Well it’s been six months, I suppose that’s a long enough
delay between blog posts. To dip my foot back into the waters, let me describe
a situation that always sets me on edge: Whenever I hear poker defined as
gambling, especially by people who should know better (like poker pros). It’s
not. At least, not by my definition.
Perhaps that’s where the disconnect is. Allow me to
define the term my way. “Gambling” to me is putting money at risk when you can have
no impact whatsoever on whether you win or lose. The lottery is gambling. Slot
machines are gambling. Roulette and Craps are gambling. Keno is definitely
gambling … the worse game in the house. In fact, just about everything in the
casino is what I would call gambling – you have no impact on the outcome. The
only exceptions for me would be Blackjack (if you’re counting cards), Sports
betting (but only if you are REALLY studying the game … maybe 2% of all sports
betters are good enough to do this), and of course poker. In fact, I think it’s
something of a tragedy that poker is generally found in casinos … I end up
having to walk past all of this real estate that doesn't interest me in the
slightest to get to the small room where I can personally affect my own
results.
There’s certainly an element of luck involved in poker,
no doubt about it. And that’s actually a good thing. If there wasn't any luck
in poker (as Phil Hellmuth, Jr. once astutely observed), the best player would
win all of the money and everyone else would lose. But because of the luck
factor, sometimes bad players win. And sometimes, they win a lot. And sometimes
they win over a long stretch of time, although it’s unlikely that they will.
But the best players will lose sometimes … and win more often. And they'll win more
when they do win. I've heard some players refer to poker as an “investment”. I
don’t think they’re far off.
It’s worth noting that the IRS agrees with my definition,
and allows “Professional Poker Player” to be used as a valid employment
definition. For this, we owe a debt of gratitude to Billy Baxter, who sued the
US and won. The IRS at first would not permit Baxter to identify himself as a
professional poker player, a position which would have bumped his tax rate up to around
70%. The judge turned to the prosecutor and said, “Son, if you think poker is a
game of luck, let’s have you and Mr. Baxter sit down here with $50,000 and a
deck of cards, and just see who wins.”
Enough of an entry for one day … hopefully it won’t be
another six months before my next post. Meanwhile, Merry Christmas to one and
all!
