Poker is definitely gambling, people only deny it because they are poker players and are sensitive to the negative connotations of the word. It's like how some poker players deny that winning poker is predatory...it's absolutely predatory to play in games with weaker players in order to take their money.

Ultimately words have actual meanings, it's a fact that poker is gambling and it's a fact that long term winning poker players engage is predatory behaviour, bar a few possible fringe cases.

Life is a gamble. Everything you do is a gamble. Butterfly effect to the max.

UGH! Cmon PC, try to remember that poker is a game. Comparing a farmer's risk to a poker player's is nonsense.

Not nonsense at all. It emphasizes just what you posted. Many more serious things in life are gambles.

Games are microcosms of life.

I didn't succeed to become a stong-man in weightlifting and I didn't succeed to become a good chess player (2000+ fast chess rated). I have been/am a good gamer, swimmer, speed runner, table tennis player but I could never be a good football player (don't have the leg(s) for it) but I might become or even be a good martial artist and a poker player.

Playing other digital card games at this time to take a break from poker although I still study hand histories to get my (PLO) to "perfection," and I know the study gives one a lot in a game like poker.

The "eye" is a lot in martial arts, something I have and I see it is in poker also (the mere math people are blind to it), additionally to having a desire and persistence to learn to play theoretically good poker (I don't give all value to books on this arena but I have learned a lot from them also, although it needed a lot of reading and thinking, too much, that means there is a lack of talent in poker even among the authors, as so much chatter).

I think it is an obvious bull that one needs no talent to succeed in tough games even when it comes to poker. I don't think most have my eye and technical desire. I consider them as talents.