Poker is a favorite among gamblers and is, therefore, the most debated. Various courts around the world rule it unlawful because it is a game of chance. Other courts rule that it is a game of skill. Why the confusion?
It shouldn’t take a genius to figure out that poker is a game of skill. Sure, there is an element of chance involved, but there is a little chance in everything.
No one argues that kicking a field goal is a thing of skill. However, there are factors that will either increase or decrease the odds of making it. How far away are the goal posts? Are you kicking into the wind or against it? Is it raining? Snowing? Too sunny? Is the ball set up in the grass or the dirt? All of these are examples of chance, yet we all agree that kicking a field goal is a skill.
So why are so many courts ruling that poker is a game of chance? True, it is by the luck of the draw which cards are dealt and to whom. Yet, it is through skill that you know…
-When to fold and when to keep your hand
-Should you call the bid or raise it?
-When do you bluff, and is your bluff convincing?
-Can you read the faces and body language of your opponents?
-Have you mastered your poker face, or can your opponents read you?
-Statistically, can you calculate the odds of winning that hand?
These are all skills that a successful poker player must have to be consistent in their triumphs. If someone argues that skills #3-5 cannot be performed via the Internet, they are wrong. There is a thing or two to learn about an ‘online poker face.” After examining the game, how can anyone possibly believe that poker is a game of chance? Is it lack of knowledge that drives courts, such as North Carolina’s, to write and uphold these laws?
Many places allow gambling through games of chance, such as bingo, scratch-off tickets, and lottery drawings. What about the various tic-tac-toe machines that have become very popular throughout the communities? Gamblers have no control over what shows up on the screen. All they have to do is match three of the same items in a row, but some places have ruled it a game of skill, though simple it may be. What of these contradictions, and why so many different rulings and definitions? Being that there are numerous differences—can they be called anything but opinions? And since when did opinions become law? Furthermore…SO WHAT if a consenting adult likes to play games of chance?
Authority figures need to remember that they are representing the people, and that a large part of their job is to protect our rights. If they still insist to enforce their chance vs. skill laws and “predominant factor” tests, then they should at least educate themselves in the world of poker before declaring it a game of chance.
By Victoria Maro
