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http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/57/poker-legislation/poker-ruled-skill-based-game-not-gambling-under-igba-federal-statute-1237039/

The ruling doesn't make poker legal again in the US but this has to be a step in the right direction!!

there's some pretty good strategy in the original court document also. tapping the glass ftw!

Guarentee that Judge is the best player in his home game.

I don't understand how poker can't be considered gambling. You're waging something of value on an uncertain outcome. You could be the best player in the world playing against the worst player in the world but you could run really badly for a billion hands so it's still an uncertain outcome.

Though I guess you could almost apply the same definition of gambling to all sorts of financial transactions if you stretch it far enough.

You don't have to stretch very far - options, stocks, bonds... hell, even holding CASH are all gambles (regardless of where you hold the cash)

I don't understand how poker can't be considered gambling. You're waging something of value on an uncertain outcome. You could be the best player in the world playing against the worst player in the world but you could run really badly for a billion hands so it's still an uncertain outcome.

Though I guess you could almost apply the same definition of gambling to all sorts of financial transactions if you stretch it far enough.

They were arguing that skill predominates luck in poker, which it does. That's what the judge agreed with.

It's like when an ump calls a ball, that really was a strike. The pitcher has a lot of say whether or not he throws a strike (skill), but in the end he depends on the ump to call the pitch, something he has no control over ("luck"). So even though the pitcher got a bad call, you would still say that baseball, or pitching, is a skill game.

It was my impression though that the original intent of whatever crazy laws the USA has in place was to stop gambling.

It was my impression though that the original intent of whatever crazy laws the USA has in place was to stop gambling.

Obviously they don't want to stop all gambling. It's a lot more complicated than that. There's a lot of gambling going on legally in the US. The government gets in on the action too with possibly the worst game (in terms of payout and odds for the player) ever--the state lotteries. They wanted to stop online gambling mostly because the casinos and Indian tribes thought it hurt their brick and mortar businesses. But now the casinos have come to their senses.

Running really bad for a large number of hands is completely possible in poker, but if you think you're the best player and you lose after a billion against the worst...kinda doubtful.

I don't understand how poker can't be considered gambling. You're waging something of value on an uncertain outcome. You could be the best player in the world playing against the worst player in the world but you could run really badly for a billion hands so it's still an uncertain outcome.

Though I guess you could almost apply the same definition of gambling to all sorts of financial transactions if you stretch it far enough.

If the players were of exactly equal skill then poker would be a game of pure luck. But then the same could be said for games like tennis or chess. Poker is a game played against opponents and in the real world opponents have varying degrees of skill which is really what I think that this ruling recognizes.

Even though luck plays a factor, it is ultimately skill that determines the winner.

It's like when an ump calls a ball, that really was a strike. The pitcher has a lot of say whether or not he throws a strike (skill), but in the end he depends on the ump to call the pitch, something he has no control over ("luck"). So even though the pitcher got a bad call, you would still say that baseball, or pitching, is a skill game.

I think you can make tonnes of examples like this:

I football club buys a sick awesome quarterback for the team, spending millions of dollars. The intention is that the touchdowns he throws and his marketable bad-boy image is going to recoup more $$$ for the club than he cost, especially if they win the pennant.

Unfortunately, first game out... he gets bashed by one of the big guys who bash people... and his head pops clean off like a champagne cork.

That club just got variance owned. But the sport is still considered by some to be a game of skill...

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2012/08/legal-status-poker

Interesting that the judge was overturning the jury's verdict with this dismissal. So the jury thought the guy running the poker room in the back of his bike shop was guilty of violating the IGBA.

Guarentee that Judge is the best player in his home game.

This!