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These materials were then classified
according to the type of game covered. The games
were grouped into three categories: gambling in
general, non-skilled (luck) games, and games of
skill. Books on gambling in general were mostly
books on how to play casino games. Any book that
covered a variety of games was classified as a
general book. Most game-specific books cover
only a single game. There are some published
books that cover two games (e.g. lotteries and
sports pools). Most often, these materials were
placed into the general category, unless we knew
that the material predominantly covered just one
of the games. A non-skilled game is one in which
the only factor that determines the outcome is
random chance. Some games of chance do involve
choices of how to bet, but these choices do not
constitute a real skill. For example in the game
of craps, a pass line bet (a bet that the dice
shooter will win) always has a lower house edge
than field bet (a bet on a specific number). But
you do not gradually become better at making
pass line bets. You simply make a relatively
good bet or a relatively poor bet. Many of the
choices made in non-skilled games have no impact
on the long-term outcome of the game whatsoever.
Non-skilled games include roulette, craps,
slots, baccarat, lotteries and bingo.
A game of skill is defined as a game in which
the player's decisions during the game have a
direct impact on their chance of winning and
long-term success. In poker, for example, a
player with a pair of sevens might fold if
someone else had already raised the bet; might
call if only one bet had been made; but might
raise the bet if he or she was the last player
to act (place a bet, call or fold) and no one
else had raised. The same hand would be played
differently depending on how many players were
still in the game, the player’s position in on
the table (e.g. first to make a bet, last to
make a bet, etc.), the type of game and his or
her experience with the other players. In skill
games the best play depends on the situation.
What makes these games skill games is the fact
that knowing what choice to make in a given
situation will alter the player's long-term
expected return. Skill games include poker,
blackjack, betting on horseraces and sports
betting. In these games, a highly skilled player
can theoretically earn enough to overcome the
house edge (see Turner, 2001, for related
comments). Some games such as video poker
involve some skills, but the role of skill is
usually too small to allow the player to
overcome the house edge. Such games are included
amongst the skilled games, in a category we
called semi-skilled games.
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