Reply to thread

Message: [QUOTE="glworden, post: 994945, member: 35332"] Just more ill-conceived notions. To follow your logic, since no one plays hands perfectly, thereby making the results random, why do we even strive to improve our game? Let's just sit at the table, have a quick lottery then go home? There's a carelessness with terms here that's really problematic. A random distribution of cards does not mean a random distribution of results. But you use that word random to imply that since the results are random, poker is nothing more than a pure gamble. The cards are ordered randomly in the deck, but once you have your hole cards and see the flop, the results are no longer random. They are very predictable, especially when the same scenario is repeated a large number of times. I have AA and the flop has two aces. You're my opponent. Are the results random in the sense that you'll win half the time and I'll win half the time? Of course not; that's ridiculous. The fact that outcomes can be known and predicted is what makes this a learnable game. And if you say that no one will ever play hands perfectly and that this somehow leads to random results, you're really only supporting the fact that this is a skill-based game. The closer you come to perfect play, the better the results. There seems to be a wall here, and you "poker is gambling" guys are mixing terms and are inconcise in your arguments. You are not listening. It doesn't matter. Think what you want. Poker might be gambling for you because you play without discipline or don't care to learn or apply the odds. But for those who study the game, the expected Value that derives from predictable outcomes is not a hazy notion. It's a guarantee that over the long run, proper play will produce a profit. There is just no debating it. It's a fact. I don't mean to be contentious or derisive, and I do understand your point about gambling = wagering on an uncertain outcome. But that is only a short-term single-situation view of the game. Over the long term, the outcome is certain. The odds will always prevail. Gary [/QUOTE]

Verification

Search

Reply to thread

About CardsChat

Our Community

Our Site

Follow us