This is rather a big debate in the United States and has been for the past three years since the UIGEA was passed banning most forms of online gambling. Some of the largest poker organizations have lobbied to have the bill repealed on the basis of poker being predominantly a game of skill. Though the debate rages on, no one has reached any universal conclusions.

Chance, or luck, is obviously involved as there isn’t any skill that will help you with a cut of the cards or a dealt hand. You receive the cards you are dealt without any effort on your part. Chance also plays a hand in whether your opponents get a better hand than you do.

On the other hand, skill is very much a part of poker as any good player will attest. Not only skill at estimating what cards might come up, but also skills related to how a player is perceived by the other players and how closely they observe the rest of the players. Many will tell you that bluffing is a skill (although most of us believe it to be more of an art).

Obviously, poker has elements of both skill and chance. It’s hard to quantify either element so it’s impossible to truly say whether it’s predominantly skill based or not. No wonder the debate has been going on for so long!