New Poker Game, Kandu, Takes No Chances to Avoid Legal Hassles

By eliminating chance from the game of poker, Wichita Kansas USA entrepreneur Shawn Riley believes his new patent-pending poker game called Kandu will be declared totally legal when it is inspected by the Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission, who only learned about the game this week and said they would be sure to take a closer look.

Riley invented the game. He, along with poker aficionado Kurt McPhail, co-founded the World Poker Tour Amateur Poker League (APTAPL) in 2003, providing entertainment by hosting poker tournaments for establishments such as restaurants, bars, local businesses, non for profit organizations, fundraisers and other charity events. The League boasts 150,000 members in 19 states.

You can imagine how eager the pair are to roll out Kandu to the leagues.

But before they do, they want to be certain the game is totally legal. So Riley and several partners opened Highland Gastropub and Cardroom, where for the last four weeks, four tables have been packed since Kandu was introduced. There's usually a waiting list to sit at the Kandu table, Riley noted.

Riley has invited police to observe and comment on the new game. Detectives admitted the game met the standards of law, though one policeman called Kandu "barely legal."

HOW CAN KANDU BE LEGAL?

Kandu is played like Texas Hold'em or Omaha (Hi-Lo), its two current variants, complete with betting. Players pay a fee of $6 per half-hour to play Kandu, and the minimum buy-in is $50.

"How can Kandu be legal, when real money is used?" you might ask.

"We've eliminated the chance" element of the game, Riley was quoted saying in the Kansas City Star. And under the Kansas state gambling law, a game without chance is only a game, not gambling.

"...The difference between Kandu and poker is the 'flash,' a two- or three-second glimpse of the shuffled deck that each player gets as the dealer fans every card in the deck face up across the table before the cut and deal. After the cut the bottom card in the deck is also exposed.

"The idea is that skilled players can spot their own cards, the flop cards and other vital clues like where the aces are hiding.

"...There's a few other differences to the game, including the terminology. Each hand is a "challenge" that any player can opt out of after seeing the cards and before paying the "entry fee," formerly known as the ante.

"There are no blinds, but betting, raising and checking proceeds as normal. The winner wins a 'purse,' formerly known as the pot..."

FUTURE PLANS

Riley insists that Kandu is not gambling. "We're challenging somebody's skills" to read the flash and take advantage."

If Kandu is deemed a game of skill, so is legal, Riley expects to roll the game out nationally, likely in association with his poker league.

"Our intent is to replicate this (Wichita) pilot project and license it," he said.

More Poker News Articles

Keikoan Captures Harvey's Lake Tahoe WSOPC Championship
12am Thu Nov 19th, 2009

This week marked the finale of the biggest annual tournament series in Northern Nevada, the WSOP Circuit championship at Harvey's Lake Tahoe. While the Main Event saw only a modest turnout, it did boast of a tough final table, and a WSOP bracelet owner as the eventual champion.

WSOP Main Event Champ Joe Cada to Appear on Letterman
12am Wed Nov 18th, 2009

The poker world will receive some late night attention tonight as "The Kid" Joe Cada, the youngest champion in the four decade history of the World Series of Poker Main Event, takes a seat next to embattled talk show host David Letterman.

First Korean Champ of Asia Pacific Poker Tour Crowned in Cebu
12am Tue Nov 17th, 2009

Another stop on the Asia Pacific Poker Tour is in the books, this time it's the APPT Cebu in the Philippines, and for the very first time a Korean player has come out on top.

Pollack Done as Commish of World Series of Poker
12am Sat Nov 14th, 2009

Just three days after crowning Joe Cada as the 2009 Main Event champion, officially closing the special 40th anniversary run of the World Series of Poker, Jeffrey Pollack has resigned his post as Commissioner of the WSOP.

Durrrr Signs as Team Full Tilt's Youngest Member
12am Wed Nov 11th, 2009

Tom "durrrr" Dwan is the newest member of Team Full Tilt, the online site's highest level of affiliation. At 23, Dwan is the youngest of the now 14-person team. The high stakes cash phenomenon was nominated for induction this year into the Poker Hall of Fame until the Hall of Fame Governing Council decided he was too young to meet the "has stood the test of time" qualification.

Joe Cada Becomes Youngest World Series of Poker Main Event Champ
12am Tue Nov 10th, 2009

History was made early Tuesday morning in Las Vegas as 21-year-old Joe Cada outlasted Darvin Moon in heads-up play to claim the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet and more than $8.5 million.

Moon and Cada Heads-Up, Ivey 7th at WSOP Main Event Final Table
12am Sun Nov 8th, 2009

After a marathon session at the most esteemed table in the poker world, a 21-year-old and a logger are set to go one-on-one for the World Series of Poker Main Event bracelet.

PokerStars Launches New UK and Ireland Poker Tour
12am Wed Nov 4th, 2009

PokerStars.com has announced the start of a new poker tour with stops throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland. The UK and Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT) will kick off in Galway, Ireland in mid-December, and the first event in the UK will be held in Manchester in February.

Peerless Media Agrees to Purchase World Poker Tour Enterprises
12am Mon Nov 2nd, 2009

According to a Monday press release, WPT Enterprises Inc., mothership of the World Poker Tour, is now the rightful property of Peerless Media, Ltd., subsidiary of online giant PartyGaming.

Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho Hit the Amazing Race Rail
12am Mon Nov 2nd, 2009

After surviving six legs of the Amazing Race by the skin of their teeth, poker pros Tiffany Michelle and Maria Ho were finally eliminated in the CBS reality show's most recently aired episode. Michelle and Ho, the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Events, gave reality television fans another chance to watch poker personalities compete away from the felt. Annie Duke garnered quite a following earlier in the year on another reality show competition, NBC's Celebrity Apprentice.