San Diego Poker Rooms
When most people think of San Diego, images of beaches, the San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld come to mind. The last thing that comes to mind is poker. San Diego has a great selection of card rooms and all are less than an hour’s drive from the city.
Poker in San Diego is as laid back as its beach lifestyle with smaller card rooms and solid spread of poker games. Now is a great time to check out the poker action in San Diego.
Below you will find a chart detailing the card rooms near San Diego, complete with contact information. Also, take a moment to vote for which card rooms you’d like to see offer online poker. The California legislature may soon legalize online poker, opening the door for Californians to play online.
Best San Diego Poker rooms
The San Diego area boasts nine casinos within an hour’s drive. Many of the poker rooms are smaller but each has their own unique charm and is worth visiting at least once. Below is a list of card rooms near San Diego, complete with contact information, hours of operation and website information.
| No. | Poker Room Name | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Barona Resort & Casino | # of Tables: 15 Address: 1932 Wildcat Canyon Blvd Lakeside CA, 92040 Phone: (619) 443-3130 Website: http://www.barona.com/ Distance: 27.7 Miles |
| 2 |  Casino Pauma | # of Tables: 5 Address: 777 Pauma Reservation Rd Pauma Valley CA, 92061 Phone: (877) 687-2862 Website: http://www.casinopauma.com/ Distance: 58.6 Miles |
| 3 |  Harrah's Resort & Casino | # of Tables: 12 Address: 777 Harrah's Resort Southern California Way Valley Center CA, 92082 Phone: (760) 751-3184 Website: http://www.harrahsresortsoutherncalifornia.com Distance: 41 Miles |
| 4 |  Lady Luck Casino | # of Tables: 6 Address: 5526 El Cajon Blvd San Diego CA, 92115 Phone: (619) 287-6690 Website: http://www.luckyladycardroom.com/poker.php |
| 5 |  Ocean's Eleven Casino | # of Tables: 50 Address: 121 Brooks St Oceanside CA, 92054 Phone: (760) 439-6988 Website: http://www.oceans11.com/ Distance: 37.6 Miles |
| 6 |  Pala Casino | # of Tables: 13 Address: 11154 Hwy 76 Pala CA, 92059 Phone: (760) 510-2235 Website: http://www.palacasino.com/ Distance: 50.5 Miles |
| 7 |  Palomar Card Club | # of Tables: 8 Address: 2724 El Cajon Blvd San Diego CA, 92104 Phone: (619) 280-5828 Website: http://www.palomarcardclub.com/tournament.shtml |
| 8 |  Sycuan Casino | # of Tables: 16 Address: 5469 Casino Way El Cajon CA, 92019 Phone: (619) 445-6002 Ext. 1138 Website: http://www.sycuan.com/ Distance: 24.8 Miles |
| 9 |  Village Club Card Room | # of Tables: 8 Address: 429 Broadway Chula Vista CA, 91910 Phone: (619) 425-3333 Website: http://www.vccardroom.com/ Distance: 8.7 Miles |
What’s special about San Diego Poker
Cash game action in the San Diego area is predominantly at lower limits. Limit and No-Limit players will find regular action at lower limits. With many of the poker rooms being smaller, this results in more of a home game feel to games. Outside of Oceans 11 and the annual tournament series at Harrah’s, amateurs, locals and tourists will predominantly frequent the games.
Ocean’s 11 Casino in Oceanside, CA is easily the largest card room in the San Diego area. With 50 tables and two daily poker tournaments, this is the place you want to check out at least once. Limit Hold’em is spread to $40/$80 and NL Hold’em to $20/$40. In addition, you can find PL Omaha and Omaha Hi-Lo spread at lower limits.
Non-Hold’em players will have limit choices in the San Diego area. The Sycuan Casino and Village Club Card Room are where you will find your serious mixed game players. Sycuan Casino frequently spreads Omaha HI-Lo and Stud 8 or Better in addition to Texas Hold’em. The Village Club Card Room is the only place in the area where you will find regular mixed game action. In addition to Omaha HI-Lo, they occasionally spread a $10/$20 Mixed Game and a $200/$400 Mixed Game. The Village Club Card Room is actually one of the only places in California outside of Los Angeles to spread mixed games above low stakes.
Every casino in the San Diego area offer poker tournaments with most offering at least one tournament daily. Most are NL Hold’em with buy-ins ranging from $20 to $55. Ocean’s 11 offers a Sunday Deep Stack Bounty Event with a $10,000 Guarantee. Sycuan Casino runs Deep Stack tournaments on Tuesday and Thursdays. Ocean’s 11 Casino holds a weekly freeroll with a $5,000 guarantee for regular cash or tournament players.
Harrah’s Resort Southern California, former Harrah’s Rincon, is the only casino in the area that hosts an annual live tournament series. Harrah’s has been the host of an annual World Series of Poker Circuit event since the inception of the series. Every year, the WSOP Circuit hosts a series of events that includes ten WSOP Circuit ring events and a WSOP-C Main Event tournament. The winner of the Circuit Main Event and the player crowned the Casino Champion will both earn spots in the WSOP-C National Championship at season’s end. The National Championship has a $1 million guarantee and awards a WSOP championship bracelet. Harrah’s is the place to play when the circuit is in town. Cash games are juiciest at Harrah’s during this time.