NH state law (RSA 647:2,II) defines gambling as: “risking something of value upon a future contingent event not under one’s control or influence, upon an agreement or understand that something of value will be received in the event of a certain outcome.”
The key words are "not under one's control OR influence."
How can anyone argue that the future contingent event (i.e., the winning or losing of a poker hand) is not under the influence of the player. THE PLAYER CAN FOLD! THE PLAYER CAN RAISE, EVEN BLUFF, INDUCING THE OTHER PLAYER(S) TO FOLD!
You cannot say that the future contingent event is the total of the cards, because MANY, MAYBE MOST, POKER HANDS ARE FINISHED WHEN EVERYONE FOLDS BEFORE THE LAST CARD.
Additionally, the player influences who is at any showdown to the last card by their play (betting and raising) - and many times the person who otherwise would have won has been bet out! So even when the cards decide the result it has been influenced by the player(s). And, in poker, its not just who wins, but how much is won, that is certainly the result of decisions by the players, not the cards.
Also, figure how all of this would apply to a POKER TOURNAMENT - there the outcome would be who has all (or sometimes most) chips at the end. Its a no-brainer to conclude that that is at least influenced, if not outright controlled, by the actions of the player(s).
So as long as there is bluffing and folding as part of the game, I conclude that poker is not gambling under New Hampshire's definition.
Thoughts?
Skallagrim
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"They will stop me from playing online poker when they peel my cold, dead fingers from my keyboard."
Some folks have asked me if Poker isnt gambling, why cant they play it in bars in N.H.? The answer is that criminal laws are not the only laws that are out there. NH's liquor licensing laws include the provision that no licensee shall allow "gambling OR wagering" on the premises. While I have little doubt about my conclusion that poker is not gambling, even I would be hard pressed to argue that poker is not "wagering." Wagering is a much broader term, obviously, and I would have to admit, includes playing any game where money is put up to play and the money goes to the winner. But this only applies "on the premises of a bar" not in your dining room or den. And allowing wagering isnt a crime, just could lead to the loss of the liquor license, though that is usually a more costly penalty.
Others have asked, does this mean I could open a card room in NH. The answer to that question is less clear. First, of course, the card room could not be licensed to serve alcohol - that probably dooms the idea right there (though maybe if patrons brought their own alcohol you would still get patrons).
Also, NH has a charitable gaming statute that limits who can "operate" "games of chance." That statute, however, tells you that a "game of chance" is anything that would be gambling under the criminal definition or a lottery. So there I go back to my original point, players influencing the outcome means its not a game of chance.
So to the second question, my conclusion is a card room would be legal in New Hampshire, so long as it did not serve alcohol - it it want to serve alcohol, it must operate under the charitable gaming law (where there is a specific allowance for serving alcohol despite the normal liquor license law).
Skallagrim