Ok, last year 6 guys were robbed while playing poker, now, a year later they are being charged with gambling, a minor offence ($5.00 - $300.00 fine).
A full story in the Charleston Gazeette Today.
http://wvgazette.com/News/200811051810
WV state rep involvement needed, we need to try and sway opinion on this to promote this game as skill and not illegal gambling.
I commented on the article and sent (hopefully will be published) letter to the editor as follows:
Is it really against the law, a game played not against the "house" or a machine, but other people?
Consider in WV there are a few examples of "NOT" gambling that involve defined gambling, such as Backgammon.
The WV code considers dice gambling then states Backgammon is not gambling.
Ok, cards are gambling but poker?
Lets see, poker has chance (the deal) and game pieces - chips or money.
Poker involves strategy and odds, backgammon the same, where to move pieces after the chance roll.
Ah, though in poker you do NOT have to move your game pieces every time unless YOU choose to. You can opt to not play, backgammon, no; you MUST move the game pieces every time.
Poker involves math probabilities, position, strategy, pot odds, psychology and much more to play successfully than the dice game Backgammon.
So, is poker illegal? Seems if one player-to-player "skill" game is not, then any that meets the criteria must certainly not be illegal as well.
obg