Is Poker Gambling?

[SANDYHOOKER KY]

I guess you've heard that old saying, 'opinions are like @@@ holes, everybody has one'. That leaves the big debate over poker being gambling or not up in the air and not officially addressed by the law makers of our government.So it seems the supreme court should take this up and give the world it's 'official' definition on poker, whether it is gambling or not. And there will still be dissenters but at least we will have a leg to stand on for arguments sake. My opinion is poker is gambling, no matter how you slice it and dice it, a player puts up something, and in the adult world, it's usually money, against another players [again, usually money] wager. Now, unless you are the POKER GOD you or the other player cannot predict who will win the hand, either with skill, or mathematical computations, or reads, or anything in the universe as we know it. You have just committed GAMBLING. No one is concerned with 'long term', or bankroll management, or going haywire and cuttin a shine after a bad beat, or whether you play as a professional [ that is another term highly misunderstood] or just for fun, or if your a winning player or a losing player. A bird is a bird, with a bunch of different species, a fish is a fish, with different species, gambling is gambling, with many different games. I don't understand the whole big hullabaloo over it's nomenclature to start with. Hell, if as much energy expended in squabbling over the issue of trivial definitions were to be used in fighting for our right to play poker, laws might get changed in our lifetime.

 

[terryg642]

is poker gambling

Is poker gambling .yes definetly but,this is not a bad thing the casinos have built desserts out of the city ,yes that's right I'm saying the casinos our gambling there just putting the odds in there favor same as the best poker players ,stock market ,forex market,commodities market there's are gambling houses under the guise of the words of investment,this whole country was built on a gamble by immigrants.

 

[dasher]

I think poker is luck short term, but skill long term.

The best player in the world can go through an extended losing streak. But over time, that luck will even out and skill will prevail. The worst players can have a big night, but they aren't going to keep that money long.

There is no conflict in saying that poker is a game of skill and it is gambling. Both are true.

 

[sslater]

my mom always says that once because of poker ended up in jail: D

 

[luckytvguy]

Great post.Let more and more people know that poker is a game of skill and strategy.

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[QUEENLATIFAH]

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO MASTER TEXAS HOLDEM?

I WANNA KNOW HOW LONG DOEAS IT TAKE TO MASTER THIS GAME ?

 

[newbie in training]

Well its varys a shit ton depending on if you want to get great or dknt care about losing the money which your probably care about both because your here and if you go to a casino its easy money just learn tag style but online players are WAY better so youd have to master diffrent styles along with card reading and lets not forget experience so id say to master the lower levels as in profit about a year or two to show slight profit for tourney and cash is like right away just learn how to play like a rock and dont take chances until in higher limits and is required

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[sslater]

learning how to play a good game takes incredibly much time :/

 

[libnen]

I'm not sure what the legal definition of gambling is, but according to several dictionaries, it fits the context of playing a game of chance hoping for a desired outcome. Gambling itself though has many levels of it, you can be a good gambler vs a bad one, and I think people ignore that fact and it's not just with poker.

 

[hffjd2000]

It depends.
If it is tournament poker, deep stack, its not gambling since skill sets in. Theres plenty of time to use all the skills you know. One more thing, the chips being used are not the real amount of money you put to register. Every games like chess has its own registration fee.
If it is cash game poker, then I would say its gambling in nature since your money is simply the chips. Cash games use less skills.

 

[sslater]

for this i dont play CG

 

[terryg642]

is poker gambling

I want to make one more post on this subject ,people who think there investing in the stock market are not gambling ,there sufering from a bad case of amenesia ,mortguage backed securities,Enron,the over leveraged conditions that lead to the great stock market crash of 1929,neeed I go on.One of the graetest traders in history ,Nicholas darvas,turned thousands into millions in a realtively short time,the title of his second book "Wall street the other Las vegas."

 

[bullishwwd]

Definitely is GAMBLING for 'some' folks and it is also gambling when a player goes 'on tilt'. LOL

 

[don1980]

Gambling

I say if moneys involved it could be considered gambling. But poker is game of skill and chance

 

[dasher]

It depends.
If it is tournament poker, deep stack, its not gambling since skill sets in. Theres plenty of time to use all the skills you know. One more thing, the chips being used are not the real amount of money you put to register. Every games like chess has its own registration fee.
If it is cash game poker, then I would say its gambling in nature since your money is simply the chips. Cash games use less skills.

It is simply not true that cash games require less skill than tournaments. You can play deep stack in cash games and keep topping off if you have to. So that factor works against your argument, since the antes and escalating blinds can turn everybody's stack into a short stack. When knowing when to shove is a important skill... admit that it's called knowing when to gamble.

And if tournaments weren't gambling (plus skill), then why don't the best players cash every single time? Why don't we see all the top players in the final table at the wsop?

 

[PoKeRFoRNiA]

Yes, it's gambling. Just because having skills gives you edge doesn't mean it's not gambling. It is gambling. I've seen amateurs crush pros easily. Skill is determined through long period of time and volume of hands/tournaments. But if it's based on one cash session, one sit-n-go, or one multi-table tournament, then it is luck and gambling.

You can make countless number of bad decisions and get rewarded for it, aka heater. At the same time, you can make countless number of good decisions and keep losing, aka downswing. Skill is only determined through long period of time.

