Poker and Gambling

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!