PokerWorks

It is a challenge unlike any other. Though the odds of it being accepted are slim to none, the challenge itself makes a point and brings the skill versus luck argument to the fore of the poker conversation. BluefirePoker.com has done that by making an offer to none other than President Barack Obama and all members of the United States Congress to play a game of poker for the chance to win $1 million dollars for the charity of that person’s choice.

BluefirePoker.com was the brainchild of online poker superstar Phil Galfond, who only recently launched the site as a training resource for poker players. The site features videos from Galfond, along with a crew of pros that includes Niman Kenkre, Jason Senti, Martin Fournier Giguere, Ryan Fees, and Don Nguyen. The instructional videos stress quality over quantity, thereby only offering four to six new videos per month, but they are thorough and cover various limits and all aspects of poker. The purpose, notes the site, is to change the way players think about poker.

Only months after the launch of the site, BluefirePoker issued a serious challenge to make a simple point: Poker is a game of skill. By offering President Obama or any member of Congress to play a game for $1 million, it sends the message that any of the pros playing against the relative amateurs will have an edge and win the game, proving that skill is an essential and major part of poker.

The challenge is simple. Should the President of the United States or any member of the House of Representatives or Senate accept the offer, they need only put up $1 to play. If they win, they receive $1 million to be donated to the charity of his or her choice. Though details of the game, such as whether it will be played live or online, have not been released, nor has it been determined how long the game would need to be played to fully demonstrate the skill factor.

The official challenge states, “The legislative debate centers on whether or not poker is a game of chance or skill, and this debate determines the legality of online gambling, according to legal and legislative experts on the subject. No one in their right mind would turn down this challenge if poker were a game based on luck, because the odds are so far in their favor - putting up $1 for a chance to win $1,000,000 for the charity of their choice.”

Poker has been in the news since President Obama ran his campaign for the office, as it was publicized by mainstream media that he was a poker enthusiast who engaged in regular games during his time as an Illinois senator. And most recently, Rep. Barney Frank has made no secret of the fact that he fully intends to repeal the UIGEA by introducing pro-gaming legislation in the month of March to establish a framework for the legalization and regulation of online gaming.

The timing of BluefirePoker.com’s challenge is certainly appropriate. While the chances remain slim that the challenge organizers will receive any responses from Washington, D.C., the opportunity to extend the challenge and the idea of the game itself add to the debate and further show that poker is, indeed, a game of skill.