Re: mixing poker (work) with craps (fun)
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when the house lays odds on blackjack, craps, pai gow, etc - is that gambling?
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Yes, I think this is also gambling, for the same reasons. In this situation, it is the house that enjoys the advantage in expected value, though.
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If you're playing poker right, you're acting as the 'house', taking the best of it in the long run. If your edge is big enough to sustain the rake, tips, expenses, etc, then it's not gambling.
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While this might be true in the long run for a good player, it is not necessarily true for even all excellent players. The edge that even a good player has in poker over some of his opponents is comparatively small relative to the edge a casino has over all players in every table game and at every slot machine it operates. It is more likely to be the case that the casino will profit because of the greater edge it has, but much more importantly, because of the much higher number of trials it performs in every game, every day, all day. The house edge quickly catches up to the law of large numbers; this is not necessarily the case for a poker player. This reinforces the idea that poker is gambling.
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