The Poker Player’s Alliance, one of the main proponents of poker rights, recently announced that famous economists Steven D. Levitt and Thomas J. Miles released a report stating that poker is a game of skill. You may know Levitt and Miles from their best selling book and film by the same title, Freakonomics.
Freakonimcs applies economics to daily life, explaining how people’s motives lead to causality. Their books and films gained worldwide fame, by using economics to explain subjects as diverse as, real estate deals gone wrong, failing high school students, and drug trafficking.
In their recent study Levitt and Miles analyzed the results of players in the 2010 World Series of Poker, comparing the results of players who were “highly rated” versus the average player. Their study found that the average return on investment for a “highly skilled player” was over +30%, while the average player was -15%. Based on their empirical data poker is without a doubt, a game of skill. This news of important both for the science of it, but also for the positive public exposure.
Luck versus skill is an important debate point in the near future as federal and state goverments pass judgements on the legality of online poker. The fact is that poker is different from games of chance. Over the long run skill everyone has an equal chance at being a winning poker player.
After dealing with the laws and regulations of the past, it’s important that moving forward, new pro-USA online poker laws are clearly worded and unambiguous. This is for the sake of USA player confidence and all around profitability of USA online poker games.
The Poker Player’s Alliance is also meeting with various government officials, in both Washington D.C. and states with hot button poker issues right now, such as Nevada. As well they are organizing mass letter, email and Twitter movements. While general opinion of the PPA has been mixed, what’s certain is that for online poker in the USA we all want to look forward.
Meanwhile the WSOP 2011 is halfway through and it’s a great international event for poker. With players flying in from all over the world, South America, Europe, Asia, and more, tons of action is going down and it’s great to see international players flying out to Vegas in search of a WSOP bracelet. Poker has certainly gone global and we look forward to bringing you the latest and greatest news in the poker world!