is poker gambling?

[THE ACE IS BACK 0]

YES poker is gambling. However, many people say the "luck" factor is what makes it gambling. This just isn't the case. It's the MONEY and WAGERING factor that makes it gambling. If I'm playing golf and my ball goes into the woods and hits a tree and pops back into the fairway... that's a "lucky" break. If I take a jump shot and the ball bounces in and out that's a unlucky break. Obviously both forms of luck; but neither case gambling. Unless there is money on the line.

[Lee2k 0]

your an idiot, of course its gambling

[kristianlinnell 0]

I think that the argument that you HAVE to define Poker as Gambling because 'the most skilful player in the world can have an opponent needed to runner-runner a Royal Flush etc. to win and he does therefore it's Gambling' is redundant. That one occasion is a given to happen just as the other 926 (or something) times it is a given that the skilful player will win. If you consistently play skilfully and consistently put yourself in situations where you will have a positive return on your chips then you WILL win. Seeing as that is a CERTAINTY then that doesn't fall into the definition of gambling.There are other elements to Poker however...

[j2k99 0]

this is the most censored question/poll i've seen on fcp! How about this for you?Donkey: 1. A domesticated ass2. Slang - An obstinate person3. Slang - A Stupid personThat about covers you!

[keith crime 8]

the more average you are the more it is gamblingif you are horrible it is not gambling at all it is charity

[Smiddywap 0]

Poker is gambling.The fact that knowing more about the math of the game gives you a sizeable edge over people who don't is irrelevant. Even if something is a winning proposition, if you wager money on it it's still gambling. Calling a small enough bet (relative to the size of the pot) on the turn when you're on a flush draw will win you money in the long run but it's still a wager made over an uncertain outcome.The only time a poker bet is not gambling is when you hold the absolute nuts and cannot be beaten regardless of any cards to come.

[NOFX_PUNK 0]

you need more options on your poll, then i will answer it....

[keith crime 8]

If you got to bet on one million coin flips where you got paid 2 dollars for a head and lost 1 dollar for a tail. The outcome is uncertain. I don't really consider this gambling.

[Royal_Tour 0]

For a competent portfolio manager, risk can be hedged to near negligable degrees.  The same is true of someone who knows how to handle their money in any situation that exhibits risk; poker included.For both poker and stocks, an idiot can find a way to make decisions that will face them with unnecessarily high degrees of risk.  The difference is that no matter how stupid someone is, they will not be able to pick a stock with a negative expected return if they choose from companies listed on internationally recognized indices.  On the other hand, it's quite easy (and common) for an individual to be a losing player.  Hell, the majority of people reading this post probably are.

I think you're a student, so i'll give you the benefit of the doubt for these posts you've made within this thread. you seem to have made a complete 180 in your posts without actually aggreeing to it being considered Gambling.so i'll just sum up with a, Thank you for understanding that poker Is gambling to a much higher degree than trading.comparing the two as career choices is crazy

[EvilGN 0]

"is poker gambling?"Depends on what your definition of IS is.someone had to put that out there The dictionary is pretty cut and dry in its definition on gambling....its all about RISK, if risk of losing is involved, its gambling....and yes that would apply to investments as well. Now if you are asking if poker is the same as any other casino type table game when it comes to gambling, every state has laws that say yes. So poker is grouped together with everything else when it comes to "Consideration, chance, and reward"

[diablo01 0]

v. gam·bled, gam·bling, gam·bles  v. intr.To bet on an uncertain outcome, as of a contest.  To play a game of chance for stakes.  To take a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage or a benefit.  To engage in reckless or hazardous behavior: You are gambling with your health by continuing to smoke.  

