How Much of Poker is Skill & How Much is Luck?

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Laynester

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Poker is an Art, not a skill, and not luck. Period.
 
felipem29

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credible percentages...

In my opinion, in the game of poker the highest percentage is taken by skill rather than luck, if we speak in numbers, it would be 80% skill and 20% luck, basically because in the moments that one is not really there concentrated and only seeks to win the hands only with high cards, mostly the failure is immediate since they only choose to have good luck. Therefore, by determining when one decides to bet, whatever the hand, that is where success comes from. That is skill.:cool::cool::cool::icon_thum:icon_thum
 
NWPatriot

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You start off with an equal math equation that is unproven and also cancels itself out. So really, why no state that if you take luck out of the picture, skill is the main factor and everyone is lucky and it evens out.

So luck doesn’t contribute to any long term variable and the most skilled players have an advantage. Essentially luck contributes zero percent to the over all statically players success and skill is the deciding factor?


That was deep dude. So you really want a formula? Let's decide how many "luck elements" there are in a hand and how many "skill elements" there are in a hand.

When I get dealt AA preflop, I have to consider that this was good luck, then when my opponent flops a set I have to consider that this was bad luck until I spike an A on the river and now have set over set so in the end I have good luck. Every card dealt is good luck or bad luck so there are 9 elements of luck in a heads up hand (my 2, your 2 and the 5 on the board = 9 "luck elements" in a hand).

Every decision made (skill element) requires skill. So how many "skill elements" are there in a hand? If we fold preflop, there is only one decision made based on two cards seen: skill to luck ratio is 1:2 (33% skill). If we get to showdown, there will be a minimum of 4 decisions made: skill to luck ratio is 4:9 (31% skill). If there are re-raises, check-raises, or 3bets made a long the way, we will have additional decisions to make. A quick look at some hand history data, and the hands where I have made more than 4 decisions per hand is less than 2% of the time. But of course these are probably high impact hands. I have never made more than 6 decisions in a single hand. Of course games with high levels of aggression will require more, but on average, I would say the average is no more than 5 decisions per hand. Average skill to luck ratio in showdown hands then might be 5:9 (36%).

So in summary, skill actually accounts for between 31% and 36% of the game. Of course not all skill is good, some of it is poor skill and just guessing.

If it weren't for bad luck I would have no luck at all!
If it weren't for poor skill I would have no skill at all!

Good luck and God bless.
 
voljare1234

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I think 30% of the poker knowledge of the rest is all luck I think. there are interesting cards that win and I think these have nothing to do with knowledge just simply luck ..
 
Herkstwin

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In poker, we should not confuse 'probability' with 'luck'. If you are hoping to win the pot on the river by drawing one of the 15 cards that will make you a winner, and you miss - you did not get unlucky, you missed the probability.
Players who are hoping and need to get lucky are those who have invested too much in the hand relative to the probability of drawing their card(s).
 
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dregan

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Without luck, skill won't help.
 
Lenka65

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opinion

I believe that both luck and skill are important in poker. You cannot rely only on luck. It mainly refers to the cache. In MTT tournaments, the skills of keeping the stack to the final table are very important.
 
UM3SH

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In poker, we should not confuse 'probability' with 'luck'. If you are hoping to win the pot on the river by drawing one of the 15 cards that will make you a winner, and you miss - you did not get unlucky, you missed the probability.
Players who are hoping and need to get lucky are those who have invested too much in the hand relative to the probability of drawing their card(s).
Yeah!
 
danoscar

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Hello. As phil helmuth said, "100% skill, 50% luck."
 
fruittree

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80% skill and 20% luck....notes and patience!
 
Jurgensad

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Sometimes you need à bit of luck , but it’s mostly skills. The longer you play the better your skills become.
 
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63burner

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A split: half luck half skill

Poker success is half luck, half skill. Let others dig into the probabilities. I don't have a high skill level, and will gladly accept all the luck the poker gods give me. Ergo sum, I am lucky to lose only 50% of the time.
 
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wilberth

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Poker is a game that is one of skill as its main characteristic, however luck is a factor that can differentiate players of the same level. In the long term, luck will only be something without relevance, where it will be shown what kind of player you are.
 
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Pablos144

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Luck is very important. You can play a hand rightly well and luck can get you out o a tournament. As well as it can also take you to the first places.
 
VITOS

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The question of the ratio of skill and luck can bring or take away billions of dollars from the online gambling industry. As for the United States, where gambling is prohibited, this issue may jeopardize the favorite hobby of many Americans. The interests of poker fans in America are represented by the Poker Players Alliance. This group lobbies for online poker interests in Congress, arguing that poker is an intellectual game. Three recent decisions by us courts have created a positive shift towards excellence. It didn't matter if it was Limit or No limit hold'em, Pot Limit Omaha or Stud.
 
Einer777

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my enter you have more study and volume more luck you will have
 
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userme4321

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Skill... doesn't count for everything but your ability to succeed will be consistent.
 
newelis74

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When luck is not on your side you can be the best player in the world and not win a hand ...
But without skill that luck won't get you anywhere.
 
byron42

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In the short run there is a lot of luck involved, but to win in the long run takes skill.

No one would be in there playing badly if they couldn't get saved by the deck, but keep playing badly and they will lose eventually.

If everyone played a few hundred thousand hands a year they'd realize having the best hand is no guarantee and that everyone wins and loses their fair share of flips and coolers.

Unfortunately the loudest voices are usually those who played a couple hundred hands, became frustrated with losing, and searched for nefarious reasons to explain the horrible injustice (rigged, bots, cheaters).

Good luck! :D

Just under 3K games on acr (all varieties), this is truth. I try to be level and honest with my play, the reason I lost my roll wasn't because of luck (we all have bad beats). In fact, the reason I had half of my roll was because of it. My skill is decent, my luck is decent, but no luck will keep your roll if you think it will carry you in the long run imo.
 
AzdajaD

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90% skill
10% luck

+ patience is the key! ;)
 
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canabero

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it depends of your objective. if you just want to earn some dollars skill is most important ( about 85% i think) but if you want to be a successful player winning a lot of tournaments or cashing a lot of money then luck factor increases dramatically, i think close to 50%.
 
KeyJey

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Skills play a very important role in poker. And you can't win a jackpot without luck
 
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