It seems as though the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has taken one too many bad beats, enough to rule that poker is a game of pure, unadulterated luck. The recent decision reverses a judge’s ruling from January of 2009 where no-limit hold’em was deemed a game of skill and not an act of gambling under state law by two votes to one.
The debate was brought to the limelight when two Pennsylvania residents hosting a $1/$2 no-limit game out of their garage were arrested and charged under illegal state gambling laws. The silver lining to their arrest came as a chance for poker to take a stand along with the defendants, with their key argument coming from a 1983 state court ruling that concluded “for a game to constitute gambling, it must be a game where chanced predominates rather than skill.” Trial Judge Thomas James, upon reviewing all the evidence before him, tossed out the case, ruling that the home game was indeed a game of skill, and therefore, not an act of gambling. It was a huge victory for poker in the state of Pennsylvania. Hershey’s chocolate flowed through the streets as Quaker children everywhere ate pretzels and potato chips on the steps of Independence Hall. The celebration was short-lived, and it didn’t take long for their to be less smiles than when the Confederate troops battled at Gettysburg.
It didn’t take long for the Columbia County District Attorney’s office to appeal the decision, and on March 26th, Judge James’ ruling was overturned, citing a 1904 New York case, a 1911 Missouri case, 1919 Nevada case, a 1927 Oregon case, a 1928 Utah case, a 1935 Kansas case, a 1971 Washington case, a 1995 New York case, and a 2007 North Carolina case, all of which charged poker as predominantly luck.
“While the outcome of poker may be dependent on skill to some degree, it is predominantly a game of chance,” said Judge Robert Freedberg, one of the two judges on the panel to overturn the original ruling. “I am also a huge mongoloid and have no idea what I’m talking about. I cite cases which defend my narrow scopes of logic and intelligence in order to push poker players to the card games at our local casinos when they launch this summer by making it illegal for them to play anywhere else. This degree behind me? Yah, got it on eBay for $4.99 with free shipping.”
The voice of reason was Judge Robert Colville, who was the lone vote against the overruling. Although he does not necessarily agree that poker is a game of skill, does feel that his two fellow judges did not provide enough sound evidence in favor of it being luck.
“The Commonwealth failed to present any evidence which, if accepted as true, would prove that the…tournaments were games where chance predominated over skill.”
It looks like the birthplace of the constitution is also intending on being its grave.
poker is a game of skill, luck isn’t last forever.