Thanks for the response, that one had me puzzled.

Not sure how worldwinner can offer solitaire, hearts, spades, etc tournaments under this definition of controlled games:

The simple fact that they only offer SnG type tournaments, no cash games, would likely make it legal in those 28 'dominant factor' states, and they took it one step farther by reducing the influence of the shuffle.

I just played for play money.

There is 1 real money table going. Unfortunately you can't view the table.

I would like to see the quality of play.

Table selection is key here. More players of course too.

Marc Zwillinger gave the exact same opinion to Stars and FullTilt Poker (*1). Strangely enough they are allowing New York. I think it is amazing that these company owners are relying on such horrible advice, from such horrible lawyers. Just because you have a lawyer like Marc Zwillinger or a Jeff Ifrah (*2) that is willing to tell you anything you want to hear, just so you can make money, does not mean you can do it legally.

Wake up and smell the coffee. Stop arguing that this could meet some test in court over that it is not gambling. Do you really want to ruin your life and your family’s life’s over a dollar? The only people that are making money in the end are the lawyers. . Get a clue “Skillbet’’.

I promise any one reading this, 1000-1 odds. That Skillbet is not only breaking the law, but will have numerous frozen accounts and issues with the DOJ.




*1 There have been very and I mean very few cases were someone actually won a trial with relying on the advice of counsel. That said, I am sure The Southern District Of NYC will be making deposits and tracking this company account history.


*2 Marc and Jeff Ifrah must need the next wave of clients to start getting busted. Or at minimum get them started towards that path.


*3 If the cards are random, than you will have luck in it. Simple. Any person that ever challenge’s this in court will have to meet any one-poker hand. Not the long hall. (Just to be clear, I believe poker to be a skill based game, but the courts in this fine country will not allow the long haul argument. It would be one of any single hand)

Can't play for real money in Canada. Canadian owned?

lol

The cards aren't random if players are getting the same hand.

Chess also has some luck in it (due to the first mover advantage), but not many people would call it a game of chance.

In SkillBet you have to play a minimum of 30 hands - call it a "medium hall." That is part of what makes it less dependent on luck. This, and other factors (i.e., the cards and players are the same) puts SkillBet over the threshold in states that don't count games predominantly of skill as "gambling."

(In the interest of full disclosure, as I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm helping SkillBet out with PR.)

If one required enough hands to be played of conventional poker, it would be legal. One of the biggest issues w/ regular poker is the degree of luck in a single hand. So the world's worst player could beat the world's best player over 1 hand. Less likely over 5, 500, 50,000, etc. Even in our game we must enforce a minimum # of hands.

Most skill games (see king.com) require a minimum amount of play to ensure skill prevails.

Even a contest that is 1% skill and 99% luck could be changed into a game that is 99% skill and 1% luck by requiring enough contests.

We have had 5 independent gaming experts review our game; one (a partner at Sidley Austin) became an investor, one wrote our opinion. Also, a gaming lawyer also viewed it favorably in the Denver Post blog post that kicked off this thread.

i don't know why everyone is hating on this, i just tried the play money and it was actually pretty cool. I can see this being profitable

The cards are random, They are just the same set dealt to 2 people. Check NYC laws. All the DOJ needs is one state.

+1

I'm a midstakes sng grinder and play for income on Merge/Cake.

I never thought I would enjoy playing for play $, but it's fun.

I would imagine setting up a practice game with another good player would be good competition. Any1 interested PM me.

Not hating on the product, just chuckling at the huge level of justification they're going through to show that it's legal, when the same guy telling them it's legal is the same guy who gave advice to Pokerstars about the legality of operating in the US as well.

Personally I'd love to see this go to court. Either they're right and poker gets legalized, or they're wrong and everyone gets a good laugh.

Of course, the Skillbet lawyers can slink away and start consulting for a new and upcoming absolutely not gambling site EVwager.com, and be just fine.

Which is why it isn't a tournament, but heads up. And you could easily solve this problem by only dealing cards at the same time. Similar to hand-for-hand, but card-for-card.

+1
I think id rather just turn off the lights and play with myself
Its certainly +Ev