Definition of Gambling

[CoMoHusker]

Nah. Its right. Think about it. If you pushed the pot every time you were in the lead after the first two cards, you would lose a lot. So, lets figure that you wait. Then you would see the odds too often even as the hand went on. You would lose your edge and then sill push the pot too many times. Chances are, overall you would only gain a very small edge. I agree with the statistic. But, I also agree that this amount could loom quite large...much larger than 1.5% sounds. I almost always win at tournament poker and almost always lose at cash games. My strategy is to never look at my cards...if I have doubt....I fold. I go strictly on the vibes I get from my opponents. So, I have a pretty good idea what they have (I think). Not looking at my own cards keeps me from adjusting my read based on how I interpret my own hand. I have played in 94 live tournaments. I have never looked at my hand...not even once. I have cashed 23 times. I have never won outright. Best position was 4 out of 820. So, either I am really good (I doubt it) or luck has a lot to do with it! For the record, in final tables and cash games situations...my no look strategy seems to falter...I have no idea why. And, I am too stubborn to look at my cards....certain if I start, I won't be able to stop.
DFS seems to have less luck than poker in my opinion, because it doesn't matter that the value of a hand may change as new cards present themselves. The value of the team is not based on your opponents failure to realize he has a poorer line-up. The game always plays out to the end. Nobody folds. If it was poker, we would all put Royal Flushes in our hands and tie...but, its not...and that is where the skill, based on knowledge and percentages, comes in. DFS is not as luck based as poker, but still gambling. I will stick to 3.8 percent as a guess. Why not...I might get lucky and prove to be spot on! LOL!

If you never look at your cards, then you're way more lucky than skillful. I guarantee you if I see my opponents' hole cards, my chances of winning hands increases way more than 1.5%. Think about it, I would always know where I stood in the hand. If I knew I had no outs, I fold. That alone would decrease the chances that I lose big pots. It also would eliminate me bluffing against made hands. Those two things alone give me a significant advantage. Especially against people that don't look at their hole cards!

[JohnyFantasyFootball]

All true. But, about 25% of the time I end up winning a big all in pot with 3 or more players at the first table, because I stay in....and not looking at the cards assures I don't fold. 75% (a guess...I haven't kept the stats on this) of the time I get eliminated early (first out too many times to remember...I should have kept track of that!). But, when I do catch a hand or two, build a nice stack... then, I start doing lot of folding. I am never tempted to stay in against anyone because I don't look and think I might have a winning hand. I bet only when nobody else is and then only minimal raises or checks. This is the part of the game where I just watch people. Once I am here...I almost always get into the money. I only bet big when I am certain the opponent does not have a strong hand. On rare occasions when I am absolutely sure he has nothing, I go all in. Usually, I just raise enough to keep away from heads up situations. If I am heads up and I am not sure, I eat the loss. But, unfortunately, I usually fizzle out of chips around the third increase in general payouts. So, 20% of the time I double or triple my entry fee. At this point, I have to just take silly risks and hope for the best. I made it 4th once. Its a whole lot of luck. But, my point is, not looking keeps me from betting too many hands when I am ahead. Bet too many and you will hit a big loss when someone catches a break on the river or something. Not looking at my cards (BTW, it does appear to others that I am looking....but I never do) allows me to avoid this fate enough of the time that I cash over 20% of the time. Yes, you would destroy me most of the time if you knew what I was doing and it was just us heads up. But, in a tourney, I can just fold and fold and avoid players like you provided I win early and have the chip stack to endure. Eventually, you get a bad beat while I soldier on. Look, I am not saying I am a good player...I am not. I suck. But, I know it and developed this strategy based on knowing that poker is 98.5% luck. And....it works for me! I'm about 14K ahead overall in the last 8 years since playing this way. Probably the best a player of my caliber can expect. So, I believe in McManus' statistics.

[Cocktails and Dreams]

This is getting more absurd all the time. That 1.5 percent things still makes me laugh.

[afv]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk ... ust-lucky/

[Greg Ambrosius]

MLB and NBA commissioners are now both strongly in support of the legality of fantasy sports. Here's MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred doubling down on his support of fantasy sports:

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb-news/46 ... gs-fanduel

Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred has already made clear he does not classify daily fantasy sports contests as gambling.

He doubled down on those remarks Monday and affirmed his support of MLB's partnership with industry behemoth DraftKings for the first time since the company became embroiled in controversy earlier this month, raising questions about the legality of DFS games under federal and state gambling laws.

"I'm quite convinced it is a game of skill, as defined by the federal statute. And I'm comfortable with the idea that it's not gaming," Manfred told reporters in Kansas City before the start of the World Series. "I think the thing that's important to remember ... there's a huge difference between Rob Manfred, citizen, betting on whether Kansas City beats Toronto or whomever on the one hand, and Rob Manfred picking nine guys off 18 teams to try to see if he can accumulate more points within a given set of guidelines than a hundred guys trying to do the same thing.

