Is Poker Gambling? A Professional Poker Player Breaks It Down For Us

Poker is a huge part of my life — I write about poker, I authored a book on poker, I took third place in a poker tournament at the World Series of Poker. I’ve done extensive work for both the Commerce Casino & Hotel and the World Poker Tour’s online casino, WPT Global. I even met my husband at a casino while playing poker.

To me, poker was never taboo — definitely not something I associated with “GAMBLING.”

But back when I first published my book A Girl’s Guide to Poker, people would always ask me if I was a big gambler. My standard response? “I don’t gamble — I just play poker.”

Wisecracks aside, it’s important to explain why I don’t categorize poker as typical gambling.

What Makes Poker Different From Other Casino Games?

Poker is extremely unique because it is the only casino game where you don’t play against ‘the House.’ This is a huge distinction. In any other selection – roulette, blackjack, slots, etc. – you are trying to win money from the casino (aka ‘the House’).

Obviously the natural problem here is that the casino needs to keep the lights on… you’re playing on their turf. These games are purposely designed for the casino to always have an edge.

What makes these games gambling is that the odds are not in your favor. If you win, it’s largely through luck. There is no way you can ‘beat’ a roulette wheel for example by placing your bets on different colors or numbers. If you win, it’s in spite of the mathematical probabilities, not because of it. Unlike poker, where you can invest money when the math is in your favor.

When you play poker, you are trying to win money from your opponents. You are not battling against the Bellagio, Caesar’s Palace, the Wynn or whatever establishment you’re playing at. You compete against other players, not the casino. Your goal is to win money from the other people at the table. The casino just hosts the game.

Key concept: poker players compete against each other. Not the House.

So How Does The Casino Make Money?

The casino takes a small amount of money from each pot, called the rake. For example, if the pot is $100, the casino might take $5, leaving the winner with $95. This way, the casino makes money no matter who wins the hand.

This structure means that the casino has no vested interest in the outcome between players.

Certain places will not take a rake and instead charge a flat fee to play at their venue.

For example, everyone at the table might need to pay a certain dollar amount per hour. This also prevents the establishment from being invested in who wins —- the cardroom is simply serving as a host. There is no reason for the hosting venue to want players to win or lose big. They simply want them to keep coming back.

So, if someone wins huge, it’s not coming from the casino’s pocket. The casino makes its money from the rake or the fees, not from the players’ losses. Already, this is what makes poker different from other casino games.

The Element Of Chance In Poker

Yes, poker does involve some luck. That doesn’t mean it’s purely a game of chance.

Let’s break down how luck and skill work in poker. Imagine an experienced professional poker player competing against an absolute beginner.

What do you think their chances are of winning a hand against one of the top professional poker players in the world?

1. 20%
2. 30%
3. 50%

Surprisingly, the correct answer is close to 50%! How can this be?

A key point of understanding is that the outcome of any INDIVIDUAL hand is largely influenced by luck.

For example, you might be dealt significantly stronger cards than your opponent—it’s essentially a coin toss with a 50/50 chance. The dealer might give you a powerful pair of aces while your opponent receives weaker cards, or the reverse could happen. The likelihood of winning any single hand does come down to the luck of the draw.

How does this not sway us? Is poker considered gambling — didn’t I just prove that it is?

Not quite.

Think of the lottery. If I buy a lottery ticket and win, am I a skilled lottery player? Or did I just get lucky?

Of course the answer is I just got lucky. But how would we determine this?

If I were to play the lottery every day, would I be able to replicate the same result? Would I be able to keep winning? No — chances are you would see me repeatedly lose. There is no strategy here. This becomes apparent only after a high frequency. You cannot test luck or skill in any one particular event. It’s only over time that advantages can be revealed.

Still not convinced? Let’s try roulette.

We all recognize roulette as a game of chance. How do we know this? While there are mathematical proofs showing that no strategy can beat the casino’s advantage, it’s also clear on a simpler level.

If you kept betting on the same number — like, say, 11 —over and over again, you would lose all your money eventually. Winning or losing one time by betting on #11 doesn’t prove anything. What tells us it’s gambling is the inability to skew success.

