Online Memphis Poker Rooms in TN

Known as the Home of the Blues and Bluff City, Memphis may not be the first place you think of when poker is mentioned, but the passion for the game in this city shouldn’t be underestimated.

While gambling outside the state lottery and charitable organizations is strictly forbidden, don’t fold just yet — offshore platforms welcome players from the Volunteer State with open arms.
 

In this article, we’ll explore the best options for online poker in Memphis and provide tips to help you find a suitable virtual poker table.

Best Online Poker Sites in Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis, Tennessee, doesn’t have any traditional poker venues, but players from this city can play for real money at offshore online poker sites. From popular games like Texas Hold’em to rare ones like Razz or Badugi, you’ll find various poker options and tournaments to explore at the following online poker rooms.

My list of the best poker sites which I consider to be the best rooms to play in 2024:

Is Online Poker Legal in Memphis, Tennessee?

Gambling has had a tumultuous history in Tennessee, with strict laws being introduced and repealed over the years. In recent decades, regulations have become more lenient, allowing state lotteries, charitable games, DFS, off-track horse race wagering, and online sports betting. But, as you can see, online poker hasn’t been added to the Volunteer State’s list of legal gambling activities yet.

So how did it all begin?

Let’s start with the definition of gambling found in Tennessee Code Section 39-17-501. According to it, gambling involves “risking anything of value for a profit whose return is to any degree contingent on chance, or any games of chance associated with casinos, including, but not limited to, slot machines, roulette wheels and the like.”

Like in many other American states, gambling in Tennessee began with betting on horses. However, horse race wagering was banned in 1905, and it wasn’t permitted again until 1987, when the Racing Control Act was signed. Nevertheless, this Act was repealed in 2015, though TN residents can bet on horses off-track.

Another legal gambling vertical is the Tennessee Education Lottery, established in 2003 and opened for play in 2004. Through the HOPE program, the lottery offers more than 1.7 million scholarships and grants in schools statewide every year. To this day, the TN lottery has raised more than $6.2 billion for scholarship funds.

Charitable gaming was legalized next, albeit with restrictions. The statute from 2004 allows Tennessee organizations with tax-exempt status to host one charitable event annually. Bingo, raffles, reverse raffles, cake wheels, and cakewalks are allowed, but video/online/instant lottery, pull tabs, punchboards, keno, and casino-style games are not.

In 2016, Governor Bill Haslam passed a Fantasy Sports Act, and real-money daily fantasy sports (DFS) betting became legal in the state. This decision was controversial, with State Attorney General Herbert Slatery arguing that DFS was essentially gambling and should be banned.

Three years later, Governor Bill Lee allowed HB1 (Sports Gaming Act) to become law without his signature, thus permitting online sportsbooks to operate under the authority of the Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation. In November 2020, 3 sportsbooks went live — BetMGM, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Currently, Bluff City residents have 13 sportsbooks at their disposal.

While legalizing DFS and online sportsbooks is a step in the right direction, all other forms of gambling remain illegal in Memphis, TN. However, you can participate in online poker through offshore websites. The question is, how?

Well, if you look back at the gambling definition, you’ll see that it doesn’t mention the words “online“, “computer” or “internet“. Of course, as most types of gambling in TN are illegal, online poker rooms hosted within the state would be too, but offshore platforms aren’t explicitly banned. They’re not under the Tennessee jurisdiction, meaning residents of Memphis and other US cities can shuffle virtual chips with players from around the world.

Memphis, TN Poker Laws

Naturally, you can click on any poker room we’ve recommended and call it a day, but you should first take legal precautions.

Check out the following legal documents that explain gambling in Memphis, Tennessee further:

• Tennessee Criminal Code
• Tennessee Education Lottery
• Tennessee Charitable Gaming Implementation Law
• Fantasy Sports Act
• Tennessee Sports Gaming Act

How to Choose the Right Memphis Poker Room

Although we’ve listed some top-notch online poker rooms, you may want to look for a virtual seat elsewhere. But how to navigate the vast ocean of offshore websites? Well, there are a few key factors to consider, and we’ll go through each of them.

Benefits of Playing Online Poker in Memphis, Tennessee

Whether you’re a newbie looking to bluff your way to the top or a seasoned pro ready to show off those skills, playing poker on the internet has many benefits.