"I see those differently. Forget the law for a minute. I see those as very different dynamics."

Manfred has spoken in the past about MLB's equity stake in DraftKings, the official fantasy site of the league. But that was before one of the site's employees inadvertently published internal data the same weekend he won $350,000 in a contest on rival FanDuel, inciting cries of insider trading and sparking a nationwide debate over whether a 2006 federal gambling legislation should apply to fantasy sports.

"We did thoroughly investigate the games that were available on the site," Manfred said. "That was a major factor in terms of selecting a partner in the fantasy space. And we were completely comfortable with the idea that those games were consistent with the existing federal law."

Manfred's support comes as federal agents and lawmakers are taking a closer look at daily fantasy sports business practices. A handful of states, including Georgia and Florida, are openly considering joining other states that have already banned the contests.

Nevada regulators on Oct. 15 ruled daily contests are a form of gambling and must obtain a state license or cease operations. DraftKings and FanDuel, the industry's two most visible brands, both said they would not seek a Nevada license.

MLB, which of course has endured its share of famous gambling scandals throughout its long history, prohibits players from joining daily fantasy games of any kind. Other professional sports leagues such as the NFL, NHL and NBA also have partnerships with DraftKings, FanDuel or both and impose varying restrictions among players.

Amid legal uncertainties, at least one NFL team has said it would consider ending its relationship with DFS companies should its state find the games illegal.

Manfred, though, joins NBA commissioner Adam Silver in his belief that well-regulated daily fantasy sports contests would have a positive impact.

"I really don't have regrets about our involvement with fantasy," Manfred said. "I think that fantasy is an important source of fan engagement. It has been for a long time."

[Greg Ambrosius]

All three top commissioners express today they are in favor of daily fantasy sports being legal and regulated:

http://espn.go.com/chalk/story/_/id/139 ... regulation

The commissioners of Major League Baseball, the NFL and the NBA on Tuesday said they don't consider daily fantasy games gambling, but they agree the games need regulation.

Their comments came in separate interviews on ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike.

"I think the biggest concern is the one that attracted the most publicity," said Rob Manfred, commissioner of Major League Baseball, which owns a stake of undisclosed size in daily fantasy company DraftKings. "You want to make sure that the fantasy organizations have appropriate safeguards in place to ensure that things are fair, that there's not an inappropriate use of information and that fans who engage on these platforms have an opportunity to win."

Manfred was referring to the incident that started the scrutiny on the fantasy sports, when DraftKings employee Ethan Haskell won $350,000 in an NFL contest on competitor FanDuel's site. What followed were questions about whether Haskell and other employees have access to insider data that could provide them with an advantage over the public. DraftKings and FanDuel subsequently banned employees from playing daily fantasy games, and 24 consumer fraud lawsuits have been filed over the past 20 days.

DraftKings said its investigation and a third-party investigation revealed that in Haskell's case, there was no impropriety. But New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara are investigating the matter to make sure there has been no fraud.

The NBA's Adam Silver, who previously has pushed for regulation, said that at this point, it's a necessary next step and is a "net positive."

"You are putting money at risk, and so from that standpoint, I think in terms of the integrity of those businesses, the confidence that fans have, that consumers have in playing those games, I think regulation is in order," Silver said. "People should know what percent of the pool of money is paid out in the same way you would at a track or at any other event where wagering is involved."

Earlier this month, Nevada's state gaming board ruled that fantasy contests constitute gambling and could not be offered in the state without gambling licenses.

None of the commissioners said that they thought daily fantasy games were, in fact, gambling. The NBA holds an equity stake in FanDuel, and though NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said individual NFL teams can't own stakes in those companies, two NFL team owners -- the Patriots' Robert Kraft and the Cowboys' Jerry Jones -- do.

"We believe season-long fantasy is much different than that," Goodell said. "We believe daily fantasy is different than that because it's essentially a matchup of players. There is not influence so that it can influence the outcome of a game."

Manfred said that, at this point, officials within his league are "very comfortable with the legality of the games that are being offered."

"Fantasy is not gambling, in my view," Manfred said. "What I've said about legalized gambling is that the landscape is changing and that baseball, during this offseason, principally will take a look at its relationships with legalized gambling -- whether it's sponsorship, whatever -- and re-evaluate given that the country has changed in terms of its approach to legalized gambling."

While Silver supports legalized sports gambling, Goodell said the NFL strongly opposes it.

"We are not in favor of legalizing sports gambling," Goodell said Tuesday on the show. "We think that is a mistake for sports. The integrity of our game is the most important thing and we want to make sure that our game is above any sort of influence and we do not want to participate in that."

While Goodell acknowledged that betting on his sport clearly happens, he said, "When you are making money directly from it, people will question or at least [have a] perception of whether that influenced any actions, and we want to stay above that."