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Gambling is generally waging money on an outcome determined by (a) chance or (b) the actions of others. Chess, bowling, pool, and darts are games of skill; all
by rprasad 14y ago
Gambling is generally waging money on an outcome determined by (a) chance or (b) the actions of others.
Chess, bowling, pool, and darts are games of skill; all events in the games proceed directly from the player's actions. Players can play these games for money themselves but generally cross into gambling if they place wagers on games in which they are not participating.
Boggle, Yahtzee, and Candyland (among other board games) are largely or entirely based on chance (i.e,. the dice rolls). Similarly, the card games enumerated are also games of chance (because skill is not a meaningful determinant until you reach the upper echelons of players).
NY appears to have gone pretty far overboard with their enforcement of the gambling laws, but the actual laws themselves (i.e., the distinction between gambling and non-gambling) is pretty uniform across the states (excepting NJ and NV).
- jlgreco 14y agoIn terms of potential harm to society, is there really any difference between playing pool for money, and playing poker? I can understand banning slot machines but poker? Is anybody really addicted to sitting in a bar and playing poker until they run broke? Moreso than pool?
- rprasad 14y agoIt depends on your POV. Arguably, playing pool for money is acceptable because it is a competition of skills, whereas poker is not acceptable because it is a competition of chance. As for poker addicts...yes, there are very many of them. during the first online poker crazy of the early 00's, many fellow classmates got put on academic probation b/c they couldn't keep their poker habit under control.
- jlgreco 14y agoOnline poker, sure. Any sort of electronic gaming that can be done solo is going to become an issue. But poker in a bar with other people? You're limited by how much cash you can carry with you, not by your credit limit, and by how many people in the immediate area want to play with you. I'm sure some people still manage to get a dangerous addiction to 'meatspace' poker in bars, but I am going to guess the vast majority of people who would play poker in bars are doing it mostly socially.
- waterlesscloud 14y ago"Is anybody really addicted to sitting in a bar and playing poker until they run broke?" Yes. Play in some cardrooms for any length of time and you'll see it.
- pbiggar 14y agoI think you greatly overestimate the value of chance in poker, blackjack, rummy, and Boggle. Skill is absolutely a meaningful determinant at basically all levels of play.