Is poker game of skill or chance?

[Brutus]

Is poker game of skill or chance? UK court decides
Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:43 AM GMT


By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - A court in East London is expected to decide this week whether poker is a game of skill, chance or a combination of both.

A jury has been asked to weigh up the role played by Lady Luck in the world's most popular card game, after police accused a club owner of illegally hosting a poker session and levying winnings and stakes without a licence.

The Gambling Act states that a licence is needed for hosting a game of chance but not those of skill, like chess.


Derek Kelly, owner of the Gutshot private club in central London, has been accused of breaking the law on two occasions -- December, 2004 and January, 2005. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In theory the judgement, expected on Tuesday or Wednesday at Snaresbrook Crown Court, could have repercussions for poker clubs across the country, which claim booming membership. Gutshot says it has around 23,000 members.


(Dead link: http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?storyid=2007-01-14T114259Z_01_L11667555_RTRUKOC_0_UK-BRITAIN-POKER-LUCK.xml&type=domesticNews&WTmodLoc=UK-C3-More-2)

 

[bluewhale]

i think this is very interesting. obviously anyone on this board would rightly say that poker is skill, along with BJ:laugh:
however, teh genral public, i think, would disagree. its funny how ppl automatically assume that any game involving money, is completely chance. i mean if you ask someone if chess is a game of skill, almost anyone would say yes. but now if you ask someone if betting on horse races is a skill and, if done well, will be very profitable, they would likely say no.

i personally see no difference between poker, blackjack, and any other game of skill like chess, bridge, counterstrike, etc.

furthermore i would like to say that i think the word "gambling" should be redefined to only encompass -EV play. and yes, i am serious.