What Happens Between The First Table And The Last?
"Nobody remembers arriving; everybody remembers who was still at the table when they left," says the regular who has dealt the Friday table for the better part of six years. That is the shape of a night at Verandahcos: four tables of felt, a house dealer, and nothing on a screen — no online play, no app, no prize beyond the tally.
What Happens Between The First Table And The Last?
"By the time the second pot of tea comes round, everyone at the table already knows who is going to win," says the regular who has dealt the Friday table for the better part of six years.
The first guest through the door on Kinghorne Street rarely arrives before six; by seven the four tables are seated, and by nine the room has settled into the low, steady hum of cards being called and chips being counted.
Midnight is when the night shows its true shape: one table still deep in a hand of five hundred, another breaking up, a third starting again for whoever has only just arrived. Nothing about the pace is planned; it simply happens the same way most evenings.
By half past twelve the last deal is called, and the room empties table by table rather than all at once — the evening ends the way it began, one guest at a time, on Kinghorne Street, in person.
Where Is The Club, And When Is It Open?
Address
38 Kinghorne Street, Nowra NSW 2541
Phone
+61 2 4421 6284 · club@verandahcos.com
Hours
Tuesday to Saturday, 6pm to 1am
Which Dates Are Worth Marking?
Two tables, a quieter pace
No buy-in, chips handed out flat
All four tables running
House dealer keeps score
Four Rules, Written As They Are Meant
- Entry to the room is restricted to adults: anyone who looks under age is asked for photo identification at the door, and the same question can be asked again at the table later in the evening, without exception for a familiar face.
- A chip handed across the felt at Verandahcos counts a point and nothing else — it cannot be bought before the night, cashed in after it, or exchanged for anything of value at any table in the room.
- There is no poker machine anywhere on the premises and no way to join a hand from outside Kinghorne Street: every game is dealt in person, by a house dealer, at a real table, never through an app or a screen.
- Once a table sits down, the house dealer’s word settles any question of scoring or turn order for that hand, and the room empties the same way it fills — quietly, table by table, until the last chip goes back in the tray.
What Fills A Cup At This Counter?
A short counter stands where a weighing bench once stood, pouring tea, filter coffee, cold lemonade and mineral water for the drive home along the Princes Highway.
A biscuit with the tea is as far as food goes — there is no kitchen and no hot menu behind the counter.
Orders are taken at the counter between hands; nothing is carried to the felt while a hand is being played.
- The urn
- Tea and filter coffee, kept hot all evening.
- The carafes
- Cold lemonade and mineral water, poured on request.
- To nibble
- A plain biscuit only — no kitchen on site.
What Does A Table Look Like Before The Room Fills?
Six Questions About A Night At The Table
How is the dealer decided for the night?
One of three house dealers works each evening; the roster is fixed a month ahead and pinned by the door for anyone who asks.
What happens if a hand runs long?
It simply runs long. Nobody is timed off a table mid-hand, though a queue for a seat may mean the next round starts elsewhere first.
Can someone watch without playing?
Yes, standing room around a table is fine as long as it does not crowd the players or block another table’s light.
Is scoring kept the same way for every game?
No — whist and crib are marked on paper at the table, while five hundred and poker among friends are tracked with the chip stacks themselves.
What happens once the last table finishes?
Chips go back in the tray, the felt is brushed down, and the room is dark within twenty minutes of the final deal.
Do new arrivals play straight in with regulars?
Almost always. Four tables mix new faces and familiar ones from the first deal, and the house dealer makes the introductions.
How Do Four Tables Fill Through An Evening?
The skylights that once lit the building’s working floor now fall across four card tables, spaced well apart under the original roof timber.
A house dealer opens the room each evening, seats the first arrivals and keeps a running list for anyone waiting on a seat.
Poker among friends runs with no buy-in at all — chips are handed out flat, so nobody sits down owing more than a table fee.
- Whist
- Two tables most Tuesdays, pairs welcome.
- Poker among friends
- No buy-in; chips are handed out flat for the night.
- Five hundred and crib
- The Friday and Saturday regulars, house dealer keeps score.
What Is On The Felt This Week?
The shape borrows from an old forecast board that once hung in the district produce office, chalked up every morning by the agent. This one only tracks what the tables are doing.
Ready For A Seat On Kinghorne Street?
Photo ID at the door, then a seat at whist, poker among friends, five hundred or crib, all dealt by a house dealer on real felt.
Reserve a tableTuesday to Saturday, 6pm to 1am
+61 2 4421 6284