As a poker player, the question of whether poker constitutes gambling may arise frequently. Indeed, certain aspects of the game do involve elements of gambling – you risk something of value in hopes that something of equal value (money) may come your way as a winning hand – but there’s also much skill involved – this distinction between elite poker players and others is what distinguishes their skill from everyone else’s.

The debate over whether poker is a game of skill or chance will likely rage for as long as its existence continues. While people can argue both ways, it’s hard to deny that poker is gambling since in order to participate you must wager money – and over time that increase exponentially!

Though luck plays an integral part in every poker hand, if you possess enough skill it is still possible to turn a profit if done correctly. Indeed, top players earn millions because they possess superior skills at this game – isn’t that enough proof that poker is skill-based?

However, it’s essential to keep in mind that most poker players lose money – both by paying rake and buy-in fees as well as longer term losses. To prevent yourself from becoming one of these losers is by investing a substantial portion of your bankroll into the game while honing your skills – although this requires considerable commitment if you hope to become successful at poker.

An old saying holds true in most instances: in order to make good decisions, one must know their odds. Though not universally true, knowing how to calculate odds will certainly prove useful when making poker decisions and when arguing that poker does not constitute gambling.

Non-poker players may think poker is gambling, but actual poker players know better. Real poker players understand it’s not gambling because they track results and study the game regularly – making sure that money spent on gambling doesn’t become recklessly wasted either way. People with gambling addiction, on the other hand, often don’t do these things and focus more on negative outcomes than positive. This phenomenon known as negativity bias distorts perception of reality significantly; to convince someone otherwise that poker is not gambling show them how you’re being responsible with their money by tracking results or showing graphs and statistics to them about it’s not gambling!