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Message: [QUOTE="glworden, post: 992579, member: 35332"] Riley, You are technically correct in that you're gambling on the outcome of any given hand, regardless of the odds. Even if you're 99% favored, you could lose in any given instance. But you're really stretching it to call poker as a whole gambling. The skillful player will recognize and exploit those situations where the odds are in his favor, avoid those where they are not, and most definitely will be profitable in the long run. The outcome of a given hand is uncertain. The outcome of correctly applying statistical probability to a large number of hands is not a gamble, it is a certainty. [B] You do a disservice to the poker community when you propagate the notion that poker is gambling, since gambling is denigrated as a vice by some and is the target of legal sanctions.[/B] The Poker Players Alliance and others are working hard to establish the legal definition of poker as a game of skill, which it is. Why nit-pick and trot out a single instance of variance when there is certain knowledge about such probabilities; this knowledge is what gives the studied and skillful player the edge. Technically that player may be "gambling" on that particular hand, but his longterm outcome is not at all a gamble. Of course, as in any game, even the skilled player can make errors. Errors are the foundation of many sports: the pitcher who pitches the home run ball, the football safety who drops his coverage, the tennis player that flubs a return. Equally skilled players play a competitive game because perfect play is impossible. Like any sport, the skilled player must make correct decisions and maintain focus. This is another way in which poker is most definitely a game of skill. Gary [/QUOTE]

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