POKER IS GAMBLING?

[slim]

i've read threads on 2+2 b4 about whether poker is gambling and a lot of people say "you're an idiot if u don't think poker is gambling".

I can't understand how poker in the long run is gambling. Here are my 2 analogies, ASSUMING YOU ARE AN EXCELLENT PLAYER:

1. if u are an excellent player (better than 99%) of your opponents, you will ALWAYS win in the long run. And the long run isn't even that long.....if you play everyday, you should be in the black every month. So what's the difference between poker and a casino with slot machines and table games? I don't see any difference. On a bad nite, the casino may lose $2million bc somebody hits a mega JP on slots or whatever but by the end of the month, they ALWAYS make money.

2) Poker is like a sports team. In any given game, the Chicago Blackhawks can beat the NHL Allstar team, maybe even over the course of 10 games......but if they played 100 games, the allstars will always show a winning record.(assuming no injuries etc).

So how can poker be gambling in the long run?? Maybe it depends if your definition of gambling is for 1 seesion, but certainly not if you are talking about a lifetime.

[iNsChris]

Who says you will not run bad forever?

Random is random, Its a gamble [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

But i see your point of view, I consider poker a "Calculated Risk" Rather than roulette for example.

[slim]

In the real world, it is impossible to run bad forever. If u run bad forever, then you are likely not an excellent or even above average player.

I think if u play everyday, it's very very very very unlikely to run bad even for 3 months......it's possible but hioghly unlikey. More likely, it'sur play that's deteriorated from the first few weeks of running bad.

[TylerD]

[ QUOTE ]
In the real world, it is impossible to run bad forever.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wrong choice of words, impossible, no, unlikely, yes.

[Net Warrior]

It depends on how you want to define gambling. If you are the 10th best player in the world and sit in a game with players 1-9, then it's gambling. If you sit down with fish then it's not. So---it depends on your skill level, I guess, which includes your ability to pick/remain in good games.

[lehighguy]

No one is claiming that in the long run its gambling. Often people get mad because of the common way gambling is used on the forum. Gambling refers to signifcant chance over the short run. So that's why they call it gambling. In this light the stock or bond markets are also gambling.

The reason people use this term is because sometimes a new kid will play 10,000 hands, be a winner for a month, decide he can't lose, and start playing 15/30 (my friend). The poker is gambling terminology is used to protect these kids that don't properly understand variance or bankroll, just as a good broker will try to protect someone from loading up on all stocks if thier investment horizon is to short.

[popniklas]

You are implying that gambling with a positive expectation is not gambling. I disagree, but that of course depends and what you mean by "gambling".

[nyholdem]

Who are the "Chicago Blackhawks" ? And what is the "NHL" ?

[slim]

I suppose if you really think about it, there is no such thing as gambling if you look at long run. If you are a good poker player, you will always win in the long run. If you are below average, you will always lose in the long run. So even for a poor player, they are not really gambling, they are just giving their money away slowly over time.

[Bluffoon]

VERB:
gam·bled , gam·bling , gam·bles
VERB:
intr.


To bet on an uncertain outcome, as of a contest. poker?... yes
To play a game of chance for stakes. poker?... yes
To take a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage or a benefit. poker?... yes
To engage in reckless or hazardous behavior: You are gambling with your health by continuing to smoke.
VERB:
tr.

To put up as a stake in gambling; wager.
To expose to hazard; risk: gambled their lives in a dangerous rescue mission.

It appears to me that poker is gambling.