Poker as a skill(Need help)

TheProdigy · #1 10-31-2007, 05:29 PM

Hello,

I have posted this before and if you feel it is inappropriate please just delete.

I am writing a research paper on poker, and it will include a couple things about recent legislation.

The thesis will be something like:
"Poker is a skill that can be used as an effective investment vehicle that may be utilized to produce a controlled rate of return despite the recent legislative restrictions pushed against it."

I have done a lot of searching for the topic. I have found a lot on the legislation, and a lot on the investment. I am going to get a couple players to turn over some of their stats to prove the "investment + return" part. What I need is a good and reputable author that has written something on the subject of "Poker is a skill and not gambling"

Does anyone have anything like this? Many of the sites(bet-the-pot.com, etc) don't really show up on my searches but are still written by reputable players. These guys don't have to be professors, but it has to be written by someone other than me.

Thanks! I am also searching up the couple sklansky threads where he talks about this, but I don't know how or if I can ever cite these things.

Edit: Forgot to add why I am putting this on here. Afterwards I would plan to e-mail this paper(8 pages or so) to my senators and other people in the struggle. I could also post this to people here so they could forward it as well.

PPABryan · #2 10-31-2007, 05:36 PM

You may want to look into some of the stuff coming out of Harvard Law School. The think tank is called the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS), and is led by a well respected professor their, Charles Nesson. Hope that helps.

Bryan Spadaro
Membership Relations, Manager
Poker Players Alliance

KEW · #3 10-31-2007, 05:38 PM

Here is a link from a recent Harvard debate(I have not read it yet it just came up)...

http://gpsts.org/poker-a-game-of-skill/

Poker as a "skill" as been discussed here several times..Do a search...Sklansky had an article that could be of use in a recent Internet Magazine..The article was also discussed in depth in the 2+2 Mag forum

Skallagrim · #4 10-31-2007, 06:39 PM

I love that link above ... especially Howard Lederer's Proof that Skill predominates over Chance in the game of poker.

Of course, long time readers of this forum will note that the basic proof Howard provides was first posted in this very forum (as Howard acknowledges at the end), apparently by some poster with a weird, Norse sounding screen name. [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

Bookmark that link folks, this is how we establish poker as a skill game in Court and thus get it out of the status of "illegal" gambling in about 4 out of 5 of the US states.

Skallagrim

Uglyowl · #5 10-31-2007, 06:57 PM

[ QUOTE ]
apparently by some poster with a weird, Norse sounding screen name.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very cool. I didn't realize you were that far reaching Skallagrim.

Lottery Larry · #6 10-31-2007, 10:51 PM

I'd be interested in seeing the final version of this paper, since I instinctively disagree with the premise.

Skallagrim · #7 10-31-2007, 11:08 PM

You really think poker is more chance than skill L-Larry? Perhaps its some other point you disagree with....

If you really think poker is more chance than skill perhaps you also would be willing to post the screen names with the sites you play at...?

Skallagrim

TheProdigy · #8 10-31-2007, 11:15 PM

Yea really exactly what are you doing here with 6k posts?

Thanks everyone, the link provided will help me write a lot(I had a lot of this in mind but since I have a link to a source I can now have a source behind it)

whangarei · #9 10-31-2007, 11:19 PM

[ QUOTE ]
You really think poker is more chance than skill L-Larry? Perhaps its some other point you disagree with....

If you really think poker is more chance than skill perhaps you also would be willing to post the screen names with the sites you play at...?

[/ QUOTE ]

And the stakes you play at, times of day, ... [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

I hadn't heard this argument presented in this form before. Very convincing. Great work Skall [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Skallagrim · #10 10-31-2007, 11:25 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
apparently by some poster with a weird, Norse sounding screen name.

[/ QUOTE ]

Very cool. I didn't realize you were that far reaching Skallagrim.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you search these forums and the Sklansky forums you will find the proof as first put forward by me. Howard took the basic idea and refined it extremely well (with some ideas from Sklansky) and added some additional points that make the argument even stronger. Howard and I discussed his article prior to its publication. I dont mean to take anything away from Howard, he took the basic idea and made it very presentable in a way that was far better than what I had done - it was like I gave it birth but he nurtured it into a beautiful adult.

Anyway, I am proud of this proof (justifiably I think) and appreciate any recognition I get from it. But the article is Howard's - he deserves the credit for the final product.

The more important point is to use it in courts (hopefully succesfully) to establish poker as a legally recognized game of skill. As Senator Kyl of AZ said (yes, that Sen. Kyl), if we do that the UIGEA does not apply to our game in most US states.

Skallagrim