• Convenience — Instead of traveling to a land-based casino, you can access your favorite poker games from anywhere, as long as you’re connected to the internet. Plus, if your poker face is terrible, no one has to see it.
• Extensive game selection and rich tournament schedule — Offshore poker rooms offer plenty of games and tournaments. Furthermore, some players are always online, making it easy to find an open seat.
• More lucrative bonuses and promotions — From sign-up deals to loyalty perks — virtual poker rooms offer many opportunities to up your game and win big.

Famous Poker Players From Memphis, TN

While Tennessee isn’t particularly known for producing many famous poker players, a few have left their mark on the game. Here are the top five players from Tennessee’s All-Time Money list:

• Kathy Liebert — Liebert is one of the top female poker players in the world and has earned an impressive $6,822,172 in tournament winnings. She got her first WSOP bracelet in 2004 in the $1,500 Limit Hold ’em Shootout event, and her first ring at the 2022 WSOP Online $500 No-Limit Hold’em. Liebert also became the first woman to win $1 million in a tournament when she beat Phill Hellmuth and Chris Ferguson at the $8,000 Limit Hold’em event at the Party Poker Million Cruise in 2002. She was inducted into the Women in Poker Hall of Fame in 2009. Liebert has appeared on television shows such as Poker Royals: Battle of the Sexes and was one of the first to advocate for an at-the-table smoking ban.
• Chris Moneymaker — Chris Moneymaker is an accountant-turned-poker-player and a descendant of a line of coin makers. He is credited with sparking the poker boom in the early 2000s, when he won the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event after he had qualified through an online tournament with an entry fee of only $89. His total winnings to date are $4,049,390. In 2005, he wrote a book called “Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker“. Chris Moneymaker was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2019.
• Frank Kassela — Kassela began playing in the early 2000s and has won three WSOP bracelets and $3,453,389 during his career. His first two bracelets are from 2010 events ($10,000 Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Split-8 or Better Championship and $2,500 Razz). Off the felt, Kassela is known for his charitable work and a small business — a medical uniform shop Scrubtastic.
• Kyle Cartwright — Cartwright has had great success in live poker tournaments, especially on the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC), from which he took home eight gold rings. His first WSOPC win came in 2010/11, and he has since won several more titles in Main Events, No-Limit, and Pot Limit Omaha, accumulating $2,893,823 in live winnings.
• David Diaz — Lefty Diaz is a Honduran cancer survivor who has won one WSOP bracelet and earned $2,647,643 to date. In 2013 Diaz was banned from all Caesars properties due to a drunken incident. Diaz apologized for the incident and stated he had no recollection of the night in question. However, he was allowed back into WSOP events the following year.

Best Land-Based Poker Rooms in Memphis, TN

Tennessee has no commercial casinos or poker rooms, but players from Bluff City can go to the neighboring states (Missouri and Mississippi) to experience poker. Here’s the list of all MO and MS casinos where Tennessee poker players can shuffle chips:

Name	Address	Number of tables	Cash games	Tournaments
Ameristar Casino St. Charles	1 Ameristar Blvd., St. Charles, MO 63301	19	Yes	Yes
Century Casino Cape Girardeau	777 Main St., Cape Girardeau, MO 63701	4	Yes	Yes
Harrah’s Kansas City	1 Riverboat Drive, North Kansas City, MO 64116	13	Yes	Yes
Hollywood Casino St. Louis	777 Casino Center Drive, Maryland Heights, MO 63043	14	Yes	Yes
Horseshoe St. Louis	999 N. Second St., St. Louis, MO 63102	10	Yes	Yes
Ameristar Casino Vicksburg	4116 Washington St., Vicksburg, MS 39180	10	Yes	Yes
Beau Rivage Resort & Casino	875 Beach Blvd., Biloxi, MS 39530	16	Yes	Yes
Boomtown Casino Biloxi	676 Bayview Avenue, Biloxi, MS 39530	5	Yes	Yes
Hollywood Casino Gulf Coast	711 Hollywood Blvd., Bay St. Louis, MS 39520	5	Yes	Yes
Horseshoe Casino Tunica	1021 Casino Center Drive, Robinsonville, MS 38664	25	Yes	Yes
IP Casino Biloxi	850 Bayview Ave., Biloxi, MS 39530	10	Yes	Yes
Magnolia Bluffs Casino	7 Roth Hill Rd, Natchez, MS 39120	4	Yes	Yes
Pearl River Resort	13541 Highway 16 West, Philadelphia, MS 39350	14	Yes	Yes

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