A United States federal judge ruled yesterday that poker is indeed a game of skill with chance elements involved according to an article posted today by NBC’s Pete Williams. The article further details that, since the ruling was that poker is a game of skill, one of the main federal laws used to shut down online poker does not apply to online poker. The article goes on to claim that since poker is a game of skill that it isn’t even covered by federal law.
The ruling came complete with a 120-page opinion complete with visual graphs and charts that show over the long run skilled players clearly have an edge over the unskilled and novice players. The judge goes into specifics on how most hands are won without showdown minimizing the chance part of poker and maximizing the skill.
Furthermore the poll posted by NBC shows that an overwhelming 84% of 25,000 voters feel that online poker should be legal in the United States. All signs are pointing to an legalized internet poker in the United States, as the courts are consistently ruling with the side of internet poker and the public clearly supports it. Now all that the major remaining hurdle is waiting for congress to back a bill for the legalization of online poker.