X
xXShannonAXx
Rock Star
Silver Level
HoldemChamp
Rock Star
Silver Level
Sorry,
I choose option 3. Get my money in with the best hand and win.
Here is why poker IS NOT gambling. I will make this as simple as possible
AA will beat 72 in the long run. If all the cards are different suites AA will win 8724 times, 72 will win 1240 times, and a tie will occur 36 times.
It may take 10 million hands for those numbers to bare out. But, they will.
Now you can argue all you want that on a hand to hand basis that you risking money is a gamble.
But, unless you are willing to play only one hand of poker in your entire life you are only gambling if you ignore the math.
I choose option 3. Get my money in with the best hand and win.
Here is why poker IS NOT gambling. I will make this as simple as possible
AA will beat 72 in the long run. If all the cards are different suites AA will win 8724 times, 72 will win 1240 times, and a tie will occur 36 times.
It may take 10 million hands for those numbers to bare out. But, they will.
Now you can argue all you want that on a hand to hand basis that you risking money is a gamble.
But, unless you are willing to play only one hand of poker in your entire life you are only gambling if you ignore the math.
ItsMe
Rock Star
Silver Level
"Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods." Wikipedia.
The more certainty I can get into playing poker the more I like it.
The more certainty I can get into playing poker the more I like it.
B
brandonnj
Rock Star
Silver Level
Oh my, spelling and punctuation are a big deal to you huh? Just cause I dont take all the time in the world to put in every apostrophe and use perfect grammer doesnt come off as ignorant, but more as lazy. Were not having a spelling and grammer contest. If the other guy didnt literally laugh AT my post that makes complete and utter sense, I wouldnt have felt the need to put my point across to him in such a way. Proven facts? Im simply trying to say that if youre not 100% to win every hand then you are gambling, so therefore it is somewhat gambling all the time. Theres an ABSOLUTE fact right there. Just because theres certain people who agree with you, doesnt make it a fact, its called opinions. You must be another person whos "mad skillz" make you 100% to win every hand. Cause lord knows your the best. Ask any pro, even they wouldnt be ignorant enough to say that they are not gambling, and pros have said it before, Poker is GAMBLING. You cant argue with that one bit. Unless you want to state that your opinions are facts again.
As for the AA vs 2 7 example. I heard AA is 80% to win (could be wrong IDK), so that means your 20% to lose with the hand, therefore GAMBLING. I can completely understand that yes using odds and skills can make you HUGE favorites, but your only a favorite and you can be beat, therefore your hand is almost never CERTAIN, unless you have NUTS. So unless you get in EVERY pot with the NUTS, your gambling overall.
B
brandonnj
Rock Star
Silver Level
Ok, new perspective on this, I asked a pro myself, he said short term yes you are gambling. But he said pros play sooo much that taking favorite calculated risks that overtime the gambling factor does die down (I understood this before and its been said here). But at least he admitted that yes you gamble sometimes, but when playing 24/7 making the right decisions then it is somewhat not gambling. You cant deny that its gambling somewhat, even he couldnt come to say that it isnt at all.
BelgoSuisse
Legend
Silver Level
It's a stupid definition. Most investments can be defined that way too.
Whether poker is a job or an investment is a more relevant question, imo.
Also, cake!
Mortis
The Saurus
Loyaler
Anything where you risk something for a chance to win something of more value is considered gambling. This could include the stock market as well.
Mortis
The Saurus
Loyaler
B
brandonnj
Rock Star
Silver Level
Thank you sir, at least someone understands and can put it into absolute perfect words. No one can argue against that definition and cant argue that poker is not gambling, because it just is. Thank you for that perfect statement.
Mortis
The Saurus
Loyaler
With that being said.. just playing poker is not gambling. Until there is money or something else of value involved.
I use to play poker at Side Pockets about 4 times a week when I was living in Kansas City. It was totally free, but the 1st and 2nd place winners would win gift certificates to Side Pockets. Since there is no risk involved.. that's not gambling.
I use to play poker at Side Pockets about 4 times a week when I was living in Kansas City. It was totally free, but the 1st and 2nd place winners would win gift certificates to Side Pockets. Since there is no risk involved.. that's not gambling.
L
losts0ul
Enthusiast
Silver Level
Rather get the money in with the right decision and lose, but making right decision on the long term is the real money maker.
BelgoSuisse
Legend
Silver Level
I am appalled every time someone makes this kind of statement that implicitly implies that your time is worth nothing. Investing time is just the same as investing money...
Double-A
Visionary
Silver Level
Ill take the cash
Snow
WORD!
Mortis
The Saurus
Loyaler
By that definition, you're gambling when going to the store and taking your time to decide on which kind of dressing you want to buy.
You're gambling when you take the scenic route, instead of the direct way back home.
And you're gambling when you drive instead of fly to another city.
I never said that time isn't valuable. You're just not "risking" time by playing in a free tournament.
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Worak
Legend
Bronze Level
Cake!
I concur.
To the op: Any poll ought to have the voting options "cake" and "bastard".
All else has been said.
J
JulieK
Rock Star
Silver Level
There is a difference between a poker player taking a gamble and a gambler playing poker. Yes, we sit at a table and hope to get dealt pokcet aces. That's counting on luck, that's gambling.
But, while there are similarities between poker players and gamblers playing poker, the differences are greater. Take the pocket aces. I think the gambler wants to get his money in preflop and leave it to luck to decide who takes a big pot. The poker player wants to make intelligent decisions on how to proceed with his aces. She wants to make a reasoned decision on what amount to bet to get 2-3 callers, see the flop, and make another reasoned decision on how to proceed from there.
Some people don't understand why anyone would ever want to lose a hand. Like Doyle says in the introduction to Poker After Dark, poker is a game of making the right decisions. If you have made the right decisions, and got your money in with the best hand, then you have played the game as well as it can be played. And sometimes you get sucked out anyway. But you played the best. You were proven to be the most skillful. And, if you are the most skillful, in the long run, you'll win - even if you lose a few hands along the way.
But, while there are similarities between poker players and gamblers playing poker, the differences are greater. Take the pocket aces. I think the gambler wants to get his money in preflop and leave it to luck to decide who takes a big pot. The poker player wants to make intelligent decisions on how to proceed with his aces. She wants to make a reasoned decision on what amount to bet to get 2-3 callers, see the flop, and make another reasoned decision on how to proceed from there.
Some people don't understand why anyone would ever want to lose a hand. Like Doyle says in the introduction to Poker After Dark, poker is a game of making the right decisions. If you have made the right decisions, and got your money in with the best hand, then you have played the game as well as it can be played. And sometimes you get sucked out anyway. But you played the best. You were proven to be the most skillful. And, if you are the most skillful, in the long run, you'll win - even if you lose a few hands along the way.
Stick66
Legend
Silver Level
The state of California where I live deems Poker "a game of skill". They decided to go with the mathematical facts that are similar to the stock market or even playing baseball. If it's good enough for the state government, it's good enough for me.
