Lot of people on this forum don't want to admit this, but the winners in poker are usually the ones who get lucky and run hot at the right time. the skill edge between the various pros are pretty small.

ivey winning is better for poker than anyone else winning

And I base that on absolutely nothing

ivey's the stone cold nuts imo

umm he's the best + most popular player in the world?

This is true of every single profession.

after leaving the private craps table at foxwoods, the interviewer (i think) asks, "so how'd you do in there?"
Ivey- "I won"

awesome

Not at all inconsistent with saying that poker is a game of skill, even if he meant it.

You misunderstand what i mean when i write that. It's not a verbartim quote, what i mean is Ivey wholeheartedly believes poker is gambling, not that there is or isn't skill involved.

How did I misunderstand? I believe that Ivey believes that poker is gambling, regardless of the amount of skill involved, that was my point. "Gambling" v. "skill game" is a false dichotomy, and poker is clearly both.

As far as legal strategy, poker advocates have largely had to embrace the dichotomy and argue that poker is on the skill side. It's not a very strong position, but it's probably the only one that has any chance of succeeding in courts under the current laws. To that end, Ivey winning the ME could only be considered a very good thing -- his craps playing and his personal views about the nature of the game of poker notwithstanding.

i think you guys are arguing different things. the 'poker is a game of luck vs. a game of skill' argument and the 'poker=skill vs. poker=gambling' argument are different. i dont think the 2nd one is really an argument as both are def true

Yes, this is what i was trying to say.

FWIW, here's the (shortened) quote i was talking about

ZOMG did you guys all see Ivey bluff that river against Matusow in the Million Dollar Cash game? I'm speechless

link ?