Beyond chance? The persistence of performance in online poker

A major issue in the widespread controversy about the legality of poker and the appropriate taxation of winnings is whether poker should be considered a game of skill or a game of chance. To inform this debate we present an analysis into the role of skill in the performance of online poker players, using a large database with hundreds of millions of player-hand observations from real money ring games at three different stakes levels. We find that players whose earlier profitability was in the top (bottom) deciles perform better (worse) and are substantially more likely to end up in the top (bottom) performance deciles of the following time period. Regression analyses of performance on historical performance and other skill-related proxies provide further evidence for persistence and predictability. Simulations point out that skill dominates chance when performance is measured over 1,500 or more hands of play

Oral health and healthcare utilization in Belgian dentate adults.

OBJECTIVES: In 2012-2014, the Belgian National Oral Health Data Registration and Evaluation Survey, integrated in the Health Interview Survey (HIS), was carried out. The present study investigated, in a sample of 1340 dentate adults (≥25 years), the association between oral healthcare utilization, oral health status and sociodemographic status. METHODS: A multistage, stratified cluster sampling procedure was used. Oral examination for caries experience (World Health Organization, D3 MFT-Index), periodontal status (Dutch Periodontal Screening Index, DPS-Index), number of teeth present and occlusal contacts without wearing removable dentures was performed by calibrated examiners. Oral healthcare utilization data were retrieved from the records of the Belgian Intermutualistic Agency. Participants' oral health and sociodemographic data were linked to registered oral care utilization in the previous 5-year period. Regular attenders (annual attenders and those with at least one registered contact in three different years) were compared with irregular attenders (those having had dental visits but not according to the definition of regular attenders) and nonattenders. Data were weighted to compensate for sampling and participation bias. RESULTS: Six hundred and seventy-nine participants attended regularly, of whom 276 annually; 256 did not attend in the reference period. The overall D3 MFT-Index was not noticeably different between attendance patterns (varying between 11 and 13), although regular attenders had more restored teeth than nonattenders (P 0.05). Females, participants with higher education, older participants and those in employment had higher rates of regular attendance. CONCLUSIONS: Regular attenders had fewer untreated caries lesions, but neither lower caries experience nor lower DPS-Index than irregular attenders. Regular attendance was associated with sociodemographic variables