Poker Forum

I would consider Billy Walters a top authority on both Poker and sports betting. He lays millions every week, and always ends up well into the black at years end. And I'd lay odds that if Billy thought poker was more of a skill game and more profitable, he'd be playing it full time.

As much as I think Billy Walters is right to say that sports betting is a "skill game", I think any sports betting addition would be really BAD news for any online poker legislation. It will be hard enough to get online poker through on a federal level without including sports betting.

Interesting assertion. From one perspective, I would agree with Billy that to consistently make a living at one activity or another, sports betting is probably more difficult than poker. A smaller percentage of the population possesses the knowledge and skills necessary to be a professional sports bettor than a professional poker player. However, another perspective is from that of the beginner sports bettor/poker player. I would suggest that a sports bettor with absolutely no knowledge of the event he is wagering on would stand a better chance of yielding a short term profit than a poker player sitting down at a casino for the first time with no knowledge of the game. Clearly either beginner stands SOME chance to win, but I think this chance is smaller at the poker tables. This beginner's perspective may be more at the heart of the issue as well, since many opponents of the proliferation of both of these activities cite the protection of "weak" bettors (such as compulsive gambling addicts, or the occasional minor using daddy's sports book/poker account while he is asleep) as a core argument. So Billy's argument has merit, but isn't just as simple as "sports betting takes more skill than poker." IMO.