Poker, Game of Luck or Skill?

Is poker a game of skill

  • Yes

    Votes: 42 60.0%
  • No

    Votes: 2 2.9%
  • Sometimes

    Votes: 21 30.0%
  • Maybe

    Votes: 5 7.1%

  • Total voters
    70
  • Poll closed .
O

Oleg196

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Whatever you were not a genius in poker without luck you - zero. No matter how successful you were not, without the knowledge of the game and experience you - zero.
 
M

Mattpokeroff

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I think poker is a game of luck, but you have to know how to use that luck
 
Romario2223

Romario2223

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Of cause of skill but in some situation of luck too
 
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predator4114

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In my opinion it has been always a game of chance. However as the knowledge of poker expands, the proportion of the results that we leave to randomness decreases, but still it's present.
Regarding to play with other persons i totally disagree with your opinnion. I think it's a matter of discovering the psichological aspects of the game, and of course not everyone is aware of it or who is aware have few knowledge. I believe that a good psichologist that would learn how to play poker could control his winnings with no efforts, but that's just my opinion of course
 
bujjhati

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I think it is inapropriated to reduce the game to one factor, skill, luck or whaterver. I think Poker has so many factors and thats why it is a complex game. You have to understand that skill is not everything in a session and luck also isn't.
 
IntenseHeat

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I have to wonder about people who say they honestly believe poker is a game of luck. I have to imagine that the style of poker that they play would rely heavily on luck. I would think that a player that thinks poker is a game of skill is going to take steps to try to learn about the game and increase their skills in hopes of being successful. But a player that thinks that poker is a game of luck, I would think, is going be in there playing bingo, making questionable calls and plays and hoping to get lucky.
 
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predator4114

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when we are running bad or playin bad , then we blame it on pure bad luck.. i know sometime maniacs reshove 4 bet wth 66 vs my AA or KK n then hit 6 o nthe flop for set n ko me out , but thats part of the game . we Need to accpet it and move on . if we dont then we better leave poker n do somethingelse.. always talking about badbeat stories making us a laughing stock and also it affects our mind negatively and creats stress which is bad for our Body
 
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predator4114

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I think poker should and luck and skill))
 
neontuning

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It's a bit of both, you need to have skill and luck at the same time, especially when you're all-in.

______
P-O-K-E-R Is the best game*
 
J

jasperkensen

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There is a huge aspect of skill involved in the game. Mostly, it's just to do with judgement and timing.
Skilled players are capable of laying down big hands, and also calling with King high. They are not always right, but most of the time they are.
Same with stock brokers. They aren't always right. Just 65% of the time.

I am by no means a great poker player, but a couple of hands I played in a live tournament this evening illustrate the luck vs skill aspect quite well I think.

1: I had A 8 of spades. Not a monster, but it was a relatively cheap flop, so I call from the SB. Flop come 10 8 2 r.
Table was a bit aggressive, so I raised about 40% of the pot to get rid of speculative hands and draws of any kind. Everyone folds except one guy who calls, whom also has a medium stack.
Turn comes another 8. I bet out half pot. Opponent goes All In, I call, he turns over 10 8 for a Full House. River was a brick.

Luck or mistake on my part? I think there can be no question that it was my mistake.
He has limped in, calls a raise, and then moves all in when the 2nd 8 hits. Alarm bells should have gone off in my head... I just didn't listen to them. I was too eager to get some chips.
He was lucky, to be allowed to limp in, to hit the board the way he did, and lucky to have some idiot across from him calling his all in.

2: I check the BB with Q 10. 10 hits the board, SB bets. I call. This goes on and on till he shows me K 10.
I knew I should have gotten away from that one. But I didn't.
Terrible call really with all those bets. The SB? Lucky to have someone calling the bets.

3: Whole table limps to my button, and I wake up with KK. I make it 6BB, and BB goes all in with medium stack. Everyone folds round to me, and I obviously call with about 25 BB behind me.
He shows pocket 4s.
And then... Yes. You guessed it. He makes trip 4s on the turn.
That is bad luck. All Ins generally are. I love No Limit but the All Ins are ridiculous some times. Anyway...

4: After a rebuy I regain composure. Everyone limps in and I check my BB with 5h8c.
Flop comes Jc 6h 7c
SB check, I bet 2BB, everyone folds except one who calls.
Turn comes 4c
Great. I made a straight. But there's a flush out there. I bet half pot, opponent goes all in, I have like 10BB behind so I call. He shows the flush. Good night. Good game.
That's sort of bad luck, and it isn't. It's a gamble. It's luck for him to make his flush on a card that completes my straight, and I am short stacked.

