NFL Great Adrian Peterson Throws Punches at TX Cardroom

Poker is often compared to battle with players attempting to outmaneuver each other and secure victory through such tactics as bluffing, slowplaying, and inducing tilt. However, this combat sometimes spills over from the mental to the physical realm as was the case recently with legendary former NFL running back Adrian Peterson. He actually got into a fistfight while playing poker!

About the Fight

Though the incident in question took place on May 27th, it was only on June 19th that the news became public with the release of video footage obtained by TMZ Sports. The action went down at JokerStars, a social card club in Houston, Texas.

Following a dispute over a hand, Adrian and another man rose from their seats and started a loud disagreement. A third man tried to separate the two antagonists to no avail as Peterson quickly closed the gap between himself and the other fighter. They then exchanged blows for a few seconds, leaving both of them bloody.

Take a look at the video below:

The footage ends at this point, but according to Peterson, he and his unnamed opponent made peace with each other. “Me and the guy, we're cool,” Adrian insisted. “We've known each other,” he elaborated. “It was literally like a brother situation. We agreed to disagree, we had our words, and we threw blows – and that was it.”

Police were not called to break up the fight. Neither did JokerStars management penalize either player.

About Adrian Peterson

Adrian Peterson, born March 21, 1985 in Palestine, Texas, was one of the greatest running backs to have ever graced the NFL. After posting solid collegiate results at the University of Oklahoma, he was drafted for the Big Show by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007.

Former NFL Running Back Adrian Peterson

He played for Minnesota through 2016 but then moved quickly between franchises, including stints with the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, Washington Redskins, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans before retiring from the Seattle Seahawks in 2021. Andrian holds the NFL record for most rushing yards in a game with 296. Among his other accomplishments include being named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (2007) and NFL Most Valuable Player (2012) as well as being selected for seven Pro Bowl games.

About JokerStars

JokerStars is a social cardroom in Houston, Texas, that has nine poker tables. It generally deals low-stakes NL Texas Hold'em and Pot Limit Omaha cash games and also usually runs at least one tournament per day.

Inside the JokerStars Cardroom

JokerStars, which opened for business in October 2024, is one of the newest of the membership cardrooms that have proliferated in Houston and many other parts of Texas in recent years. By levying membership fees and charging for seat rentals instead of taking a traditional rake or tournament fees, these poker rooms contend that they're complying with Texas gambling law.

These legal arguments aren't airtight, and in fact, officials sometimes try to shut these establishments down, like when the Copa Club just outside the DFW Metroplex was raided by police in February 2025. However, attempts to shut down two Houston poker rooms in 2019 ended in controversy with nobody convicted of any crime while the DA's Office was accused of wrongdoing. Today, there are around a half dozen cardrooms serving Houston, and they don't seem too worried about potentially violating the law.

Adrian Peterson No Stranger to Poker

Even though he retired from football several years ago, Adrian Peterson has kept up his competitive instincts with, for instance, an amateur boxing match in 2022. However, the game that he seems to keep returning to is poker.

Peterson appeared a couple of times on the Celebrity Poker Tour, first in November 2024 and then again in May 2025. He was also featured on live streams of high-stakes cash from Hustler Casino Live in December 2024. Adrian is very active in the Houston poker club scene with many observers reporting running into him at various poker games around town. He has also been spotted in Canterbury Park in Minnesota.

It's no surprise that an athlete of Peterson's caliber should turn to poker. The game allows sportsmen to satisfy their competitive urges and lets them practice keeping their minds sharp even though the actual physical demands of poker are nothing like those of traditional athletics.

JokerStars Involved in Another Controversy

Now there's another, more serious, scandal involving JokerStars that has come to light. It seems that a former employee of the card club was involved in a cheating ring.

The ex-employee, named Carlito, was acting in concert with two confederates, called Marcelo and Ivan. They managed to replace decks of cards with others that used RFID technology. They would then use card readers to identify the upcoming cards in a deck.

They were caught after a review of security footage uncovered damning evidence. Carlito confessed, but Ivan and Mercelo fled the scene.

Avoid the Hassles of Live Poker

You can avoid many of the issues that plague live cardrooms by heading online for your games. There are no physical fights over the internet and the prevalence of cheating is much lower than in most brick-and-mortar venues. There's also almost zero chance of your game getting broken up by the cops online too.

One of the best online poker sites for Americas, including Texans, is Ignition Casino Poker. When you sign up, you'll get a 150% up to $1,500 poker bonus with your crypto-currency deposit. Press the button below to get started:

For more information about this online cardroom, check out this Ignition Casino Poker review. For additional internet poker sites for Texans, check out this guide to TX offshore poker. If you reside in a state other than Texas, then perhaps this detailed overview of online poker in the USA would more appeal to you.

June 25, 2025 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief