Caffiend is a game of chance
Moderators: ihatejacks, Section Moderators, Moderators
12 posts • Page 1 of 1
Caffiend is a game of chance
by caffiend » Thu Mar 01, 2007 3:30 am
Poker is a game of chance. There's a statement that can launch a thousand flames. The question is, why? It's hardly a bad thing.
Monopoly is also a game of chance, as are most board and card games. Games offer the freedom to experiment without consequence. For most of us, board games were our very first encounters with chance. They taught us about risks, and when to take them. They taught us that the universe isn't fair, and how to handle good and bad fortune.
In fact, we live in an age of chance. The pillar of modern physics, quantum mechanics, tells us that the universe is based on chance. The mathematics of chaos theory allowed us to describe and understand uncertainty. Financial markets have changed forever because of new insights into their behavior.
God himself, if you happen to believe in him, relies on chance. What place is there for miracles in a universe not subject to chance?
Chance is the very fabric of our lives. The choices we make based on what happens around us are what shape our lives. Our ability to accurately assess our chances, to take calculated risks, to forsee the outcome of those decisions is at the very core of our humanity.
Lady Luck is fickle, but she can sit next to me any time.
Monopoly is also a game of chance, as are most board and card games. Games offer the freedom to experiment without consequence. For most of us, board games were our very first encounters with chance. They taught us about risks, and when to take them. They taught us that the universe isn't fair, and how to handle good and bad fortune.
In fact, we live in an age of chance. The pillar of modern physics, quantum mechanics, tells us that the universe is based on chance. The mathematics of chaos theory allowed us to describe and understand uncertainty. Financial markets have changed forever because of new insights into their behavior.
God himself, if you happen to believe in him, relies on chance. What place is there for miracles in a universe not subject to chance?
Chance is the very fabric of our lives. The choices we make based on what happens around us are what shape our lives. Our ability to accurately assess our chances, to take calculated risks, to forsee the outcome of those decisions is at the very core of our humanity.
Lady Luck is fickle, but she can sit next to me any time.
-
caffiend - Whale Hunter
- Posts: 1385
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:02 am
by LadyWrestler » Thu Mar 01, 2007 3:59 am
And the same exact thing could be said about most sports...including baseball, basketball, boxing, curling, football, hockey, etc., etc.
The only difference is that people do not refer to those sports as games of chance. In common usage, to the common person, saying something is a game of chance means there is no skill involved, i.e. Babe Ruth was not a great baseball player, Michael Jordan was not a great basketball player, Joe Louis was not a great boxer, etc. They were just lucky.
There is luck involved in baseball, and all the other sports I mentioned, just as there is luck involved in poker, but I think poker (in today's climate, with it being used as a political whipping boy/girl lately), in particular, should not commonly be referred to as a game of chance, because most people will not understand exactly what that means. I believe most politicians know this and will misapply it for their own agendas.
Poker, in my opinion, should be referred to as a game of skill, just like baseball (and other sports).
When you come right down to it, even chess (which I think we would all agree is almost all skill) still has some element of luck in it. If that was not true, the best player would win every chess match.
The only difference is that people do not refer to those sports as games of chance. In common usage, to the common person, saying something is a game of chance means there is no skill involved, i.e. Babe Ruth was not a great baseball player, Michael Jordan was not a great basketball player, Joe Louis was not a great boxer, etc. They were just lucky.
There is luck involved in baseball, and all the other sports I mentioned, just as there is luck involved in poker, but I think poker (in today's climate, with it being used as a political whipping boy/girl lately), in particular, should not commonly be referred to as a game of chance, because most people will not understand exactly what that means. I believe most politicians know this and will misapply it for their own agendas.
Poker, in my opinion, should be referred to as a game of skill, just like baseball (and other sports).
When you come right down to it, even chess (which I think we would all agree is almost all skill) still has some element of luck in it. If that was not true, the best player would win every chess match.
- LadyWrestler
by johnny » Thu Mar 01, 2007 10:09 am
So what if they say zomg you're right. Poker is a game of skill and a game of chance, just like lots of other competitions. However, you still can't bet on those other things unless you're in a casino so feel free to compete without wagering all you want.
-
johnny - Whale Hunter
- Posts: 1500
- Joined: Tue Mar 28, 2006 8:28 pm
by LadyWrestler » Thu Mar 01, 2007 12:46 pm
johnny wrote:So what if they say zomg you're right. Poker is a game of skill and a game of chance, just like lots of other competitions. However, you still can't bet on those other things unless you're in a casino so feel free to compete without wagering all you want.
It is not betting. It is investing!
- LadyWrestler
by caffiend » Fri Mar 02, 2007 12:56 am
LadyWrestler wrote:When you come right down to it, even chess (which I think we would all agree is almost all skill) still has some element of luck in it. If that was not true, the best player would win every chess match.
The best player does win virtually every game of chess, although obviously there can be an occasional mistake made. The primary reason for draws or losses is that black faces a massive disadvantage from yielding the first move.
As far as sports are concerned, they aren't really games of chance. Yes, Randy Johnson once killed a bird with a pitch, but that's because baseball's played in the real world, not because it's roulette's cousin. In all of those sports, skill is sufficient to overcome the chance involved in the game.
That isn't the case with poker, as much as people would like to think. We all know that no amount of skill is saving you from being cold decked against an equally skilled player.
-
caffiend - Whale Hunter
- Posts: 1385
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:02 am
by caffiend » Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:07 am
Ugignadl wrote:Share trading is a game of chance.
That's probably also true. It's doubtful that any day traders are profitable.
Many people have pointed out that modern securities exchanges are so efficient that you're effectively gambling on them. That's why the majority of money invested now is indexed, because no amount of expertiese is going to beat the market average in the long run.
Like some poker players, some investment professionals wave their arms and scream that isn't true. I'll admit I have the same puzzled look for them. The fact that the price of securities is a random walk doesn't mean we can line up portfolio managers and shoot them. People still need brokers to buy and sell individual securities, and they still need managers to design and run portfolios tailored to specific circumstances.
-
caffiend - Whale Hunter
- Posts: 1385
- Joined: Mon Nov 21, 2005 1:02 am
by LadyWrestler » Fri Mar 02, 2007 1:10 am
caffiend wrote:LadyWrestler wrote:When you come right down to it, even chess (which I think we would all agree is almost all skill) still has some element of luck in it. If that was not true, the best player would win every chess match.
The best player does win virtually every game of chess, although obviously there can be an occasional mistake made. The primary reason for draws or losses is that black faces a massive disadvantage from yielding the first move.
As far as sports are concerned, they aren't really games of chance. Yes, Randy Johnson once killed a bird with a pitch, but that's because baseball's played in the real world, not because it's roulette's cousin. In all of those sports, skill is sufficient to overcome the chance involved in the game.
That isn't the case with poker, as much as people would like to think. We all know that no amount of skill is saving you from being cold decked against an equally skilled player.
We can agree on one thing about all that: 1. We disagree.
- LadyWrestler
12 posts • Page 1 of 1
Who is online
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests
