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5/3/07posted by Gene @ 3:43 PM The front page of today's Wall Street Journal featured an article that raises a question that's been much-discussed of late: is poker a game of skill, or of chance? Fortunately the article provides much expert commentary from those who argue that it's a game of skill, and prominently featured are two of the biggest names in poker, Howard Lederer and Annie Duke.Annie raised an argument that I'd never heard before: "One sure sign that poker is a skill, (Duke) says, is that unlike roulette or the lottery or betting on football, 'you can purposely lose at poker if you choose.' To lose requires skill, she says -- or at least an ability to affect the outcome." Which makes sense, does it not? Let's say for some reason you WANT to lose your money playing roulette. Well, you can put all your money on #13 and wait for the little ball to fall in the wrong slot...but you might find your chips sharing that square with a big Dan Marino fan who's screaming OH, GOD, COME ON LUCKY THIRTEEN!! Similar actions spurred by dissimilar desires. But in poker, if you want to lose your money, that ain't too hard. Heck, it seems like lots of players out there DO want to lose their money, bless their hearts. They limp. They call. They min-raise. They fold. Even if they get "lucky", there's no way they can be a long-term winner. They play too poorly. They lack...skill. Use the red button to download your free online poker game Share this post!
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