, and this would be supported by things so far, is the state is using Lodge as a way to draw a line. The state may ‘want’ the seat rent model to be legal but not the pot rake model. Thus the ‘lose’ Lodge case but then go after the clubs, the majority in Houston, that rake the pot.
But until a Judge rules on the biz model, nothing is really settled.
For those who play PLO in Austin. Well before the shutdown there was a significant shift of PLO games from The Lodge which had always dominated the lists to those games moving over to TCH.
What would you say that catalyst(s) were?
"What would you say that catalyst(s) were?"
Where the donks at?
w/o a million Canadians and euros nits?
An interesting development in Austin
