No Kandu In Kansas

The variation took flight in Kansas poker rooms. Known as "Kandu", this variation of Texas Hold'em allows players to see the order of the cards before they're played. However, judges in Wichita, Kansas, have recently said this violates the state’s anti-gambling laws, and has banned the game from being played at APL tournaments, and other game rooms, as well.

Kansas already pushes the rules by having people rent a "chair", as opposed to actually buying into a hand. Typically, there are two tables of Kandu that are played at the back of the room as people get booted from other games. Other restaurants have Kandu played at all times. However, the game has been shut down in a cease-and-desist order at every poker hall in the state.

One particular restaurant in Wichita, Highlands Gastropub & Cardroom made nearly $1000 a day from offering Kandu. Since the cease-and-desist, they've actually had to close their doors until the trial starts in September. In the meantime, 30+ people there are out of work! Shane McCullough is actually one of the owners of the pub, as well as a co-creator of Kandu.

Because Kandu allows players to see the cards before they're dealt, the creators of the game say it's more a game of skill then of chance. This seems accurate: players have developed a wide range of skills to memorize the cards to improve their odds while playing. One avid Kandu player says, “I check to find all the Aces, and the cards around them. It works for me.” Another says, “I look for large chunks of cards of the same suit near each other. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve won knowing a Flush was coming, as opposed to somebody who got out of the hand early, not holding out until the River.”

However, right now, nobody is holding on to anything – Kandu in Kansas is a major “can not”.