Poker: Gambling or Not?
By: LinuxRocks
Recently, I taught Poker to some of my friends, and we were discussing about people’s opinions on it. From K’s comments, it seemed like there’s a lot of stigma associated with Poker. A lot of people don’t seem to understand the difference between a pure luck game like Roulette and Poker.
I think the confusion arises from the word “Gambling”. So, what is gambling ? According to Wikipedia, Gambling refers to
“wagering money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money or material goods”
Fair enough and pretty clear definition.
If you read the above mentioned article, down below you see a list of games
"Beatable" casino games
With proper strategy, a smart player can create a positive mathematical
expectation.
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Poker (Also recognized as a game of skill)
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Blackjack — card counting unless a continuous shuffler is used
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Video poker — with proper pay table and/or progressive jackpot
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Pai Gow Poker and Tiles — player-dealt
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Sports betting
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Horse racing (parimutuel)
- Slot machines — only slots where progressive jackpots or bonuses
“Unbeatable” casino games
These have a negative expectation, players as a group will lose
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Baccarat
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Craps
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Roulette (unless physical prediction is used)
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Keno
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Casino war
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Faro (All but extinct)
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Pachinko
A pachinko parlor in Tokyo, Japan.
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Sic Bo
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Fan-Tan
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Let It Ride
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3-card Poker
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4-card poker
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Red Dog
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Pyramid Poker
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Caribbean Stud Poker
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Spanish 21 — without counting
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Texas Hold’em Bonus Poker
So, what makes Poker a game of skill versus a game like Roulette ? The big difference is that you are not playing against the Casino with odds totally against you. You are 37 to 1 against (or 1 in 38) every time you bet on that stupid wheel. In other words, If you bet 38 times in a row, lady luck will smile on you only once over long time. Don’t ever go near that wheel, EVER ! Now, blackjack is also played against the Casino and over long term the house has a very slight edge and a skilled (card-counting) player may nullify that edge and turn positive profit. Let’s get to Poker. In Poker, you don’t just roll the dice and pray to heavens. You are playing against other players and you are using your skill to manipulate the odds. Every time you have a better edge than your opponent, you win. In Poker fancy terms, it’s called EV or Expected Value. Poker is highly mathematical and situational game. You need to have good grasp of math and then understand your opponents to manipulate the odds.
Ok, technicalities aside, why do people still hate such stuff in the basic sense ? Now comes the real thing. People hate it, because people think that gambling is bad. It’s addictive and it makes people do dumb things. They heard about the guy who bet his farm on the roll of a dice. They don’t hear about Chris Ferguson (a CS PhD btw) winning WSOP (World Series of Poker) tournaments with his well-known math ability. You don’t hear about Jason Strasser, a Duke graduate, who amazed every one and plays high stakes Poker regularly. That said, no body can deny the fact that these games are addictive and you will lose money in the beginning. But, they are as addictive as video games and people spend as much money on them.
The other aspect is that no matter how well you play, in the short term, you will some times run unlucky. At times, you put all your money as 90% favorite and may still lose that hand. Obviously, it’s part of your skill to lose as minimum as possible when this happens. That said, making money at low stakes is so ridiculously easy.
To summarize, Poker is a game of skill and it requires as much effort as to become a Chess grand master to be good at it. It’s not about rolling dice and praying, it’s about understanding the odds and manipulating your opponents into making a mathematical mistake. It’s of course addictive like any other game with the side effect of causing financial ruin if you are not careful. Class dismissed !
