Bluefire Poker challenges Barack Obama to Texas Holdem game. $1 million is on the pot. The web site is ready to pay off this amount of money in order to prove that the game is skill-based rather than a game of chance.

Professional poker players of Bluefire poker are willing to play with Obama or any member of the U.S. Congress in intention to show that in Texas Holdem or any other poker game the skill is a dominant factor.

Bluefire Poker is a non-wagering poker training site, and resolving the question is an affair of honor for them. They announced to put up $1 million against $1 and all the winnings will be contributed to the charity of the players’ choice.

Representing Bluefire Poker, Billy Murphy informed that it is still unknown who will play this poker session from the side of the U.S. legislators, and who will compete against him from the pros of poker community. The terms of the game are also to be specified. He said that the opponents would have an equal number of chips to begin their play with and the session would take time long enough to show the advantage of skill in Texas Holdem.

In a press release the poker training site explains why it is important to play for a long time. It is said that poker mastery and professional experience are better shown in the long run. Literally “…the better player wins the game because the player’s skills increase the odds of success”.

As Republican Barney Frank (D-Mass.) is going to introduce legislation again on March which is addressed to the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act, the web site decides to launch the challenge.

Advocates of live and online poker disagree that this game is gambling. They insist that all poker games, including the most popular variation Texas Holdem, are skilled-based and should be allowed without limitations under the law.

John Pappas, Poker Players Alliance executive director, makes the example of numerous legal cases throughout the U.S. when judges and juries have come to the conclusion that poker is a really game of skill, the truth which has been known by poker player for many years.

This year in Pennsylvania judge Thomas James Jr. has also attained a verdict in a court hearing that poker is a game of skill. It was rather odd to hear the citation from Mike Caro’s Secrets of Winning Poker by the judge saying “the money flows from the bad players to the good players.”

Sometimes poker experts are attracted to witness in the courtrooms. Thus, in February the lawsuit in South Carolina was won and poker was declared a skill-based game after hearing the testimony of such expert as Mike Sexton. Besides, the same month the organizer of a poker league was found not guilty by a Colorado jury as poker was proved to be a game of skill and this way it was not illegal gambling.

Pappas admitted: “This common sense argument is gaining ground, even in Washington D.C. , and by putting their money where their mouth is, Bluefire Poker is effectively capturing the attention of the highest levels of government – the White House and Congress”.

It is really doubtful that any of lawmakers of the U.S. Congress or the President himself agrees to take part in the game against one of the Bluefire Poker pros. However, this action of the poker training site will surely help to review the policies and contribute in separating Texas Holdem and poker in general from other forms of gambling.

After all, if anyone accepts the challenge, his opponent will be one of Bluefire’s team of pros., starting from the team leader Phil “Jman” Galfond, comprising Niman “Samoleus” Kenkre, Jason “PBJaxx” Senti, Martin “Giggy” Fournier Giguere, Ryan “Fees” Fees and Don “SoCalQuest” Nguyen.

Also recommended:

1. Challenging Obama Bluefire tries to change Texas Holdem perception
2. S.C. judge rules Holdem is a game of skill
3. Texas Holdem’s place in poker Game Selection
4. Texas Holdem – Your Best Poker Game