St. Petersburgh Yacht Club Poker Run

The St. Petersburg Yacht Club Downtown Poker Run is expected to return to downtown St. Petersburg in 2026, continuing one of the Tampa Bay area’s long-running recreational boating traditions. Hosted by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, the event combines poker hand competition, themed boats, waterfront stops, and social gatherings throughout Tampa Bay in a relaxed, non-racing format.

Unlike traditional high-speed offshore poker runs, the Downtown Poker Run is designed as a casual day on the water where participants travel by boat to five to seven different stops located between Weedon Island and Coquina Key. Stops typically include a mix of participating waterfront restaurants and private homes volunteered by local hosts throughout the bay area.

Organizers encourage participating crews to decorate their boats and select creative themes for the day, with awards presented for Best Boat Theme during the evening ceremonies. Throughout the event, participants collect tokens at each stop which are later used to build a Texas Hold’em poker hand during final scoring and awards presentations.

Each stop along the route also competes for the event’s “Best Stop” recognition, with participants voting throughout the day for their favorite hosting location. Organizers describe the poker run as a fun, social boating experience focused more on creativity, waterfront entertainment, and community participation rather than speed or competition on the water.

The event schedule traditionally allows participants to visit stops between 11:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., giving crews flexibility to cruise throughout Tampa Bay at their own pace. Registration is completed online ahead of the event, while participant wristbands are distributed Saturday morning between 9:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. at the downtown SPYC clubhouse.

Poker hand scoring and awards presentations are expected to take place later in the afternoon inside the upstairs ballroom of the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, where participants gather following the completion of the run for food, social activities, and final prize announcements.

The Downtown Poker Run remains part of a larger calendar of boating events hosted throughout the year by the St. Petersburg Yacht Club, which continues to serve as one of Florida’s best-known yacht clubs and waterfront social destinations along Tampa Bay.

Additional registration details, official schedules, and participant information are available through St. Petersburg Yacht Club Downtown Poker Run.