Skill Game

A skill game is one in which player decisions measurably affect the expected result. Poker is the standard example, because you compete against other players and choices about betting and folding change long-run outcomes. Blackjack sits in between: the cards are random, but decisions such as when to stand, split or double alter the theoretical return within a fixed set of rules. The distinction matters legally as well as mathematically, since some jurisdictions regulate skill-dominant games differently from pure chance products. It is worth being precise about what skill does. Better decisions reduce the cost of playing and, in player-versus-player formats, shift results between competitors; they do not remove randomness, guarantee outcomes, or turn gambling into a reliable source of income.