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Poker Players Alliance Lauds New Statistical StudyShowing Poker is a Game of Skill, Not Chance

Washington, DC (March 27, 2009)

–The Poker Players Alliance (PPA), the leading poker grassrootsadvocacy group with more than one million members nationwide, today lauded the “StatisticalAnalysis of Texas Hold ‘Em” study released this morning, which provides raw data showing theoutcomes of games are predominantly determined by the players’ decisions, not just chance.“As a poker player I can tell you that knowing when to hold or fold is not based solely on the cards thatare dealt, but a series of decisions based on skill and the actions taken by the other players,” saidSenator Alfonse D’Amato, the Chairman of PPA. “This study provides the raw data to back up thecompelling arguments made by poker players around the world that it’s skill, not pure luck, thatdetermines the outcome of this game.”The results of this study are sure to assist members of the poker community with ongoing legalchallenges to protect the game from being categorized as gambling. Earlier this year PPA witnessed astring of legal victories, with judges and juries in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina alldetermining that poker is predominantly a game of skill, not chance, and should not be classified as“gambling” under the law.“The question of whether poker is a game of predominant skill or chance is not about the player’s ego, but the nature and legal protections of the game,” said PPA Executive Director John Pappas. “Incourtrooms across the country, judges and juries are finding that poker is a game of skill – not chancelike lotteries or slot machines – and this study confirms that fact.”The study, released by Cigital, Inc. in conjunction with PokerStars, used data acquired from 103million hands of Texas Hold ‘Em played online in December of 2008. According to Cigital’s report,more than 75 percent of the cases saw an outcome determined with no player even seeing more thanhis/her own cards and the community cards. Nearly 25 percent of the games witnessed a showdownwhere the cards were revealed to determine the winner, but only half of the showdowns were won bythe player who had the best five card hand. The other half of the showdowns were won by someonewith an inferior hand because the player with the best hand decided to fold prior to showdown.To review the full study please visitwww.pokerplayersalliance.org.

About The Poker Players Alliance

The Poker Players Alliance ( www.pokerplayersalliance.org

) is a nonprofit membership organization comprised of over 1,000,000 online and offline poker players and enthusiasts from around the United States who have joined together to speak with one voice to promote the game and to protect poker players’ rights.