Apparently, the question about the game of poker or to be more precise, the disagreements as to whether it should be regarded as a game of luck or a game requiring particular skills, is back on the agenda.
This time, the study conducted among players from the UK and the Netherlands suggests that the poker should be considered a game of skill. Actually, the results are believed to play an important role in forming the taxation method according to which UK poker players will be supposed to pay tax on their winnings.
Leaders of the research from the University of Nottingham and VU University Amsterdam announced that according to the results of their study, which lasted one year, as many as 10% of the players who marked an excellent performance in the first half of the year were likely to achieve even greater accomplishments in the second half.
During the survey, the best players were supposed to play against the worst and then, the winnings were compared. Surprising or not, the study concluded that players who were said to be among the best performing won most of the hands as compared to the unskilled ones. In other words, the study concluded that the more skillful the player is, the higher their chances of winning are.
The other conclusion that has been drawn was that since the performance of the player can be predicted, then, poker cannot be defined as a game based purely on luck.
Actually, the leader of the study, Van Dolder, who is a prominent expert in his field, announced that the above-mentioned findings can be taken into consideration when UK government members discuss if a tax on poker players’ winnings should be imposed.
Mr. Dolder said that UK legislators should definitely pay attention to the result of the survey and determine if players skills or luck prevails during a game of poker.
In conclusion, Mr. Dolder said that it would not be surprising if the majority of people affected by the study have mixed feelings about it. On one hand, if poker is defined as a game of skill, players can be proud of that. On the other hand, if UK gambling officials settle down around that notion, sooner or later players might be supposed to set aside a percentage of their winnings for tax purposes.
