Playing_roulette,_Las_Vegas,_Nevada_(74663)

A game of chance is in contrast with a game of skill. It is a

game A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (suc ...

whose outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device. Common devices used include

dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing ...

spinning top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...

playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...

roulette Roulette is a casino game named after the French word meaning ''little wheel'' which was likely developed from the Italian game Biribi''.'' In the game, a player may choose to place a bet on a single number, various groupings of numbers, the ...

wheels, or numbered balls drawn from a container. A game of chance may be played as

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three ele ...

if players wage money or anything of monetary value. Alternatively, a

game of skill A game of skill or game of wits is a game where the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physical skill, rather than chance. Alternatively, a game of chance is one where its outcome is strongly influenced by some randomizing device, such ...

is one in which the outcome is determined mainly by mental or physical

skill A skill is the learned ability to act with determined results with good execution often within a given amount of time, energy, or both. Skills can often be divided into domain-general and domain-specific skills. For example, in the domain of w ...

, rather than chance. While a game of chance may have some skill element to it, chance generally plays a greater role in determining its outcome. A game of skill may also may have elements of chance, but skill plays a greater role in determining its outcome. Gambling is known in nearly all human societies, even though many have passed laws restricting it. Early people used the

knucklebones Knucklebones, also known as scatter jacks, snobs, astragalus, tali, dibs, fivestones, jacks, or jackstones, among many other names, is a game of dexterity played with a number of small objects that are thrown up, caught, and manipulated in va ...

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticate ...

as dice. Some people develop a psychological addiction to gambling, and will risk even food and shelter to continue. Some games of chance may also involve a certain degree of skill. This is especially true when the player or players have decisions to make based upon previous or incomplete knowledge, such as

blackjack Blackjack (formerly Black Jack and Vingt-Un) is a casino banking game. The most widely played casino banking game in the world, it uses decks of 52 cards and descends from a global family of casino banking games known as Twenty-One. This fam ...

. In other games, such as roulette and ''punto banco'', (baccarat) the player may only choose the amount of bet and the thing he wants to bet on; the rest is up to chance, therefore these games are still considered games of chance with small amount of skills required. The distinction between 'chance' and 'skill' is relevant because in some countries chance games are illegal or at least

regulated Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. ...

, but skill games are not. Since there is no standardized definition, poker, for example, has been ruled a game of chance in Germany and, by at least one New York state Federal judge, a game of skill there.

Addiction

People who engage in games of chance and gambling can develop a strong dependence on them. This is called psychopathology (addiction) of "pathological gambling". According to psychoanalyst

Edmund Bergler Edmund Bergler ( , ; July 20, 1899 – February 6, 1962) was an Austrian-born American psychoanalyst whose books covered such topics as childhood development, mid-life crises, loveless marriages, gambling, self-defeating behaviors, and homosexualit ...

, there are six characteristics of pathological gamblers: # They must play regularly: the issue here is to know from when the subject performs "too much." # The game takes precedence over all other interests. # There is optimism in the player that is not initiated by repeated experiences of failure. # The player never stops until they win. # Despite the precautions that they originally promised, they end up taking too many risks. # There is in them a subjective experience of "thrill" (a shivering sensation, excitement, tension, both painful and pleasant) during the phases of play.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Game of chance Game terminology

Addiction

See also

References