Poker is Gambling

[Dozer60]

Followers of the analytical,mathematical poker theory need to understand and accept - the term Gambling. Poker is not a starting hand chart, followed by analytical, implied odd, pot odd, mathematical strategy. Poker is Gambling, and gambling is to play games of chance for money. Interesting game of chance - the happening of events without apparent cause, fortuity, luck. Gambling(poker) is to play a game of luck for money. Interesting how all the hand charts,implied odd,pot odd mathematical theory went out the window. Gambling is to take a risk in order to gain some advantage. take a risk- to expose oneself to chance of injury or loss. yes loss- the damage, trouble, disadvantage,deprivation caused by losing something. (money will be lost). There is no strategy,theory, starting hand chart that will help you in poker. That is just someone writing a book for money, you think they write it for free ?Accept the fact poker is gambling and your game will improve. Otherwise keep following the futile advice on this site.

[djzcko]

Gambling is a game where you have no bearing over the outcome, i.e. lottery or slot machines. Poker is a game of skill and is thus NOT gambling. Long term winners at the game are there for a reason--they are better at the game than others. Skill. Not gambling. Poker gamblers are long term losers plain and simple.

[bigspenda73]

writing is a game of paragraphs

[Ash256]

Poker is gambling. You make money by gambling in +EV situations and not gambling in -EV situations. Theory, etc. helps you gamble in +EV situations and not gamble in -EV situations.

Wait, aren't you the same retard who thinks online poker is rigged?

[gingerwizard]

Poker is gambling, buying shares is gambling, if fact any game with a wager is gambling. (Because a wager is a gamble)

Fortunately with some study and a knowledge of basic mathematics you can make most poker gambles favourable ones and thus make money. There are other gambles that are not favorable, such as playing the lottery or playing blackJack in a casino. Of course if you suck at poker then playing it is a very unfavorable gamble.

[swiggidy]

writing is a game of paragraphs

lolz

Following the dictionary poker is gambling:
http://www.answers.com/gambling&r=67

1.a. To bet on an uncertain outcome, as of a contest.
2. To take a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage or a benefit.

However, don't confuse it with
1.b. To play a game of chance for stakes.

[Chopper]

we all know poker is gambling, but there IS a skill factor involved that slots, roulette, lotteries do NOT have.

the game is played against the other players...not with them against the house.

if you make better decisions, your opponent/"carl" makes worse decisions, you win...over the long run. yes, you have your ups and downs along the way, hence the gambling/luck involved. but you will come out ahead.

by OP's definition... the insurance business is gambling, too. you are betting you WILL wreck your car, the insurance company is betting you WONT. the "catch" is that, there, too, the ODDS ARE ALWAYS ON THE HOUSE...or in this case... the guy making up the rules of how to play the game.

there is skill, however, in the stock market. do we KNOW the outcome? no, not with perfect certainty. but we CAN make educated guesses based on a lot of different criteria/theories. however, the "house" takes his "cut" here, too. its also expressed as a percentage of the "pot." and thats all the "house" cares about in the stock market...like poker.

believe it or not...there IS a difference between poker/stocks and lotteries/insurance. one requires good decisions, the other has no decisions at all, except whether or not to gambool it up.

[EzDuzIt]

we all ready knew it was gambling, thanks for the wonderful insight. should help my winrate out a little.

[BankItDrew]

I used to think that poker was a game of skill and not gambling. It took me a couple years to come around, but I eventually did.

What turned the tide for me was the consistancy from professional players all saying the same thing: Poker is gambling.

Poker is gambling the same way starting a new business is gambling, you are taking a monetary risk with an unknown outcome. This is the same as all games played in all casinos. The idea that skill is separate from gambling is silly. Just because I decide to hit on 20, does not make blackjack a non gambling entity.

People who think poker is not gambling, are NOT retards (as some posters above have stated), they are simply mis-understanding.

[EzDuzIt]

i dont think anybody said that people who think poker isnt gambling are retarded in this thread. actually i didnt see anything about poker not being gambling...

however the OP seems pretty retarded, i think he was saying that it is all luck. he doesnt understand it can be both luck and skill.

actually now would be a great time to post someones graph with a ton of hands consistently making a lot of money.

[swiggidy]

^^ like this...

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...c.php?p=311527

[gop2004]

Poker is gambling in the same sense that Craps is gambling......for the CASINO! In other words, we all know Craps is a gambling game. The house has a definite, quantifiable edge provided by the rules and limits of the Craps table that no system can overcome in the long run. We poker players attempt to take a similar position in our game. We attempt to only accept or make wagers that have +EV, that will be profitable most of the time. I suppose that if your point is that any game that requires a wager to play is gambling then you are technically correct. But the tenor of the post is that random chance is more important to success than skill. This is obviously untrue.

I'm sorry you're on a downswing OP.

[Pelion]

There is no strategy,theory, starting hand chart that will help you in poker.

Accept the fact poker is gambling and your game will improve. Otherwise keep following the futile advice on this site.

Youre an idiot

[Fnord]

Lurk more, post less.

k thnx g bai