Define gambling
July 20th, 2005Many people seem to think that poker is gambling. It is most definitely not. It is a game of skill comprised of math and psychology. Roulette is gambling, craps is gambling, even blackjack is to a degree.
“But, part of it is just luck!” say the detractors. That I won’t deny. Just like professional golf is partly luck. Auto racing is partly luck. Baseball and football and basketball and every other competition sport on earth are partly luck. Poker’s no different, the cards just make the luck factor more apparent.
Would you call me a “gambler” if my handicap was 2 and I paid $100 to enter a golf tournament?
Gambling and poker certainly overlap. Many top poker players are also gamblers. I’m not a gambler. I don’t even understand the mentality that drives gamblers.
Ted Forrest once bet $30,000 that he could drink 10 Heinekens in 30 minutes. He won and said that the next morning he felt so bad that he was sure it wasn’t worth it. He also said he that he’s won a million dollars in a day playing poker and lost a million dollars in a day playing craps. Doyle Brunson said that he’s won millions playing poker and lost millions betting on sports including a $180,000 bet he made on one hole of golf.
Those are poker players that happen to also be gamblers. They can afford to gamble because they pay for their losses with poker winnings.
I’m not a gambler. I love poker. It’s just math and psychology. Those are two things at which I happen to excel.
History Channel’s Breaking Vegas shows, mostly, obviously illegal methods, but some are legit, like how craps can become a science by being able to control the throw. If you can control the dice, then you gain an edge over the house. The only thing the house can do is to distract you or unnerve you.
If memorization is your skill then there are at least two games where you can gain an edge: card counting for blackjack and figuring out the bias of an individual roulette wheel.
Anything involving skill and thought on your part isn’t gambling, it’s just pitting your skills against someone elses, akin to baseball or what have you. The luck in poker is the draw. The skill comes from what you do with that draw. Everyone has the same odds, with regard to the cut, so the playing field is level on the luck side.
Methinks that thou doest protest to much…
Last night I bopped in the kiddie card shop by the best Thai restaurant I’ve ever eaten at. Something big was going on. Was it Pokemon, Magic, or some other trading card game/tournament? Nah, there was a scad of 12-14 year old boys playing Texas Holdem, not some trendy kiddie game.
If they learn to play poker they’re on their way to being men. If they learn to gamble, they’re on their way to a long hard life.