Is poker gambling?

glworden · Nov 23, 2008

Lots of discussion in other threads, but I haven't found a poll. So here's a poll. What do you think? Is poker gambling?

unstoppable4 · Nov 23, 2008

oops I clicked yes when I meant to click no

glworden · Nov 23, 2008

unstoppable4 said:
oops I clicked yes when I meant to click no

I did the same thing. I PM's mod and she changed my vote. But already we have 40% voter error. Is this going to be one of those hanging chad situations?

If there are enough votes, and other people are more careful than you and me, the effects should be minimal.

glworden · Nov 23, 2008

THE REAL VOTE

unstoppable4 said:
oops I clicked yes when I meant to click no

The real vote at this point, had unstoppable not screwed up is 4 to 1, not gambling rather than the 3 to 2 shown. Even though my name is under the YES list, Tammy already chagned my vote no no.

ruth99 · Nov 23, 2008

Of course poker is gambling. Money is being exchanged on a bet that you have the best hand !!!

Egon Towst · Nov 23, 2008

This has already been definitively answered.

Professor Ben Van der Genugten, who is an eminent mathematician, published a learned paper in which he calculated that the differential in skill level between a beginner and in expert in Poker is very large, similar to Chess.

Poker therefore differs radically from games of pure chance, where the differential is small and the outcome of the game is determined wholly or mainly by luck.

PokerPete · Nov 23, 2008

ruth99 said:
Of course poker is gambling. Money is being exchanged on a bet that you have the best hand !!!

Unlike almost any other form of "gambling", poker you can swing the "odds" in your favor with skill. No amount of "skill" will give you an "edge" over the other players in a lottery or playing slots (at least none that I know of).... but with skill, knowledge, and good reads you can often win in poker even without having the "best hand".... it's not always what you have, it's what the others think you have

zachvac · Nov 23, 2008

If you play one session it's gambling. If you play hundreds of thousands of hands over a long period of time, it's not gambling.

Hesaf · Nov 23, 2008

When poker was like gambling means that everybody has the same chance in actions. However Phill has 11 bracelets which means he had more chance han others???

I don't think so. It's an statistical game and as already stated a lot of perople have proven that however the governments are not so sure about that (at least in the Netherlands) but they are using credibility by stressing that it is gambling. I guess it's just a matter of time and it's clear and accepted that it is not gambling

thebiatch22 · Nov 23, 2008

yes poker is gambling what else would you think it is when you bet on something anything that would make it a gamble

blankoblanco · Nov 23, 2008

you're betting on an uncertain outcome. by the definition of gambling, it's gambling. but that's really just semantics, so who cares?

Pothole · Nov 23, 2008

unstoppable4 said:
oops I clicked yes when I meant to click no

You were right 1st time.

zachvac · Nov 23, 2008

combuboom said:
you're betting on an uncertain outcome. by the definition of gambling, it's gambling. but that's really just semantics, so who cares?

That's the thing, long-term the outcome isn't uncertain.

blankoblanco · Nov 23, 2008

yes it is. we don't have infinite lifespans. jamie gold will finish his lifetime of poker several millions of dollars above his expectation. was that a certain outcome?

nevadanick · Nov 23, 2008

combuboom said:
you're betting on an uncertain outcome. by the definition of gambling, it's gambling. but that's really just semantics, so who cares?

HMmmm.. then I would say poker is gambling based on the 'uncertain outcome' criteria. But then, considering current world financial situations, wouldn't stocks and futures be gambling. ?? ...

zachvac · Nov 23, 2008

combuboom said:
yes it is. we don't have infinite lifespans. jamie gold will finish his lifetime of poker several millions of dollars above his expectation. was that a certain outcome?

zachvac said:
If you play one session it's gambling. If you play hundreds of thousands of hands over a long period of time, it's not gambling.

Jamie Gold played one big tournament. That's gambling. If you mega-table online poker or if you grind 40+ hours/week live you will get pretty damn close to your expectation.

blankoblanco · Nov 23, 2008

but jamie played tournaments before that, since then, and will probably continue to. you just happen to be focusing on the one. no matter how many he plays, he will pretty inevitably be millions of dollars over his expectation

does that mean you think someone who plays live poker exclusively is gambling but someone who grinds online isn't? because before the advent of online poker, the professional players would be hard-pressed to play a million hands in their entire lifetime

vanquish · Nov 23, 2008

zachvac said:
Jamie Gold played one big tournament. That's gambling. If you mega-table online poker or if you grind 40+ hours/week live you will get pretty damn close to your expectation.

if you play tournaments you will never reach the long run

so tournament players are gambling while ring players aren't?

Theblueduce · Nov 23, 2008

Yes, it is gambling. If anyone wants proof just as the legislatures who want to kill on-line playing it different states. The PPA would not be engaged if it were not.

Makwa · Nov 23, 2008

Is poker gambling?

No when Im playin it aint. He he he...

zachvac · Nov 23, 2008

vanquish said:
if you play tournaments you will never reach the long run

so tournament players are gambling while ring players aren't?

maybe? Define gambling. Obviously there will always be a small amount of variance. For every 300 billion trillion gazillion etc. casinos built one will fail because all the slot machines hit jackpots and stuff. But I wouldn't claim that casinos gamble on slot machines.

SusieP · Nov 23, 2008

yes it is in my opinion, it in the longrun is taking calculated risks, same as horse racing, you know that a horse is doing really well and beaten all the others, your money is safer there, and its still called gambling. It is a game of skill, but is still gambling aswell, thats why its so fun.

JCuervo · Nov 23, 2008

The way I see most people play these days it's gambling for the majority of the player. In freerolls and low stakes tournments, skill seems to be out the window when almost, not everyone, goes "all-in" with any 2 cards or calls an raised pot or even calling with any 2 cards. When a person is playing/calling when he or she knows that they're already behind, then it's gambling and the only "skill" is see are the players that are playing the correct odds or trying to figure out how to last longer than the "bingo" players. Although "bingo" is legal in most states...go figure?

Halibel · Nov 23, 2008

Poker is skill and luck.
If you are experienced, you let skill speak for you.
If you are bad / new, you'll rely on luck most of the time.

Its like driving, experience gets you your license.

zachvac · Nov 23, 2008

Halibel said:
Its like driving, knowing how to parallel park gets you your license.

FYP, at least in my State. We barely have any parallel parking places yet it's the only thing that's hard on the test.

Is poker gambling?

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