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Poker is a Game of Luck Not Skill, Court Rules
The London Times ^ | January 17, 2006 | Lucy Bannerman

Posted on 01/17/2007 10:37:25 AM PST by meg88

Poker is a game of luck and not skill, court rules Lucy Bannerman

In the end, good fortune had the stronger hand.

A jury decided yesterday that luck, not skill, played the greater part in poker in a landmark ruling on the status of gambling in Britain.

Derek Kelly, the chairman of a private members’ club in London, lost his fight to make poker exempt from gambling legislation on the grounds that it was a game of skill.

He was found guilty of breaking the 1968 Gaming Act, after hosting two poker games at the Gutshot club, bar and restaurant in Clerkenwell, Central London.

The jury at Snaresbrook Crown Court found him guilty of breaching the Act on December 7, 2004, when a levy was charged on the winnings, and on January 27, 2005, when a fee was charged to take part.

The Act states that a licence is needed to host games of chance such as blackjack and roulette, but not games of skill, such as chess and quiz machines.

The trial was seen as a test of whether poker should fall under the remit.

Kelly, 46, from Greystones, County Wicklow, said that he was very disappointed.

“We still will be playing at the Gutshot tonight. We may have to change the way we do it.”

A date for sentencing has been set for February 16.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events; Political Humor/Cartoons; United Kingdom
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Sure, luck is a part of the game, but it is undoubtedly the skill of a player that is the difference maker. Have these UK judges never heard of a stone-cold bluff?
1 posted on 01/17/2007 10:37:27 AM PST by meg88
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To: CSM; jmc813; Phantom Lord; doubled; Graycliff; Tallguy; Lexington Green; ThinkDifferent; ...

Poker Ping!

Freepmail me if you want on the Poker Ping List.

2 posted on 01/17/2007 10:39:50 AM PST by frogjerk (REUTERS: We give smoke and mirrors a bad name)
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To: meg88

That must be why I always lose at poker. Either that or I try to win every time with a pair of twos.


3 posted on 01/17/2007 10:40:32 AM PST by stm (Believe 1% of what you hear in the drive-by media and take half of that with a grain of salt)
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To: meg88

Jailed for Poker...unbelievable.


4 posted on 01/17/2007 10:40:37 AM PST by albie
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To: meg88

I know a judge I'd like to play poker with......


5 posted on 01/17/2007 10:41:16 AM PST by ElectricStrawberry (27th Infantry Regiment...cut in half during the Clinton years....Nec Aspera Terrent!!!)
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To: meg88

Sure... that's why you can recognize at least half the final table at any WSOP event. It's mostly skill in that it's a manipulation of risk & percentages. It's hard to sustain luck.


6 posted on 01/17/2007 10:41:31 AM PST by Tallguy
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To: meg88

clearly this judge has never seen me play...


7 posted on 01/17/2007 10:41:32 AM PST by verum ago (The Iranian Space Agency: set phasers to jihad!)
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To: meg88

Pair of jacks to open, but don't raise.


8 posted on 01/17/2007 10:42:23 AM PST by RightWhale
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To: meg88
What do they mean "Not a game of skill?"
Just ask Kenny Rogers, he'll tell ya:

You got to know when to hold 'em,
Know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away,
& know when to run!

9 posted on 01/17/2007 10:42:25 AM PST by cuz_it_aint_their_money
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To: meg88
What do they mean "Not a game of skill?"
Just ask Kenny Rogers, he'll tell ya:

You got to know when to hold 'em,
Know when to fold 'em,
Know when to walk away,
& know when to run!

10 posted on 01/17/2007 10:42:34 AM PST by cuz_it_aint_their_money
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To: meg88
Which does the government get more money from, games of chance or games of skill?

The Act states that a licence is needed to host games of chance such as blackjack and roulette, but not games of skill, such as chess and quiz machines.

I think I've found the answer. You can't host a poker game without giving the State a cut, no matter how much luck or skill is needed to win.

11 posted on 01/17/2007 10:42:55 AM PST by KarlInOhio (Samoans: The (low) wage slaves in the Pelosi-Starkist complex.)
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To: cuz_it_aint_their_money

grrrr, lousy rotten double posts!


12 posted on 01/17/2007 10:43:47 AM PST by cuz_it_aint_their_money
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To: meg88

A HAND of poker? More luck than skill.

HOURS of hands of poker? More skill than luck.

Which is why I don't play poker anymore: Everyone can tell when I get a good hand.


13 posted on 01/17/2007 10:44:20 AM PST by pogo101
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To: meg88

I would like to see this judge sit down with 100k of her own money vs. Johnny Chan, Daniel Negreanu, Doyle Brunson and Phil Ivey. Give her twice as many chips to start with. If it's just luck she should have the best chance of winning, right?


14 posted on 01/17/2007 10:45:19 AM PST by Hugin
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To: meg88
Heh, if you think poker's a game of luck, please come play with my dad and his buddies . . .

. . . they will clean you out.

15 posted on 01/17/2007 10:46:43 AM PST by AnAmericanMother ((Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment)))
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To: meg88
Did not a California jury decide it was a game of skill, back in the 1850's?
16 posted on 01/17/2007 10:46:51 AM PST by fireforeffect (A kind word and a 2x4, gets you more than just a kind word.)
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To: Hugin
what you said!

My father paid his way through school playing poker (and contract bridge) for money.

17 posted on 01/17/2007 10:47:54 AM PST by AnAmericanMother ((Ministrix of Ye Chase, TTGC Ladies' Auxiliary (recess appointment)))
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To: pogo101

I entered a WSOP satellite event a couple months ago. $200 buy in. 105 players. Grand prize was a seat and $10K in chips at the 2007 WSOP in Vegas. I made it to the final two tables before I was OUTPLAYED. With luck, you can win a hand. With skill, you can win a tournament.


18 posted on 01/17/2007 10:48:21 AM PST by highimpact
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To: Tallguy
This English judge has obviously never gone all in with Eveyln Ng at the WSOP.


19 posted on 01/17/2007 10:48:35 AM PST by meg88
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To: meg88
A jury decided yesterday that luck, not skill, played the greater part in poker

They obviously don't play with the sharks I play with!

20 posted on 01/17/2007 10:50:20 AM PST by 6ppc (Call Photo Reuters, that's the name, and away goes truth right down the drain. Photo Reuters!)
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