Hail to the Skill of the Poker Player

A lot of people will say that gambling in any form is just pure luck. For some time the argument has been made that the skill of the poker player is beyond luck and that superior skill determines the outcome. Well in the time of need for think tanks and other great minds focusing on the ills of society, the economy, war and famine, leave it to the industrialized world to take time to sponsor a study that has some of the smartest people out there trying to determine the reality of this most important debate. 

Well as to not let too much time go by the professionals out there have determined that in fact the outcomes to poker matches are mainly due to the skill of the players involved. Yep it's that clear, believe it or not. 

The main people behind this study are the PPA, or to name the association group directly, the Poker Players Alliance, that has been pushing, for some unknown reality of a reason, to determine the legitimacy of this claim. The group, has been collecting information about the outcomes to games and tournaments for a long time to actually defend the fact that poker play is more skill than a gamble. 

Yep the reality of this study is about the legality of the issue and it is an attempt to make headway to allow poker to be played in the regulated environments of the jurisdictions across the country. 

The study, released by Cigital, Inc. in conjunction with PokerStars, used data acquired from 103 million hands of Texas Hold 'Em played online in December of 2008. According to Cigital's report, more than 75 percent of the cases saw an outcome determined with no player even seeing more than his/her own cards and the community cards. Nearly 25 percent of the games witnessed a showdown where the cards were revealed to determine the winner, but only half of the showdowns were won by the player who had the best five card hand. The other half of the showdowns were won by someone with an inferior hand because the player with the best hand decided to fold prior to showdown.

Poker tournaments are held in cities across the country such as Atlantic City, Las Vegas Casinos, and Biloxi. The push with the results of studies like this might be greater penetration in other geographic markets.