Alexander Andres on Jul 5, 2011 Said:

There is no legal framework for the operation of a private poker club.
Those that do exist tend to keep their locations secret and risk being
raided by the NYPD and being closed down.

Although there are no specific laws prohibiting or regulating the game
of poker. There are laws banning gambling and legislation covering
games of chance.

For poker to be legally played it would have to be shown that poker is
a game of skill and not a game of chance and therefore not gambling.
As far as I can ascertain, the legality of poker in New York has not
been tested in the courts.

The New York State Constitution bans all forms of gambling with some
exceptions. There is also legislation covering games of chance.
http://www.racing.state.ny.us/about/about.home.htm

In contrast bridge is considered a game of skill so bridge tournaments are allowed.

Is poker a game of chance and therefore a gambling game or is it a game of skill?

Poker is considered by many to be a game of skill and as such is not
gambling. A number of companies are now taking advantage of this fact
and are offering skill-based games over the internet. It remains to be
seen whether or not there will be any legal challenges to these
operations.

Such a company is WorldWinner, an online game site that runs games of
skill. According to gambling industry consultancy, Christian Capital
Advisors, since there?s skill involved you can?t really call it
gambling. Mr Killeen, chief executive of WorldWinner compares his
company?s role to that of the United States Tennis Association, which
organizes the U.S. Open tournament. ?We provide the setting, award the
prizes and create the draws,? he said. ?We take a management fee and
award the prize to the winners.?
http://digitalsqueeze.com/drupal/node/view/2905

E-bridge offers online poker tournaments. It list 13 states where
players cannot participate in fee-based tournaments. New York is not
listed.
http://www.e-spades.com/spades/base/termsofuse.asp

A company that plans to offer online poker also argues that poker is a
game of skill. Chuck Humphrey takes a look at legislation.
http://www.gambling-law-us.com/Articles-Notes/online-poker-skill.htm

Playing for Profits: Games of Chance vs. Games of Skill.
This article looks at what determines whether a contest is a game of
chance (gambling) or a game of skill.
http://www.phoneplusmag.com/articles/361FEAT4.html

Poker: A Game of Chance or Skill
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/news/archive/local_15329337.shtml

Tournament poker compared to golf.
http://loveandcasinowar.com/blogarch/000529.php

The situation in New York.
New York currently has a number of poker clubs that are operating as
private clubs. They operate under great secrecy. This article
describes such a club. ?There seems to be little for the clubs to
worry about. A request to the NYPD for a comment on poker rooms, made
last Tuesday, goes unanswered.? (New York Daily News, August 7, 2004).
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/219923p-189120c.html

After a review on this website a poker club was raided and closed by
the NYPD. (Riding the F Train. Notes from Underground. New York City
Poker Room Reviews).
http://ftrain.blogspot.com/2004_08_01_ftrain_archive.html

Stacks and the City describes how one owner operates. The location of
the club is kept secret. A website gives players a telephone number so
that they can find the location of the club. Once there are enough
members, the website will be removed.
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/story/217769p-187359c.html

A letter published on the site of the National Indian Gaming
Commission considers the legality of opening a poker club in New York.
It considers various aspects of the law and concludes that playing
poker is legal. A summary of the arguments follows:

Poker is a Class II game in the State of New York as defined by the
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. As a Class II game poker is subject to
tribal and federal regulation only.

The New York State Constitution provides, that ?no . . . gambling . .
. shall hereafter be authorized or allowed within this state; and the
legislature shall pass appropriate laws to prevent offenses against
any of the provisions of this section.? N.Y. CONST., art. I, § 9, cl.
1.

However the state legislature has created a number of ?exceptions? and
has established a Racing and Wagering Board. The legislature has
addressed the play of various games of chance but it has not enacted
any specific statutory provision authorizing the play of poker. In the
absence of express approval to the playing of poker, the crucial
determination becomes whether New York explicitly prohibits its play.

New York?s constitutional provision relating to gambling is not
self-executing. See People v. Wilkerson, 342 N.Y.S.2d 936, 942
(N.Y.Co.Ct. 1973). The New York constitution directs the Legislature
to ?pass appropriate laws to prevent offenses