The Undercover Pro: An insider's look at poker games on tour

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.