I have a theory that there are basically 4 types of gambling:
1) All Chance (highest risk): These are games that are basically all left to chance and no skill is involved such as dice or roulette.
2) Mostly Chance but some Skill: These include most card games (except poker*) where there is some skill involved but you are at the mercy of the cards dealt.
3) Mostly Skill but some Chance: These are games or sports where it is mostly the player's skill that controls the outcome such as golf or bowling where each player plays against the game with the opponent facing the same game independently and under the same conditions. In these games you can't directly affect the opponent's performance. Could also be true for a video games where you play against the computer and not head to head against an opponent.
4) All Skill (lowest risk): These are games where you play head to head against an opponent and can affect the opponent's performance and you both are playing under the same conditions. These are games like chess and pool or sports like basketball.
*Poker is an exception because even though you can't control the cards being dealt, the dynamics of head to head betting (bluffing, reading the opponents tendencies, etc.) can help a skilled player win regardless of the cards dealt. Poker could be in the 4th category for very skilled players.
Sports betting where you are just an observer could vary based on whether you do research on the players, horses, etc.
This is just a theory on how risky betting is in some games or sports. What do you think?
