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Monday, October 18, 2010
Courts - Is the poker game Texas Hold 'em one of skill, or one of chance?
That issue will be argued tomorrow before the South Carolina Supreme Court, according to this story by Schuyler Kropf of the Charleston Post and Courier. a Quote from the long story:
S.C. Attorney General Henry McMaster is challenging a ruling from a Charleston judge last year that declared the popular poker game Texas Hold 'em to be one of skill, not chance.In doing so, Circuit Judge Markley Dennis said playing that particular game in a private residence does not violate the state's anti- gambling laws.
Hold 'em, Dennis said, is determined more by "the relative skill of the player" than anything else. "A more skilled player will consistently beat a less skilled player, and a player's skill can be improved over time through study and practice," he added.
Because of that skill factor, Dennis said he expected his ruling would survive the court's "dominate factor test" that the justices have relied on when evaluating whether players' ability matters -- versus chance -- in determining the legality of games. Dennis also called the state's anti- gambling laws as applied to the case "unconstitutionally vague and overbroad."
Dennis' opinion tossed out the convictions of five players who had been arrested in the police raid but opted to fight the charges.
McMaster appealed, saying the judge went too far by declaring one gambling game to be more skill-oriented than another.
"In the General Assembly's view, the ills resulting from games played for money does not depend upon the particular game or the nature in which it was played," he said.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on October 18, 2010 01:31 PM
Posted to Courts in general