Poker is Skill Says Judge
Written by RogerCP | Tuesday, February 17th, 2009
In a trial case in South Carolina poker pro Mike Sexton testified that poker is a game of skill. The case has is genesis in a poker raid in 2006 when 20 men were charged with illegal gambling. 15 of the men paid fines of the order of $100 and ended their involvement. It is to their credit that Bob Chimento and four others decided to fight despite the petty amount of the penalty involved.
The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), which is supporting these men, requested Sexton to testify that poker is a game of skill and not a game of chance. Sexton said that poker was his passion and that he felt strongly about poker players being arrested and criminalized and therefore he acceded to the request made by the PPA. However Sexton admitted to having received $5,000 from the PPA. Sexton has won a WSOP bracelet way back in 1989. In 2006 he won the million dollar Tournament of Champions. He is also one of the founder members of the new poker charity, Poker Gives.
The testimony that Sexton gave highlights not only his knowledge of poker but also his persuasive skills. At the end of the hearing Judge Duffy said, “I have determined in my mind that Texas Hold‘em is a game of skill.” In an interview to Poker News Daily, Sexton discussed the questions that he was asked and the answers he gave.
When asked how the game would be decided if the players were of the same skill level, Sexton replied that would always be some difference in the skill level of players and it is impossible to find players of equal skill. Even skilled players make mistakes at times and that also determines the outcome of games. Sexton had gone well prepared with videos from the World Poker Tour that demonstrated that poker was a game of skill. Sexton explained how actions that are in the players’ control, like betting, calling and folding, can overcome dealt card disadvantages. He also described the mathematical knowledge and the ability to read opponents as components of skill. He showed how good players can win pots with 9-5 when their opponents are holding A-K.
Another compelling argument that Sexton made is that poker is not a game in which all hands reach the showdown and the best hand wins. At most 30% of the hands reach showdown. The remaining are decided by the players’ skill level much before the showdown. One of the techniques players use is to manipulate pot sizes and induce players with better hands into folding.
However it is far from certain that the poker players will win the case. Though the judge is convinced that poker is a game of skill, he has one more angle to consider. That is whether the players were operating a gambling house. This matter too was argued by the lawyers from both sides. But if the judge concludes that they were running a gambling house then poker being a game of skill becomes irrelevant.
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· Written by RogerCP · Filed Under Poker News · Comments Off
