New Report Concludes - It's a Game of Skill!

A new poker report by Cigital Inc. and Rational Entertainment Enterprises Limited (REEL) which examined data collected from Poker Stars and the log files generated from over 100 million hands has concluded that Texas Hold’em is more a game of skill than chance.

As America goes to war with the gaming and gambling regulations of the nation, one question keeps surfacing, time after time. Is poker a game of skill?

Does the mathematical, psychological, observational and analytical knowledge during the game outweigh the power of chance, of luck? According to a new Citigal report released this month, the answer is a resounding yes.

The report was a lengthy analysis of over 103 million hands obtained from the Poker Stars platform between the dates of December 1st 2008 and January 1st 2009. Hand histories from 10, 20 and 50 cent blinds, multi-player, cash game tables were used and the analysis was conducted independently and "without predisposition towards the final outcome."

So what did the report, entitled "Statistical Analysis of Texas Hold’em" conclude? Of the 103 million hands, 24.3% resulted in a showdown won by the player with the best 5 card hand. The overriding majority of hands were won by hands that were not necessarily the best. Only 12% of the hands studied were won by a player who made the best hand early and played it to showdown. In a vast statistical group size, it clearly proves that luck is not the overriding factor and skills outside the real value of the cards are used to win.

Cigital concluded that "the examination of a multitude of data that the outcomes of Texas hold’em games are significantly determined by the decisions of the players rather than the value of their cards."

The authors of the study included Paco Hope, Cigital Technical Manager; Brian Mizelle, Cigital Managing Principal; and Sean McCulloch, Ph.D. and Associate Professor of Ohio Wesleyan University.