Swedish Skill | A Lawyer's Synopsis

Last week, four men in Sweden accused of operating an illegal poker tournament in 2007 received reduced sentences because an Appeals Court found tournament-style Texas Hold'em was governed more by skill than chance.

Ola Wiklund, an attorney with the law firm Wistrand in Stockholm, offered a synopsis of the decision.

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Judgment of the Court of Appeals of Western Sweden on May 14, 2009, in case 2845-08, which concerns indictments of illegal gambling by way of organizing a poker tournament in 2007.

After going through all the evidence in the form of, among other things, articles, opinions, and witness testimony, the Court of Appeals ("the court") found that its investigation supports the notion that skillfulness, more than chance, decides the outcome in a large-scale tournament which would have been played at the European Poker Challenge in 2007.

Among other things, the court found it apparent that successful poker players in Texas Hold'em must have the ability to perform mathematical analyses. The player must also have strategic knowledge and experience about opponents’ actions to achieve success.

The court decreed there is no doubt that a player’s skill is significant in determining the outcome in Texas Hold'em. Objections that tournament results don't entirely -- or mainly -- depend on chance must be accepted, according to the court, which found that what had occurred couldn’t lead to one being held responsible for illicit gambling.

On the other hand, the court found that side games are predominantly determined by chance given the smaller number of hands dealt. Although Erik Broman, a mathematician at the University of Gothenburg, testified that after just 10 hands skillfulness may begin to affect the outcome of play, the court found otherwise.

The outcome in the case is that all of the indicted were acquitted of being responsible for illicit gambling in cases involving large-scale gambling.

The two indicted who belonged to the organizing company were found guilty with regard to their involvement in playing on the side games. The result was a suspended sentence and, for one of the indicted, a fine equivalent to 60 days' pay.