RALEIGH --Poker is mostly a game of chance -- not skill -- making it illegal to bet items of value when playing the card game in North Carolina, the state Court of Appeals said Tuesday.

In a unanimous ruling, the three-judge panel agreed that a skilled player can tip the odds in his favor but said the player "is always subject to defeat at the turn of a card."

State law makes it a misdemeanor for any person or organization to operate a game of chance where players wager money, property or other items of value. But in 2004, Howard Fierman sought to open a poker club in Durham County and later sued when Durham County District Attorney Jim Hardin said it would be illegal.

Attorneys for Fierman argued that poker is a game of skill instead of chance.

Four expert witnesses testified that a skilled poker player can use strategy to improve his odds over the course of a game.

But Richard Thornell, an officer for the N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement Division, argued that while skill may play a role, luck will ultimately prevail.

The appeals court agreed that poker is "both a game of skill and chance," but said the role of luck was too powerful to ignore.