OP, you are not going to get an argument here that will overcome the objections of a Christian who is against gambling.
For the most part, the conservative religious objections to gambling have nothing to do with gambling itself. It's about wasting money in a frivolous pursuit. It's about taking advantage of other people. It's about doing something that is not supplying a service or some sort of goods. It's about risking money, time, care on something that is not, to them, worth the time, money or care. The belief is that your life efforts should be focussed on pursuits with intrinsic value -- working at your job, supporting your family, caring for others, giving to your church and to charities.
So it won't matter to a conservative Christian (or follower of many other religions) that poker also incorporates skill into a game that has luck as a part. That's not the real problem they have with it.
I enjoy poker. But trying to convince someone who thinks it's a waste of my time and money means getting down to a discussion about what life should be like and what life should be for and, as such, there is no winner to that discussion. Or, rather, the other side will always think thay "won" the debate.