Poker: Gambling or a Game of Strategy?

Growing up I learned from movies and television shows that poker was one of the most popular forms of gambling. It was always painted in a negative light. It would be seen in either casinos, saloons in Wild West movies or in people's homes with large fat men drinking beer and talking about their wives. There never seemed to be any strategy involved though. A player gets a card, bets or folds then flops down their cards. Even the poker players in the Wild West movies didn't seem have any strategy, unless they were cheating. Poker was seen simply as a form of gambling.

Poker is now seen in a different line. There are competitions online, on television and probably somewhere in your neighborhood. Celebrities play poker, your friend plays poker and there are some people who play poker as a profession. ESPN even treats it like a sport and airs competitions. Professional poker players go on about their strategy and insist it isn't gambling.

Which is poker really? Is it just gambling or is it strategy?

I guess it all depends on your opinion of what chance is. Gambling is risking something when there is a great deal of chance involved.

Many people will say that poker is a game of chance and therefore it is gambling. A poker player may have some strategy. There might be some cases when they have an idea what cards the other player is holding. But even when they use their strategy they are still guessing so there is still chance involved.

Ultimately they are "guessing" but their guesses are logical ones. There is strategy used to decide what to do. Just because somebody is incorrect more times than they are correct doesn't mean there was no strategy and it was all up to chance.

Take a major league baseball player for example. Most baseball players only hit the ball 25 to 30 percent of the time. Does that mean they are only hitting the ball by chance? No, they have strategy, they make calculated decisions when to swing at a pitch, but sometimes they miss.