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The Undercover Pro: An insider's look at poker games on tour
TL;DR
Underground poker games among pro golfers provide a unique social scene away from the tour. These games protect recreational players from lower-level pros and often feature high-stakes pots.
Key points
- Underground poker games protect recreational players
- Games are held in private locations like rental houses
- Famous games occur in Dallas and Las Vegas
- Typical pots range from $300 to $1,000
- High-stakes games can exceed $250,000 in chips
I'm not a tour pro, but I've worked as credentialed player support for a long time. In my career I’ve learned that some of the most interesting conversations behind the scenes of pro golf don’t happen on the range, the putting green or in player dining. They happen at the poker table.
Broadly, underground poker games are a way to protect recreational players. When a casual poker player with some cash to burn sits down to play in a casino, that table gets swarmed by lower-level professionals looking to take advantage. Hosting a game at someone’s rental house or even in a designated space like a warehouse keeps that element away. In the golf world, you find there’s just a lot of overlap with people who love cards, too.
There’s a legendary poker game known to golf people in Dallas and another in Las Vegas, both areas with low taxes and great airports that attract a lot of tour pros. You also might find these games at country clubs anywhere. Bring your own booze and don’t go where the house takes money, as those games are illegal.
I see a lot of pots between $300 and $1,000, although I’ve watched a couple of hands where guys had north of $250,000 in chips in front of them. I can’t play for that kind of money, but those nights have a different kind of energy. There’s no feeling like witnessing a high-stakes poker game, just as nothing compares to watching someone stand over a short putt with serious prize money on the line.
MORE: How to play 'Poker': The game that requires a deck of cards in addition to your clubs
Underground poker games attract a wide group within golf. There are more coaches and agents that frequent the table, but it’s not unusual for players to show up, too. I’ve seen everyone from Ryder Cuppers to highly ranked amateurs make appearances. The real high rollers tend to be the friendly execs who are members at the same clubs as the tour pros.
Some of these guys are genuinely good at poker. Others play like they’re used to winning at everything and can’t figure out why the cards aren’t cooperating. Regardless of who takes the big pots on a given night, it’s the love for poker and golf that bonds everyone. Also, some of the gossip that flows through these games is remarkable.
Long before Anthony Kim’s LIV Golf comeback was ever a rumor on X, I heard about it from playing cards with someone in his inner circle. I heard about another prominent player needing season-ending surgery the same way. That’s how these things work. The poker table is the original group chat.
You know how it is—once the cocktails get poured, the conversations begin flowing just as freely. I’ve seen player-coach relationships form over poker games. Guys start chatting about the golf swing in a casual setting, and the next thing you know, you see them on the range together at a tour event. I watched one player quickly double his career earnings after making such a change, which proves there’s more than one way of making money playing poker. Whenever you see a player show up with a new logo on his bag, understand there’s a chance that business relationship has its origin at a poker table.
The longer I spend in both worlds, the more I realize how similar poker and golf are. Not every golfer likes poker, but the ones who do have the same analytical mind that helps them avoid bogeys on par 5s. They understand that winning or losing individual hands comes down to random variance. No one makes every putt, but you learn that if you have a good system and put enough good rolls on the ball, you’ll make enough of them.
The mistakes are often the same, too. Whatever instinct makes a golfer try to carve a draw through a gap in the trees instead of pitching back into the fairway is the same one that urges a poker player to run an elaborate bluff. Poker players call it fancy-play syndrome. Golfers don’t really have a word for it, but they suffer from it just as badly. —With Luke Kerr-Dineen
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Q&A
What are underground poker games in the golf world?
Underground poker games are private games that protect recreational players from lower-level professionals, often held in rental houses or warehouses.
Where are the famous poker games for pro golfers located?
Legendary poker games for pro golfers are known to take place in Dallas and Las Vegas, as well as at various country clubs.
What is the typical pot size in these underground poker games?
Typical pots in these underground poker games range from $300 to $1,000, with some hands featuring over $250,000 in chips.
Why do pro golfers enjoy playing poker?
Pro golfers enjoy playing poker as it offers a different kind of energy and excitement, similar to the pressure of competing for serious prize money on the course.
