I follow what you are saying, and I'm certainly not trying to say that there isn't an element of chance in poker. I'm saying it's not "mere chance" though, just like NASCAR and everything else. And I don't agree with you that I can't control the outcome. If you bet on the turn (try to pass in NASCAR/offense), and I make a pot sized raise (my block/defense), that didn't occur by chance either.
If in poker, everyone placed a bet and then all the cards were dealt out - the hole cards and the entire board - then yes, I would agree that poker was a game of chance. But that's not how it's played. The players have the ability to make good and bad decisions along the way - this is clearly an element of skill. Surely you agree with that, right? Assuming you do, we are in agreement that there is both chance and skill involved in poker. You guys are saying that if there is ANY chance involved, then the entire game is a game of chance and therefore gambling. I'm arguing that if there is ANY skill involved, then it is a game of skill and NOT gambling. At least as far as the law is concerned when it defines gambling as a "game of chance."
There is "chance" in everything we do. When you drove to work this morning, there was a chance that you could have been killed in a car accident by some other driver who fell asleep at the wheel and drifted into your lane or by your tire blowing or by a zillion other possible random events. But there is absolutely NO WAY that you could be cited for "gambling" for driving to work this morning. Speeding, reckless driving, DUI - sure. But gambling? No. It wouldn't hold up in court, despite the element of chance.
The part of your post that I highlighted above should be more than enough to make any jury understand that poker is not MERELY a game of chance. In the end, the more skilled players will win the most money and the less skilled players will lose the most. And that's all there is to it. You CAN have a positive expectation in poker, where in every other casino game, and certainly in your state's lottery, for example, you can not.
Go ahead and hire Lou and pay double his rate. I still like my chances against you.
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