5/2/07posted by Gene @ 6:28 AM

Yesterday the Court of Appeals for North Carolina ruled that poker is a game of chance and NOT a game of skill. This ruling means that organizing poker games in the Tar Heel state remains illegal.

What was the reasoning for this determination?

"Although skills such as knowledge of human psychology, bluffing and the ability to calculate and analyze odds make it more likely for skilled players to defeat novices, novices may yet prevail with a simple run of luck," Judge Ann Marie Calabria wrote in a three-judge unanimous opinion. "No amount of skill can change a deuce into an ace."

With all due respect to Judge Calabria, a teensy amount of skill CAN change a deuce into an ace. It's called bluffing, which she acknowledged exists in her previous sentence (I also approve that she used the term "deuce". Nice to see they know the lingo).

Here's how it works: you hold a pair of deuces and call a preflop raise. The flop comes A-10-4. Your opponent bets, and you raise. He frowns, mutters under his breath, fiddles with his chips, and disgustedly tossed his cards face-up into the muck. "Every time I have Kings, an Ace hits the flop" he snarls as he throws his cowboys away. You have successfully turned a deuce into an Ace. So long as that transformation occurs in your opponent's mind, it's as real as it needs to be. Perhaps we need more metaphysics in our judiciary.

Use the red button to download your free online poker game

Post a Comment

<< Home