What Is Luck and What Is Skill in Poker ?

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What Is Luck and What Is Skill in Poker ?

There seems to be quite a bit of confusion on what role luck and skill plays in poker. What is most important, luck or skill? This article will debate the subject by beginning to look at different peoples perspective. It will then enter into why the question is not as easy to answer as it may seem at first, moving on to the sensible answer and why this answer makes poker popular.

Many slanderers believe that poker is just about luck. That is not very strange. Poker has a history of a mysterious image and is intricately mixed with other casino games. Those with merely a faint interest in poker might stand by this belief even if they have played poker themselves, as they have not been introduced to the profoundness of the game. A concept such as poker professionals - which should be inconceivable unless skill is a part of poker - does not convince the disbelievers as such a profession instead is obscurely mingled up with images of swindlers and crocks.

Tiresome Poker Players' Perspective

The tiresome poker player is certain that both factors effect the game. Whenever the player wins a larger pot, skill was the lone contributor. Every loss is deducted as luck, or rather bad luck. It is easy to attribute all losses as bad luck or bad beats, easy on the ego that is. Especially if that ego is boosted from all prior winning decisions. Of course a player with this adamant faith will not be long lived at the poker tables unless the funds backing up this belief is unlimited.

Both Luck and Skill Are Factors

The poker player described above is right about one thing, poker does involve both luck and skill. It is hard to say in what proportions they come, it varies between different poker variants. Sometimes it is also tough to say what is what in a specific situation. The edge or the advantage a player has on another player in a particular hand may be small, not the least bit insignificant, but small. So when the underdog wins that hand, it was most certainly not an unlikely scenario. Still you can say that the underdog was lucky because in the long run, if that situation comes up many times, the underdog will lose in the end.

Why It Is Hard to Distinguish Them

Now if we say that a specific hand is only played once. Then it can be difficult to say if the win should be attributed to luck or if the winning hand did have the odds on its side. The number of factors that should be calculated and approximated are at times to difficult for that. Sometimes it is very straightforward to see what the right decision was, at other times it is all to easy to lure oneself into saying: "Oh my, I made a good play there" or "Oh my, that must have been unlucky", after a win and a loss respectively. Life is easier that way. After a winning session at the tables it can be difficult to answer: Was I playing well or did I get lucky? The better you know what you are doing, the easier it is to answer. Anyhow, one can certainly not rely on luck in poker.

Time Is the Divider

Luck and skill are both are both elements of poker. Skill can be relied upon. Good decisions can wind up losing, in fact they will lose a certain percentage of the time. The important thing is that if it indeed is a good decision, then the expected result is profitable. Let the same situation come up often enough and the good play will be the long run winner. Luck will not stand a chance. Give it some time and luck will not be factor. That is what separates luck and skill, time. Luck is going against the odds. Eventually math takes over. A bad beat or an unlucky session will not change that. That might disturb your peace of mind, but it will not eliminate the skill factor from poker.

The Complexity of Poker

That is poker. It actually adds to the fun. Most of the time professionals and serious students of the game will come out on top. But in what other game would someone who started six months ago stand a chance against the worlds top ranked players? Imagine that tennis or chess game! There is a nice balance between luck and skill in poker. Sure it is frustrating at times and there is no real substitute to skill but when was the last time someone said "good skill to you"?

Lars Bengtsson is the editor of http://www.reviewed-online-poker.com which features reviews of the top poker rooms, interesting poker articles and a comprehensive poker school.

This article is part of the poker school at Reviewed Online Poker.