Poker is, as are most games made with a wager, GAMING. Gambling, and this all depends on which definition of the term you prefer, but i prefer the last two, is risking more than you can afford in hopes of a large return.Responsible gaming is in no way gambling becuase you are risking nothing. Taking a 'chance' that your AK will hold up against a PP is a gamble indeed, but it does not make the game a gambling proposition unless the stakes warrant it. Gambling for some is gaming to others and vice versa. It's all relative and personal and dependant on the situation. I play poker every day and although sometimes i 'gamble' on an outcome i NEVER gamble while gaming.I do though gamble with my life everytime i get on the highway, because in an attempt gain a huge reward of getting somewhere in 2 hours instead of taking the longer safer course of walking, i get in an inherantly unsafe contraption called a car.This practice should be illegal.

[Royal_Tour 0]

I do though gamble with my life everytime i get on the highway, because in an attempt gain a huge reward of getting somewhere in 2 hours instead of taking the longer safer course of walking, i get in an inherantly unsafe contraption called a car.Hydroformed frames, airbags, seatbelts and impact zones have made cars extremely safe.Following the designated speed limits and seatbelt laws will drastically increase your chance of daily survival.To say you are gambling with your life is ludicrous. You risk more uncertainties by walking such far distances not knowing the dangers awaiting you in swampy marsh land.

[ShakeZuma 585]

opening this thread was a gamble.I lost.

[diablo01 0]

Hydroformed frames, airbags, seatbelts and impact zones have made cars extremely safe.Following the designated speed limits and seatbelt laws will drastically increase your chance of daily survival.To say you are gambling with your life is ludicrous. You risk more uncertainties by walking such far distances not knowing the dangers awaiting you in swampy marsh land.i thought of that too but.. i was trying to illustrate a point.Managing your bankroll, playing within yourself, knowledege of the game, etc also increase your chance of daily survival.so whats your point?

[oceansize 0]

Gambling in that you do not know what the board will read. That is the uncertain outcome. You can know that you have 99 against 34, but you have no control over the weaker starting hand making a straight, trips or two pair and you not improving.The reason people are siding withit as not gambling are doing so (I would guess) based on the assumption of the long term gain. If you play that 99 against the guy who wont let go of 34 (for instance) in the long run you will win more in that situation than you will lose.Skill is the part that allows you to make that guess that you are strong or weak going into the contest and that knowledge will increase your gain and cut your loses in the moment so that at the end of any given evening you are either up, even, or down slightly. Skill is the part that does not allow you to play outside your ability or bankroll and factors in the money management so that you can maintain a bankroll.That having been said, and seeing as how NL is the biggest game out on the market today (a game that is all about all or nothing in the moment and most players will play this way in any game they play) typical card playing anywhere you go and any structure you do, it is gambling. When the variables get so large that your reading ability gets cut down to what you know about odds on any given hand and playing position, then you are forced to play more your own cards then your opponents hands. Even while you are restricting yourself to the dominating hands and powerful draws, the other 6 calling stations aren't. It becomes a matter of who will hit and who will hit best.So like I said, gambling.

[Royal_Tour 0]

Hydroformed frames, airbags, seatbelts and impact zones have made cars extremely safe.Following the designated speed limits and seatbelt laws will drastically increase your chance of daily survival.To say you are gambling with your life is ludicrous. You risk more uncertainties by walking such far distances not knowing the dangers awaiting you in swampy marsh land.i thought of that too but.. i was trying to illustrate a point.Managing your bankroll, playing within yourself,  knowledege of the game, etc also increase your chance of daily survival.so whats your point?

My point is, you used a poor example to illustrate your point.there are no licenses issued to play poker, and no strict guidelines to follow to insure a winning rate.thats my point.

[diablo01 0]

If you have NOTHING at risk with what are you gambling.If i go play pool for 4 hours it will cost me at least 40 bucks.same for bowling, movies and so forth.If i choose more lavish entertainment like a fancy dinner or a show100 bucks easy. If i go play poker for 5 hours and play well but get 'unlucky' lose my limit of lets say 50 bucks, but enjoy myself in the process, how is that gambling????The answer to the question is : It depends on how you play the game.This is not a yes or no question.

