Most popular card game: No Limit Texas Hold’em.Total number of tables at active CA card rooms: 1,825*.Current number of active card room licenses: 85*.Read on for a comprehensive overview of California card rooms, including information about where to find them and what they offer, discussion of the legality of card rooms, a review of card rooms’ colorful history, and answers to frequently asked questions. In fact, some California card rooms are among the largest not just in the country, but in the entire world. It can also be a sprawling, casino-like property with hundreds of card tables and gambling options that range well beyond No-Limit Texas Hold’em. A cardroom can be a modest facility with more seats at the bar than at the tables. Truth be told, a “California card room” can refer to a wide range of establishments.

Today the Golden State still remains a hugely popular hotbed of poker action, with nearly 100 legal card rooms throughout the state, from Eureka in the north to Chula Vista in the south. In the past, California card rooms represented the only legal alternative to Nevada for US card players. While Las Vegas rightly enjoys the title of America’s gambling capital, for poker players, California has long been a prime gambling destination as well, thanks to the state’s many card rooms.

Seven mile casino poker room