Yes, that’s right. Harvard. Harvard University, home of the smart people has come out with the results of a study that claims that addiction to online poker is only a moderate risk. For those who did not attend Harvard and are not smart, here is the definition of moderate:

moderate (adjective) – not extreme, excessive, or intense.

The stereotype of the modern online poker player might be a man wearing nothing but a beard and a dirty terry cloth robe huddled in a corner, nibbling on a wet cigar nub with a trembling hand on the mouse, clicking away his kids’ college fund. Or maybe that’s just my dad? Whatever your perception of the average online poker player, prepare to change it.

A recent study at Harvard University Medical School Division on Addictions conducted a study wherein 3,445 poker players were carefully observed from February 2005 until early 2009. The objective? To estimate the risk of addiction online gambling poses to online poker players. The study could find no link between the availability of online gambling and online gambling addiction. The study even found that online gamblers were more likely to regulate themselves.

Mr. Andrew M. Woods, executive director of Harvard Law School’s Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society, was not surprised and believes that online poker is not so much gambling, but more an exercise in risk assessment. “There is no house in poker, so no one is guaranteed to win.” he said, “Poker exercises your ability to make good decisions.”

So there. Harvard says that online poker “exercises your ability to make good decisions.” Suck on that big government and UIGEA supporters. Maybe you should play some online poker and learn how to make good decisions such as, I don’t know, legalizing online poker.