See, you can opt out of any hand at any time. But when you don't, you are wagering that your opponent doesn't have the hand that beats you. That these hands come together in a hand is chance, but it's your decision where you decide to start beating your chest, and where you back down.
And most of the time, "bad luck" is when you don't back down.

odds don't work out over an evening. With so many combinations, it takes years to even out. If you go all in with 22 against AK, you are a favourite. Just. That doesn't mean that you will win just over 1 out of 2. AK could beat you all 3 times in an evening. The next evening you might win all 3. Or not. Cards are in a completely random order. You might hit quads twice in an evening and then not see one for another 4 years.

Doyle Brunson said in his book that he has had one Royal Flush, and seen another (or something like that) in 70 years of playing. I started playing this year and got one.

So yes. Poker is very much down to chance. Absolutely. And that makes it a gamble. But unlike roulette, you have a choice when you gamble. And that's where the skill can help you gain an edge and profit in the long run.
 
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mrbassboy

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For me it's both luck and skill. Even though you have the highest chance of winning with pocket A's for example, the other person gets a three of a kind. At that point I just think it's luck.
 
nestabear

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Poker is 70% luck, 20% patience & 10% skill. Doesn't matter how good you are at poker, if you don't have the patience, you won't get far and then of coarse there is the luck factor. I love the fact that pocket Ace's can get crushed by 75 offsuit. like some good poker player said " if it wasn't for luck... I would win everytime "
 
artemykovec

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Beginners in poker usually consider that it is a game in luck, but when the player begins to study poker more deeply, he understands that luck is only a small part of all game. When you improve the skills of a game, you understand that a lot of things depend, from that as you play against whom you play what tactics needs to be chosen against different opponents. On it I consider that the skill is the main thing in poker.
 
SorinNeamtul

SorinNeamtul

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This is a sport.

Poker is a sport. Not gambling. You need patience, self control, intelligence. It's a mind sport. It's similar with chess.
 
SBEP

SBEP

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Both, the game part is all the rules u have in this game writen or not, but there is also a gamble part and thats usually when u are on a draw and your stack at risk by an allin bet after the turn, when u have to make the decision is it worth to push all your chips in, offcourse u have odds of hitting the card u need, but its a risk wether u will or not, so i think its a little bit of both.
 
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PKRNRS

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It don't matter what one does. Sports, work, games. Whatever we do we learn to lay a foundation down through schooling or training. After school we realize that the real world is not "textbook" and we lean to expand on our teaching through experience. We soon learn to take the highs and lows with each day and hope to improve on a continuous basis.
MJ had skill on the courts but didn't win ever game.
Homerun leaders in MLB have more strikes than anyone.
Doctors don't save every life.
Those skilled in life are always better than the ones that are lucky.
Life is also a gamble...
 
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bigjay2007

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I think its a game of skill and luck. Always someone who will call from behind. Take your chances and don't play if you can't afford to lose. That's my motto, only my opinion of course
 
nestabear

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Hi @bredaman7

I think Poker is 70% Luck, 20% Patience & 10% Skill. These days there are young players out there with tremendous poker skills.
 
naruto_miu

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I guess poker has some luck to It, correct? I mean, think for a moment about what "Harrington" stated In his book about a certain hand with him have AK vs 9s vs 9/10o or something of that nature, where one player raised, and another flatted and he looked down and seen AK. Now he goes on to state that "He could've 3bet/RR" but opted to flat. So from their on the flop came with a 9 high or something of that nature giving one of the players a set and the other top pair, and since he only chose to flat, he lost the min In that hand. That was lucky for him to choose to play AK in that fashion rather than going broke had he went with the other route. So yes luck Is Involved In the game, but not the type of luck that Is Involved more-so In hypers In the early rounds (Those are just Insane, and only mad ppl play them)
 
EsnneyPk

EsnneyPk

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I agree with several friends. The long-term ability expires, while the short-term variance prevails.
True, it is a game of chance since the delivery of the cards are random as the community cards, but if we try to seek confrontation with our opponents with cards% Premium will have a great victory ...
 
Fratchen

Fratchen

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In my opinion it's 65% luck and 35% skill.
You can beat everyone, when you are holding good cards!
 
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