North Carolina Says No To Skill

Once again another government body has said that poker, one of America's favourite past times is a game based on chance. Today's decision in the court of appeals was another blow to all poker players and is in most peoples minds a complete misconstrue of the game itself. Although legal issues surrounding the game is not recent news to most people, you may find it interesting that a state can conclude its citizens are not allowed to operate such a venue yet it is ok for this same state to start the lottery and introduce scratch tickets to their people, all within the last year. They have bombarded their people with the thought of a get rich over night dream of becoming the next multimillionaire yet the game of poker is all about luck.

This case stems back to 3 years ago where Howard Fierman a business man tried to open his own establishment and run a poker club. to his dismay he was told no that such a venue was considered illegal in his state and as such it would be a misdemeanor. Like many people are doing today, he took his to another level and filed an injunction. He was denied again and by 2006 he had filed an appeal. Fierman had expert witnesses on his behalf declare that this is a game of skill. In the short term, players may win by luck, but to succeed over the long haul there is skill involved.

The sate had only one witness who testified to the direct opposite that the game is luck and you may play with skill but with each turn of the card you are taking a chance. The witness also referred to watching poker on television and seeing a 9% chance of a players hand improving to take down the win .

Judge Barbra Jackson read the verdict which agreed with previous judgements to which she stated

"During oral arguments, counsel for plaintiff analogized
poker to golf, arguing that while a weekend golfer might, by luck, beat a
professional golfer such as Tiger Woods on one hole, over the span of eighteen
holes, Woods' superior skill would prevail. The same would be true for a poker
game, plaintiff contended, making poker, like golf, a game of skill." "This
analogy, while creative, is false. In golf, as in bowling or billiards, the
players are presented with an equal challenge, with each determining his fortune
by his own skill. Although chance inevitably intervenes, it is not inherent in
the game and does not overcome skill, and the player maintains the opportunity
to defeat chance with superior skill. Whereas in poker, a skilled player may
give himself a statistical advantage but is always subject to defeat at the turn
of a card, an instrumentality beyond his control. We think that is the critical
difference." "For the reasons stated above, we determine that chance
predominates over skill in the game of poker, making that game a game of chance
under N.C. General Statute 14-292 (2005). Accordingly, the decision of the trial
court should remain undisturbed."

I guess the only thing people can start doing is stop playing poker throw some numbers into a hat and pick your lucky ones for the night because the lottery is not a game of chance. Pulling the numbers out of a hat is the true game of skill.