We need a new word for "gambling"

[magiluke]

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My girlfriend likes to call poker "gambling". I like to think of it as "a skill game played for money".

When I use the word "gambling", I think of the house having an edge (like our national lottery in Canada where they only pay out 45% of what they bring in), or betting on completely random events (coin flips, a ball landing on 8 black).

Does anyone else differentiate between poker and "gambling"?

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Calling something by a different name doesn't change it's definition, no matter how much sugar you coat it with.

See also: George Carlin.


Poker is gambling. Investing is gambling. Any time you take a risk for potential gain is gambling. In fact, let's turn to Google for the definition:

Gambling (or betting) is any behavior involving the risk of money or valuables on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event in which the outcome of that activity is partially or totally dependent upon chance or on one's ability to do something.

Also:

The act of playing for stakes in the hope of winning (including the payment of a price for a chance to win a prize); "his gambling cost him a fortune"; "there was heavy play at the blackjack table"

Gambling just so happens to be the English word we happen to use when we talk about this. If you want to make up a new word, go ahead. I like new words. Just realize that it means the same exact thing, and that it will carry the very same negative connotations that gambling does.