Skill vs. Luck Debate

The age old debate about skill vs. luck in the game of poker has now been taken up by The British Broadcasting Corporation who examines the argument using the insight of a professional poker player, a statistician and a regulatory authority spokesperson.

Graham Newman recently won $230 000 in an online poker tournament and supports the poker is skill position.  As does Gutshot private poker club owner Derek Kelly, but Kelly lost the case in court claiming that due to the skill of poker players he did not need a license.

"In any one hand of cards there is a large amount of luck involved. It is 20 percent chance and 80 percent skill which is done by creating the odds in your favor, so it is 100 percent skill in setting the right odds," according to Newman though.

But Graham also added,  "You could get your cards in the best possible position and still lose that hand. That reflects the fact that you have skill to get to that point, using skill to get yourself into a position where the odds are in your favor. The bottom line is that skill is involved and it's all about creating lots of small edges on your opponents."

Dr Barry Blight provided the statistician's perspective. Dr. Blight has carried out research into the extent of skill involved in games.

His perspective is, "There is a great deal of skill in poker. It's a combination of two types of skill, assessing the chances of the cards and the bluffing skill...it's very complex. Working out the probability of cards is a small part of the game.

"It's very difficult to define skill in games. If players can make a decision that can affect the outcome of the game, then it involves skill. There are a lot of decisions in poker; involving the cards and the mood of the opponents."

A spokesman from the Department of Media, Culture and Sport, which regulates gambling, said, "With the area of poker there is recognition that people are playing different games now to when [previous gambling regulations] was drawn up in 1968," he said. "At the some time we need to ensure that the three principles are upheld and the government believes properly a regulated game is the way to do this. When gambling involves high stakes the government believes it should take place in a properly regulated environment that includes proper licenses."