 

[dobatibata]

Poker is passion. Only if you play on fb or with your friends than its not gambling. Even if you don't deposit and just play freerolls its some kind of gambling. But i love it and i don't care. But u need to be careful its dangerous stuff when u give your money.

 

[PokerPete]

If you can smoke and/or drink whilst playing it's a game, otherwise it's a sport.

...apparently you've never participated on a beer league softball team

Yes, it's gambling. Just because having skills gives you edge doesn't mean it's not gambling. It is gambling.

...same can be said for investing in stocks...

I've seen amateurs crush pros easily.

...same can be said for investing in stocks...

Skill is determined through long period of time and volume of hands/tournaments. But if it's based on one cash session, one sit-n-go, or one multi-table tournament, then it is luck and gambling.

...or one lucky stock pick, or one lucky decision to sell the hour before a CEO is indicted for fraud...

You can make countless number of bad decisions and get rewarded for it, aka heater.

...same can be said for investing in stocks...dumb, uninformed picks because you "like the logo" and the next day the company patents cold fusion...

At the same time, you can make countless number of good decisions and keep losing, aka downswing. Skill is only determined through long period of time.

...making an unlucky stock pick (like Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. @ ¥2,000 on March 10th. 2011), followed by another unlucky decision to buy from the guy selling an hour before a CEO & CFO are indited for fraud...

 

[PoKeRFoRNiA]

...apparently you've never participated on a beer league softball team

...same can be said for investing in stocks...

...same can be said for investing in stocks...

...or one lucky stock pick, or one lucky decision to sell the hour before a CEO is indicted for fraud...

...same can be said for investing in stocks...dumb, uninformed picks because you "like the logo" and the next day the company patents cold fusion...


...making an unlucky stock pick (like Tokyo Electric Power Co. Inc. @ ¥2,000 on March 10th. 2011), followed by another unlucky decision to buy from the guy selling an hour before a CEO & CFO are indited for fraud...

Since when did I say that investing in stocks is not a gamble? Stocks is gambling also. I even started a thread about this long time ago. Here it is.

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/general-poker-13/stock-market-vs-poker-230033/

 

[fletchdad]

Wait....


Poker is...




GAMBLING


its one of the reasons I play......


But only 1......................

If I was better at some of the others, I would defo gamble less...............

 

[zveri666]

It's 100% gambling. It's different then other forms of casino gambling such as roulette, but it still is a form of gambling with a portion of skill involved.

 

[TheNoobie]

Zveri666 is absolutely right. It might not be the same case, like the slot machines, but it still is gambling. People are trying to prove that wrong, because they dont want to grow up gamblers, and they are trying to change their oppinion and the oppinion of their friends, trying to prove them wrong. I like poker, and I play it for fun. I understand that it IS gambling, but I dont care that much. Not only placing a bet, when you are not guaranteed to have that money back ( UNLESS you are playing the nuts, but if you are a respected player, you will know that you cannot play only on these cases ). You bet money on 2 pairs, can you guarantee that your opponent doesnt hold a pocketpair and flops a set somewhere along the way? You cant. Its the same for tournament games, and cash games. You pay the buy-in of a tournament, but youre not sure you get into the money. Just play the game that you love, who does care that it is gambling? I dont. Everything that involves money and bets is gambling. Dont try to change that, accept it. Just because there is a skill portion involved, doesnt mean you still dont gamble. You say that it is different for live games with professional players. When Dwan makes a bluff and someone catches him - he loses his money ( Not happening very often, but when it does he loses money ). So its the same thing both online and live. Its just a different game, when you play live with pros, because there is more thinking and observation involved, but that doesnt mean that its not gambling for sure. Ask the players that pay 215 dollar buy-in on the Sunday million and dont get into the money. If its not gambling, where did their money go?

 

[midgetfactory]

ILL CHIP IN WITH MY TWO CENTS. poker is NOT a sport. IIts a pastime. It is gambling, you put money in with the CHANCE to win or lose more or less. Anyone who says other wise is LYING TO THEMSELVES

 

[OMGjustinBIEBS]

It's poker. if they say otherwise just agree because u have already won the battle.

 

[PoKeRFoRNiA]

I love how some people here try to justify that poker is not gambling just because skills are involved. I guess blackjack is not gambling as well since you can count card and if you have huge bankroll of at least $500k, then it's not gambling since you have 4-5% edge over casinos if you count cards and do it efficiently. Blackjack requires skills too, such as when to double down, when to split, when to hit, when to stay, when to adjust bets, etc. So I guess therefore, blackjack isn't gambling at all, right?

I guess Craps isn't gambling as well because I read that there's supposedly a way to toss the die in certain way, then you'll get consistent results over the long run. So I guess if you train die-tossing, then it's supposedly a skill and you'll win over players who play recreationally.

Sportsbetting must not be gambling also then since you're betting on the odds after doing your research on their backgrounds and predicting who's gonna win based on educated and calculated guess. Since there are people who can make lot of money off sportsbetting because they do their research properly and know the ins and outs of every athlete and teams, I guess sportsbetting is not gambling as well.

For those who try to justify poker that it's not gambling or that it's a sport, you're fooling yourself. Get a job. Play some REAL sports. People who think poker is not gambling, remind me of degenerates at casino who are constantly gambling, losing money, but yet, they delude themselves that they're not gambling but they're investing on their skills and that they'll get their money back.

Only thing skill does is reduce the risk of losing compared to others but it is STILL gambling.