Five Felt Tables, One House Dealer
Step off Molesworth Street and you’ll find five tables of felt where cedar-getters once had their timber weighed, a house dealer working between them, and not a screen in sight. Every hand you’re dealt happens here, in person — no online play, no app, no cash prize of any kind.
A Card Room On The Old Timber Landing
Walk in from Molesworth Street and the first thing you’ll notice is the hush of felt, not glass: five tables under the original sawtooth roof, a house dealer moving between them, and the smell of the tea urn drifting over from the counter.
This building once weighed cedar for the district’s timber-getters; today it weighs nothing heavier than a chip tray, and every hand you’re dealt happens on the premises, for points only.
Five tables
Felt under the original sawtooth roof, spaced for a quiet hand.
One house dealer
Works the floor every night, so no newcomer learns the rules alone.
A Look Inside Before You Visit
What Is Running Each Night
| Night | Doors | On the felt |
|---|---|---|
| Thursday | 4pm | Five hundred, three tables running |
| Friday | 4pm | Euchre pairs, walk-ins welcome |
| Saturday | 4pm | Crib knockout, house dealer keeps score |
| Sunday | 4pm | Bridge by request, book ahead |
| Monday | 4pm | Quiet room, all four games on offer |
Five House Rules, Kept Short On Purpose
- Entry is eighteen and over, photo ID checked at the door every time, no exceptions made for regulars.
- This is a physical venue only: there is no online play here and nothing on this website is a place to bet.
- Chips are issued at the door against a small table fee and carry no cash value outside the room.
- No pokies, no gaming machines and no wagering of any kind — every game runs for points, not prizes.
- The house dealer has the final say on any dispute at a table, and conversation stays at table level once play begins.
On Molesworth Street, Near The Old Landing
112 Molesworth Street, Lismore NSW 2480
+61 2 6621 7359 · cards@baysidemaro.com
Thursday to Monday, 4pm till midnight
Tea, Coffee, Lemonade — Nothing Else
The counter runs along the old loading wall: a tea urn, a pot of filter coffee, cold lemonade and mineral water, and nothing that needs a licence to pour.
There’s no kitchen behind it and no plates come to the tables — a biscuit with your tea is as far as food goes, because the room is built for cards, not for dinner.
Order at the counter between hands; nothing is carried over mid-game, so the felt stays dry and the cards stay crisp.
The urn
Tea, kept hot from four until close.
The pot
Filter coffee, made fresh through the evening.
No food
A biscuit only; bring your own dinner.
Five Tables, Four Games, No Clock-Watching
The lounge keeps five tables under the original sawtooth roofline, spaced wide enough that a game of bridge at one end never hears the crib scores kept at the other.
A single house dealer works the floor each night: new hands are set, a rule is explained to a first-timer, and the felt is kept straight between rounds.
Nothing here is played for stakes. A chip is handed out at the door against a small table fee and goes back in the tray at the end of the night, worth nothing outside the room.
Five hundred
The house game most nights, four to a table.
Euchre and crib
Rotating tables for the smaller games, best with two or four.
Bridge on request
Tell the dealer ahead and a table is kept aside.
Seven Questions People Ask First
How do you get there from the highway?
Come off the Bruxner Highway at the town centre exit; Molesworth Street is a five-minute drive, well signed from there.
Is there parking nearby?
Street parking runs the length of Molesworth Street, and a public car park sits two streets over for busier nights.
Can the table fee be paid by card?
Yes, EFTPOS is at the counter; cash works just as well if you’d rather.
Do you need a deposit to hold a table?
No deposit is taken. A phone call and a name are enough to hold a spot.
What is the minimum age, and is ID really checked every visit?
Eighteen, and yes — photo ID is asked for at the door on every single visit, regulars included.
Is the entrance step-free?
It is: street-level from the footpath, with no steps between the door and the tables.
Do you take bookings, or is it walk-in only?
Most nights are walk-in; only a bridge table is worth booking ahead, since it needs a full four to start.
Four Steps From River To Room
Cedar-getters upriver in the Big Scrub had their timber measured at this landing for the best part of sixty years. The tally is shorter now, but the landing still keeps one.
Come In From Molesworth Street And Take A Seat
Doors open Thursday to Monday from 4pm. Bring photo ID, let the house dealer walk you through your first hand, and settle in for an evening of cards on real felt.