West Virginia Texas Holdem Poker Room Reviews

All five casinos in West Virginia run a poker room which is great for Texas holdem players in the state and visitors alike. Initially these casinos started out mostly as racetracks offering pari-mutuel betting on horse and dog races.

Since 1994 when casinos were widely legalised, they expanded to offer poker, table games, slots, and other casino games. Most of the poker rooms in West Virginia offer a mix of cash games and tournament play, with no limit Texas holdem being the most popular variant.

Of the five casinos, only one, The Greenbrier, has some restrictions in respect to who can play and enter. The other four are completely open to the public so you can come and go as you please. In general, phones are not permitted at the poker table in any of these rooms so keep this in mind if you’re visiting from another state where everyone is on their phones all the time at the table.

If you’re looking for other types of gambling in the state, they also allow bingo games for charities, the government runs a state lottery which includes major draws like Powerball and Mega Millions as well as instant games, and you can also bet by buying tickets in raffles.

One interesting fact about the table games that run in the casinos in West Virginia is that they are owned and regulated by the state, and not by the casinos that house them. This is an interesting one, but as a player it shouldn’t make too much of a difference for you.

You won’t find any online poker in West Virginia with the authorities yet showing no desire to regulate this industry. You can access online poker sites that are based off shore, as well as online casinos, but this is a grey area of the law.

Whilst no resident has yet been penalised this doesn’t mean it’s legal, and they could turn around at any time and start punishing people for doing this. The legislation doesn’t mention online gambling and they’ve taken no steps to implement this, but they do seem to apply live gambling laws to the online environment in the way they interpret the law, so this makes it generally unacceptable.

Even though you won’t have any options online, the live play options are great in West Virginia and the state still has a vibrant poker scene. Perhaps one day they’ll regulate online play, once other states start to do so, and the fact they offer live play is encouraging in this respect. The state is home to some fantastic rooms that are well worth a special trip to try out.

List of West Virginia Poker Rooms

Here is our compiled list of all the poker rooms you can find in the state of West Virginia:

Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races

• Location: Charles Town, West Virginia
• Hours: 24 hours, 7 days
• Tables: 50
• Games: For the cash players, they spread $1 / $2 and $2 / $5 no limit Texas holdem and $3 / $6 limit holdem. If you’re looking for a cash game they run no limit holdem events on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The buy in ranges from $100 up to $225.
• Ambience: This spacious poker room is in separate large room just off from the main casino area and features dark red felt tables with brown trim and black leather seats. The room is completely non-smoking and TVs are strategically placed around the room to keep you entertained while you play. The brown and beige decor matches well with the modern carpets in this exquisite poker room.
• Hospitality: Comps can be earned through the Marquee Rewards program while playing in a cash game, and they will also provide you with food and cocktail service while you play so you need never miss a hand. You’ll also be in the running for even more cash with a progressive bad beat jackpot that gets in to the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
• Players: The dealers and management in this poker room are excellent and will go out of their way to make you feel comfortable. This room is hugely popular amongst local regulars so the play will be quite challenging. Most will play tight aggressive so it isn’t too hard to exploit this if you have a solid game yourself. The softest game is the problem the limit cash game, so take a seat here and bide your time if you want to make a good profit.

Mardi Gras Casino West Virginia

• Location: Charleston, West Virginia
• Hours: Monday to Thursday from 10am until 5am, opens Friday at 10am and closes at Monday at 5am.
• Tables: 24
• Games: If you’re looking for a cash game you’ll find $1 / $2 and $2 / $5 no limit Texas holdem, $1 / $2 and $2 / $5 pot limit Omaha high, $5 / $10 no limit Omaha high, $2 / $4 limit holdem and $1 / $5 stud games running in this poker room. For the tournament grinders, they hold at least one, and sometimes two, no limit holdem events each day with the buy in ranging from $40 up to $435. This schedule changes quite regularly so call ahead to check.
• Ambience: The Big Easy Poker Room features red and black felt tables in an open and spacious environment which is modern and clean. The beige and wooden decor matches well with the dark carpets and they have plenty of TVs around to keep you entertained while you play. No smoking is permitted for your comfort.
• Hospitality: Comps can be earned in cash games at a rate of $1 per hour through the Player’s Club. On top of this they provide you with cocktail and food service at the table so you can push out your session that little bit longer. You’ll also be in the running for more cash while you play here with a bunch of promotions and jackpots being offered throughout the week.
• Players: You’ll come across a good mix of regulars and amateurs in this poker room with no one taking things too seriously. Dealers and management will go out of their way to make you feel welcome if you’re new to the room or the game, and this is mostly mirrored by the friendly locals. For the best value and softest games, visit on weekend evenings once the drinks have been flowing and the gamblers take to the felt.

Mountaineer Casino

• Location: New Cumberland, West Virginia
• Hours: 24 hours, 7 days
• Tables: 14
• Games: For the tournament players, they hold up to two no limit holdem events a day on various days of the week with the buy in ranging from $45 to $125. The schedule varies week to week so call ahead to see what they are running. If you are looking for a cash game, you’ll find $1 / $2 no limit holdem and $2 / $4 limit holdem tables here.
• Ambience: This no smoking poker room is spacious with burgundy felt tables and black trim with black seats against a red, grey and black carpet. The white ceiling and beige wooden decor lightens up the room and clashes well with the furniture. TVs are placed around the room, but the best seats to view them are at a premium so it’s mostly about the poker game here.
• Hospitality: You can earn and redeem comps through the INClub rewards program and you’ll receive 40 cents per hour in cash games. While at the table you’ll be treated with cocktail and food service so you need never miss a hand in your session. Finally, they also run various promotions to give you a chance at more cash, including high hand prizes on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
• Players: You’ll come across lot of older regulars in this room which makes the standard of play quite good. They will certainly try to exploit any newcomers to the table though, so if you want to then exploit this fact you should be able to do quite well here. The vibe in the room is friendly and everyone is always having a good time, so bring a good attitude when you take to the felt here.

The Greenbrier

• Location: White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia
• Hours: Open daily from7pm
• Tables: 2
• Games: Weekly free roll no limit Texas holdem tournaments are held on Thursday at 7pm. They also run a special event from time to time on a Saturday with a buy in of $250. For the cash players, they spread $2 / $5 no limit holdem.
• Ambience: This poker area is in the main casino and features two green felt tables with comfortable chairs in a colorful and bright environment. No smoking is permitted and they don’t have any TVs so you’ll have to people watch to keep yourself entertained while you play.
• Hospitality: Comps can be earned through the Players Club G-Rewards program while playing in the cash game. You’ll also receive cocktail and food service at the table.
• Players: This poker room is only open to overnight guests and members of the sporting club. Sometimes if they run a convention attendees will also be able to visit the casino. You must dress to impress to enter this poker room. The play here will be quite soft with a few regulars who think they have a solid game. If you can get a seat in a game here and have a solid poker background you should be able to clean up nicely.

Wheeling Island Casino

• Location: Wheeling, West Virginia
• Hours: Open Monday to Thursday from 11am until 2.30am and Friday from 11am through until Monday at 2.30am
• Tables: 9
• Games: You won’t find any tournaments here with only cash games running. You’ll find $1 / $2 and $2 / $5 no limit holdem and $1 / $2 pot limit Omaha high games.
• Ambience: This no smoking poker room features clean tables and comfortable chairs in bright room with soft yellow walls, white ceilings and colorful carpets. TVs are placed across the walls to keep you entertained between hands and there is a decent amount of space in between tables so you aren’t always bumping into players at the table next to yours.
• Hospitality: You can earn comps at a rate of 25 cents per hour through the Wheeling Island Players Club while playing cash. You’ll also be served cocktails and food at the table and they hold bad beat jackpot to put you in the running for some huge cash prizes.
• Players: This is a hugely popular poker room with a lot of decent regulars taking to the felt on most of the days they are open. Evenings will find more amateurs taking to the tables which means the games will soften up a lot. If you are looking for the best value visit during this time. Dealers are fast and accurate here and the floor will go out of their way to make you feel welcome and looked after when you play.

Conclusion

Outside of the Greenbrier resort, all of the poker rooms in West Virginia are open to the public. The Greenbrier has a small casino and offers poker, but only to guests of the hotel or members of their club.