Skill in Online Poker

The Skill Component in Online Tournament Poker

Literature Review

It all started in 2003, when a business man, who was a recreational player, won the main event at the World Series for 2.5 million. What got everyone’s attention was the fact that he qualified for only 40 dollar. People all over the world saw this as an opportunity to also potentially make money playing poker, therefore this event is seen as ‘the pokerboom’ and the popularity of the game exploded.

During all these years there has been a debate whether it’s a game of skill or chance. Where almost all players seem convinced it’s a game of skill, authorities still see and tax it as a game of chance. During the past year however a lot of judges ruled that it’s a game of skill. For example Judge Jack B. Weinstein ruled: “Poker is more a game of skill than a game of chance, so game operators should not be prosecuted under the federal law that prohibits running an illegal gambling business” (New York Times, 2012). Also in the Netherlands poker players go to court against the tax collectors office. They won on some points, but the most important one, is poker a game of skill or chance, they were ruled against.

At the Dutch ministry decisions regarding poker are made by the ministry of ‘Veiligheid & Justitie’ (security and justice). Currently this ministry is led by Minister Fred Teeven. In his policy for 2011 he said that he wanted to modernize the ‘Wet op Kansspelen’ (http://pokerbond.nl/images/stories/Bestanden/kamerstuk_24557-124.pdf) (hoe refereer je naar een beleidsvisie?). The impact of this modernization affects a huge amount of people. According to this research there are 565000 people playing games of chance via the internet and 66% of those people play poker. Proving that poker is a game of skill is for a lot of people of vital importance.

This research provides evidence that the most popular form of online poker, Texas Holdem tournament poker, is a game of skill.

During the last decades...