PokerStars wants your hand histories

PokerStars is apparently backing an effort to collect a massive amount of data (through a third party) that is intended to be used to help advance the argument that poker is a game of skill, not a game of luck. Individual players are being encourage to contribute their hand histories to the cause.

PokerStars is not collecting or providing the data directly to avoid the obvious conflict of interest that would taint any results drawn from said data.

Excerpt from thread on 2+2:

Cigital. Inc. has been contracted by PokerStars to perform an independent statistical analysis of play on the PokerStars system in the last few months. This analysis helps provide evidence about whether poker is a game where skill is dominant over chance which will be used in legal proceedings in the USA and in other countries. This is similar to what was recently ruled in Pennsylvania.

We are calculating a few interesting percentages in Texas Hold ‘Em: the percentage of hands that actually result in a showdown, and the percentage of showdowns that are ultimately won by the player that was dealt the best two cards initially.

It is important that our analysis be independent and that we demonstrate that PokerStars did not alter the play data they provided us. We are seeking confirmation of the play data directly from players, so that we have a statistically significant subset of hands that are corroborated by the players who played them.

Linky and submission info here.