Gutshot Poker case goes to Court

Day 01 - 10th January, 2007

The most important court case in British poker history got underway with jurors at Snaresbrook Crown Court being asked to consider whether the outcome of a poker game is determined by luck, skill or both. David Kelly, the chairman of the Gutshot Club at Clerkenwell Road, London, was charged in 2006 with contravening the Gaming Act of 1968 by staging two poker games without a license. Mr Kelly has entered a plea of not guilty on the basis that poker is a game of pure skill, not luck, and therefore one that is not subject to the Act.

Speaking for the prosecution, Graham Trembath QC told members of the jury that poker is a combination of both chance and skill, the chance element being introduced with the shuffling of the cards before each hand. He said that, if the jurors ultimately agreed with his position that luck has a part to play in the game, they should find Mr Kelly guilty of contravening the Act.

Mr Trembath recognised that some or all members of the jury might be new to poker, and effectively said that they would receive "a free short tuition" over the course of the trial so that they could understand the rules of the game and how it is played.

The "Gutshot trial", as it has been dubbed by many commentators, is incredibly important, because the outcome will have a large impact on the British poker scene no matter which way it goes. If the prosecution succeed in leading the jury to a guilty verdict, all poker games in the UK will need to be offered only by establishments with a proper licence. However, if the jury decide that poker truly is a game of skill rather than luck, as Mr Kelly maintains, the game will not come under the Gaming Act of 1968 and we can expect poker to enter something of a renaissance period, with new regular games expected to appear in number across the country.

The trial continues.

Day 1 • Day 2 • Day 3 • Day 4 • Day 5