The Element Of Skill In Poker

Let’s go back to our example of the beginner versus the professional poker player. We’ve already established that luck mostly determines who wins any single hand.

But what if they played 100 hands? How about 1,000 hands? Or even 10,000 hands? Almost certainly the pro will win over time. The more hands they play, the greater their advantage.

This shows the importance of skill in poker. While luck is important in each individual hand, skill is what matters in the long run. Experienced players use their joint understanding of math and psychology to win over the course of their careers.

Is poker considered gambling is a topic I’ve touched on similarly before, including in my book, A Girl’s Guide to Poker. Here are some highlights:

When does luck in poker become eclipsed by skill? At just under 1,500 hands—1,471, to be exact.

• 1,471 hands is usually between 19 and 25 hours in live poker.
• 1,471 hands is around 16 hours of online poker if you’re playing one table.

A beginner can rarely survive a full day of playing poker. They will pretty much inevitably go broke. You need expertise in order to even maintain your chip stack, let alone win.

I like to point to a 2015 paper, Study: Beyond Chance? The Persistence of Performance in Online Poker: The researchers found that skilled poker players consistently perform better over time.

• Poker players who ranked in the top 10% in the first six months of the year were more than twice as likely to do similarly well in the next six months.
• Poker players who finished in the best-performing 1% in the first half of the year were 12 times more likely than others to do so in the second half.
• Players who fared poorly from the start continued to lose.

What do these numbers tell us? Basically, there are top performers in poker. Some players are better than other players. This would be impossible however in pure gambling, like slots. You would never be able to classify skilled versus unskilled slot machine players.

Meet The Professional Poker Player

Professional poker players are real people who earn their main income through poker. I’ve met many professional poker players… including my husband.

When we met, he’d been supporting himself financially through poker for more than a decade.

Is poker gambling? No — countless people have made a reliable income tested over many years fully by playing poker as their profession. They do not rely on the roll of the dice or luck of the draw. Winning poker players study and master proven strategies.

Most professional poker players have a rigorous understanding of the mathematics in poker. They invest their chips in situations where the math favors them — impossible in other casino games. There is no scenario in roulette where you can bet all your money as a favorite. Unlike in poker, the odds are always against you.

Success in poker is largely based on putting yourself in better mathematical situations than your opponents.

In my coaching sessions for beginners, I advise them to only play high-value face cards — meaning both cards are ten or higher. Why? This strategy increases their chances of winning significantly.

For example, if they have Ace-King and their opponent has Ace-Three, their likelihood of winning is around 75%. Conversely, by folding weaker hands like Ace-Three, King-Seven, or Queen-Eight, they avoid situations where they are ‘outkicked’ and their chances of winning are much lower, around 25%.

Think about this: professional poker players typically fold about 80% of their hands.

This disciplined approach stems from their strategy of only entering hands where they have a statistical advantage over their opponents. By understanding the mathematics of poker, players can strategically invest their money in situations that statistically favor them.

You can find more on this in my poker cheat sheets article which will give you a mathematical edge on the competition.

Is Poker Without Money Gambling?

Sometimes, people prefer to play cautiously. Is playing poker without money considered gambling? No, because poker is fundamentally a game of skill. However, practicing poker with play chips or for free is still valuable.

Without a solid grasp of the mathematics involved, poker can easily and unintentionally turn into a game of chance, failing to invest chips wisely and committing to pots when the odds are against you.

When you don’t know the math, poker can easily become gambling. It is only by implementing sound strategies that skill can be realized and luck falls to the wayside.

Is Poker Considered Gambling By Law?

Countries differ on whether they legally classify poker as gambling, with the debate often hinging on whether poker is viewed as a game of luck or skill.

In the United States, online poker faced a major setback on April 15, 2011, a day known in the poker community as “Black Friday,” when the federal government shut down major online poker sites. Fortunately this situation is gradually changing as several states are now taking steps to legalize online poker.

There is hope that more jurisdictions will come to recognize poker as a game of skill, distinguishing it from other casino games. As this shift occurs, poker may see broader acceptance and different regulatory treatment worldwide.