Dealer Greg Shipman deals cards to a table of players. (Amira Van Leeuwen/Community Impact)
When Joey Ashley isn’t coaching men’s golf for the University of Texas at San Antonio, he and his wife, Cat Osterman, who is also a former Olympic softball pitcher, are running a poker house.
The backstory
Ashley, who began playing poker in 2019, learned the business through being a customer. After a year of driving to San Antonio and Austin to play, Ashley and Osterman began kicking around the idea of opening their own poker house.
Ashley had been a high school math teacher for 13 years. For him, poker is more than just playing cards; it’s a game of calculating odds and variables.
“It’s much more of a skill game compared to somebody playing a casino game like a blackjack or a roulette or a slot machine, which is just luck,” he said.
Comal Card Haus is owned by locals Cat Osterman and Joey Ashley. (Amira Van Leeuwen/Community Impact)
Check this out
Comal Card Haus opened in June 2024. It operates as a membership-based card poker room. Weekly memberships are $15, and monthly memberships are $50. There is an hourly seat charge of $10, which can be discounted to $8 hourly for veterans, teachers and service members.
Ashley said they are frequently asked what makes Comal Card Haus different from a casino. He said casinos take what is called a “rake,” which is how those establishments make money from those playing.
“We don’t take a rake, we charge per hour,” Ashley said. “I always equate the business to a bowling alley model. If you and I go to the bowling alley and play and bowl, we’re going to pay per hour to rent the lane.”
Comal Card Haus also has No-Limit Texas Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha and tournaments multiple times a week.
