Poker is a game of skill? That explains a lot!

Why do we waste so much time and money prosecuting people for violating ridiculously paternalistic/antiquated/petty laws?

Here is an article discussing whether playing Texas Hold 'em for money (i.e., gambling) violates a state statute forbidding the playing of "any game with cards or dice'' under such circumstances. The statute has been interpreted as only banning games of "chance", but not games of "skill", so the next question that must be answered is whether Texas Hold 'em is a game of chance or a game of skill.

No doubt, many highly paid "experts" will soon waste their time researching and drawing conclusions regarding this truly inane and unanswerable question. More money and time will then be wasted as prosecutors and defense attorneys present their cases to juries, who will then ponder the "evidence" and most likely reach disparate conclusions based almost entirely on mere conjecture.

I have a better idea. Don't allow it to go down that path in the first place. Who really cares whether a few friends do a little gambling at a poker game? Why prosecute it at all. Keep the law in place, so as not to have to pay even more experts to research alternatives and waste the state legislatures' time drafting new provisions, and simply utilize prosecutorial discretion by choosing to not bring these cases. This will even allow certain egregious cases to still be prosecuted, such as a those involving complex gambling/poker rings.

Unfortunately, some prosecutors seem to lack the requisite "skill" needed to perform their jobs with competence.