Hypothetically, what would you choose...

individualequal

individualequal

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Okay, so say you play heads-up SNGs. There is luck involved, lets say the rake/entry fee is about 5% (e.g., $1+$0.05). Would you choose to play this, or...

Would you prefer to play heads-up SNGs where there is no luck involved, however there is 50% rake/entry fee. The game being played is not poker, but a game where your skill vs. opponents skill is the only factor affecting the outcome. You win if you play better.

So, poker with its natural variance, and 5% rake,

Or

A game with 50% rake and no luck involved?
 
tenbob

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There is no luck at all involved over a large enough sample size.
 
sam1chips

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I guess it would depend on what the "50% rake game with no luck involved" was, and your level of skill compared to your competitors. If it is one on one basketball, and you are LeBron James going up against 4th graders, then you take the scenario every day of the week.
In poker though, there is a little luck but a lot of skill as well. As tenbob said, over a large enough sample size, if you show skill then you will make a profit.
...Also, a 50% rake on the skill game is crazy high. That means that you need a 75% winning percentage in order to make a profit. For heads-up SnGs with a 5% rake, you only need a 52.5% winning percentage to make a profit. I guess it depends how good you are at the skill game, but i think the poker game is the way to go in this scenario.


Edit: I also want to add, there is luck in everything (in my opinion). Watching the US Open, players get lucky there. Players have gotten lucky in the first 2 games of the NBA finals. I believe that you do create your own luck, but imagining a game with absolutely no luck is unrealistic (in my opinion)
 
duggs

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very unlikely that bad players will play in the 2nd game
 
tenbob

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duggs said:
very unlikely that bad players will play in the 2nd game
Click to expand...

Very unlikely that good players would either. Your edge against even the most crappy of regs is no-where close to beating the rake.
 
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Is there anyway I can play lebron heads up in the 2nd game....cause if so sign me up.
 
duggs

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tenbob said:
Very unlikely that good players would either. Your edge against even the most crappy of regs is no-where close to beating the rake.
Click to expand...

haha yea that too
 
Reptar7

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sam1chips said:
I guess it would depend on what the "50% rake game with no luck involved" was, and your level of skill compared to your competitors. If it is one on one basketball, and you are LeBron James going up against 4th graders, then you take the scenario every day of the week.
In poker though, there is a little luck but a lot of skill as well. As tenbob said, over a large enough sample size, if you show skill then you will make a profit.
...Also, a 50% rake on the skill game is crazy high. That means that you need a 75% winning percentage in order to make a profit. For heads-up SnGs with a 5% rake, you only need a 52.5% winning percentage to make a profit. I guess it depends how good you are at the skill game, but i think the poker game is the way to go in this scenario.


Edit: I also want to add, there is luck in everything (in my opinion). Watching the US Open, players get lucky there. Players have gotten lucky in the first 2 games of the NBA finals. I believe that you do create your own luck, but imagining a game with absolutely no luck is unrealistic (in my opinion)
Click to expand...

this. all of it. I can't think of anything that I have a big enough skill based edge in to warrant 50% rake being profitable. I know I can beat poker tho.
 
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fkucdaw0rld

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yea no doubt i'd play the first one...no way i have enough faith in myself to have the skill required to make the 50% rake even remotely profitable lol
 
individualequal

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sorry guys, the rake is actually 25% in the games I'm talking about. Surprised nobody noticed, since 50% rake would not allow you to profit, only break even if you won every single game
 
Matt Vaughan

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individualequal said:
sorry guys, the rake is actually 25% in the games I'm talking about. Surprised nobody noticed, since 50% rake would not allow you to profit, only break even if you won every single game
Click to expand...

True. If you buy into a $100 HU SnG with a 50% rake, you put $50 in the prize pool, and $50 in the rake. Your opponent does the same, which puts a total of $100 in the prize pool.

You bought in for $100, so you must win 100% of games to break even.

As to the rake of 25%, this is still huge. I'll echo what others have said: your skill edge must be enormous to even consider playing something with this highway-robbery-of-a-rake.

Let's say I play 3 games for $100 each. $25 are taken for each game, from each player. That means a $150 prize pool for each game. I've paid $300 to play the 3 games, so to break even, I must WIN 2 OF THEM.

You have to win 66.67% of your games just to break even. That's insane. Even if poker has a lot of variance, I take the lower rake. As others have said, the skill edge is still the most important factor over a large sample. And variance will always play into everything, including your so-called "skill game" (whatever it is).
 
individualequal

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Ok, looks like its an unanimous decision! The site I play these skill games in has had its critics and dodgy feedback, so maybe I will stick to poker. Managed to turn 10 euros into 40 euros though. It takes a whopping 4 weeks for a withdrawal to complete as well. Its a site where you play skill games against other people, however the games seem as though they've been designed for children in terms of layout, etc. Not sure if I can name drop here.
 
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