Stockpickr: Win Big With Top 5 Poker Stocks

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Last week, Stephen Dubner at the Freakonomics blog had an excellent post about the debate over whether poker should be considered a game of skill or chance.

This discussion is important not only for the sake of poker players who want to justify the enormous amount of time spent studying and playing the game but also because of the SAFE Port Act passed in October of last year that forbids U.S. players from participating in online gambling sites. The law specifically states that games "predominantly subject to chance" are affected, and poker is included under that umbrella.

The Freakonomics post is worth reading, especially for one question that I had not heard before: Is it possible to intentionally lose a poker game? If the answer is yes, then it's more likely that poker is a game of skill.

So what does this all mean for investors?

Well, if poker is a game of skill and can somehow avoid falling under the jurisdiction of the SAFE Port Act, then several stocks will be enormously effected. Toward this end, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) recently introduced a bill that would allow Americans to play online again, calling Internet gambling a "victimless crime."

We've set up the Freakonomics Poker Stocks portfolio at Stockpickr, which contains five stocks that would be most affected on the long side and three stocks on the short side that might get hurt if poker sites were made legal again for U.S. players.