Re: WSJ: Harvard Ponders Just What It Takes to Excel at Poker
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Whether Blackjack (or any other game for which all strategies are <= 0 EV) is considered a "game of skill" is immaterial because the optimal strategy for any such game is simply not playing it.
IMO, any reasonable definition of a "game of skill" or a "game in which skill predominates" must stipulate that there exists at least one strategy for which playing the game using said strategy gives the contestant positive expectation.
That definition would be a little to technical for the average person to understand, I think.
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"Value" is subjective. Some people might just really like playing the game, even if they will lose money in the long-run. If it costs $5/person to enter a chess tournament, where there is no monetary prize -- that doesn't mean the game is not a game of skill.
It's a game of skill because your actions (and those of your opponent) determine the outcome of the game. There are usually no outside events in chess that determine the winner -- it's entirely a game of skill.
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