[diablo01 0]

Hydroformed frames, airbags, seatbelts and impact zones have made cars extremely safe.Following the designated speed limits and seatbelt laws will drastically increase your chance of daily survival.To say you are gambling with your life is ludicrous. You risk more uncertainties by walking such far distances not knowing the dangers awaiting you in swampy marsh land.i thought of that too but.. i was trying to illustrate a point.Managing your bankroll, playing within yourself,  knowledege of the game, etc also increase your chance of daily survival.so whats your point?

My point is, you used a poor example to illustrate your point.there are no licenses issued to play poker, and no strict guidelines to follow to insure a winning rate.thats my point.

You illustrate my point perfectly. If you drive within the speed limit, blah blah blah you do indeed decrease your risk and therefore arent gambling.But if you drive aggressivly, do not maintain your vehicle or are not aware of the drivers around you, than you are gambling with your life.In this sense you can do everything right (vehicle wise) and still get hit by a drunk or careless driver playing poker on there blackberry.I assume the OP got those definitions from a dictionary.Isnt it obvious that the word has multiple definitions and people are interchanging them to suit their beliefs?

[Royal_Tour 0]

If you have NOTHING at risk with what are you gambling.If i go play pool for 4 hours it will cost me at least 40 bucks.same for bowling, movies and so forth.If i choose more lavish entertainment like a fancy dinner or  a show100 bucks easy.  If i go play poker for 5 hours and play well but get 'unlucky' lose my limit of lets say 50 bucks, but enjoy myself in the process, how is that gambling????The answer to the question is : It depends on how you play the game.This is not a yes or no question.

I like this. This is actually a great spin on the idea of poker and gambling.I've told people this exact thing over and over, If i lose, at least i had fun for those few hours.Granted i still get censored off badbeats, but i also get censored when i slice the ball out of bounds.But to answer this comparison, it goes back to the very raw simple basics...Its gambling because you are using funds to pay each time you want to see cards.Or, in a MTT, you used funds to be awarded to winners.You arent exchanging cash for service, or goods.You are fronting cash to win other peoples cash, and thats where the gambling takes place.If you decided to play a game of poker with friends using Point, instead of dollars, and no one paid to play, and no one will exchange money during hands, than you could take away the word "gambling" from context

[ForKeeps 0]

yes, poker is gambling.      case closed

Nh

[CodyHartman 0]

please class open your Small Stakes Hold Em books to pages 14 & 15.

[diablo01 0]

I am gambling on losing my job continuing to reply to these posts at work so i am done.But again for the record:It depends on how you play poker. i.e. How much you risk, your anticipated risk/reward ratio, your opponents, the game you choose to play, your style, and i think most importantly your GOAL.If you goal is to 'feel the rush' ,which most 'gamblers' are playing for, although they tell you they play for the cash, then you are indeed gambling. Because the gambling is the event to these people, not the poker. Poker is just the instrument to gamble. If you're there for the game, poker, and not the element of chance, the gamble, then you are gaming, not gambling.

[davezz5 0]

Royal_Tour you have an astute mind..Btw i think j. harmon says something concerning luck etc, in the stacked profile. Although i disagree.

[ForKeeps 0]

I think someone else already said this to an extent, but, Poker in the short-term (individual hands, sittings, tournaments)is more gambling, but longterm quality play is much less so. Two people roll a die, with 5 bucks on each roll. 1-3, you win. 4-6, they win. However, you have "magic" in your fingers and can make the die roll 1,2, or 3 70-80% of the time. Are you really gambling long term? Can anyone really blame you for exploiting it? And on the other hand, why isn't investing gambling to the extent that poker is? I don't care if you're doing low-risk mutuals or high-risk daytrading, there's always a notable amount of chance involved, and I argue that no less than a quality poker play faces at any given time. Also, I would argue that activities such as owning sports teams with the point of making money, etc. is gambling, as injuries, bad and good luck, etc. That's my 7 cents.

[Royal_Tour 0]

Royal_Tour you have an astute mind..Btw i think j. harmon says something concerning luck etc, in the stacked profile. Although i disagree.

Ya, thats usually a good thing, and the 75% poll rate who voted Yes, to it being gambling help my case.I cant turn back now.