Is Luck the Most Important Thing in Poker?

[CDNMAN 42]

Luck???

I do agree that skill, patience and experience are the determining factors in most cases, however, consider this extreme BAD LUCK scenario I experienced today...
I played 8 SitN go Tourneys on pokerstars. low entry fee, In every one of them I got knocked out on what I would think are coolers,
These were the hands,
My Cards Results
KK lost to 999
JJ lost to AA
AA lost to QQQ
TT lost to 99(set9)
77 (7) set lost to str8
AKo lost to AQo (caught a Q)
AQs lost to K8s (caught a K)
AQs lost to Q8 (caught a set888)
In all of these hands I either Jammed or was jammed and called pre flop...Luck? or the lack of?

 

[moshie]

I play mostly mtts you need more than just skill to make deep runs in tournaments. In key situations when you are more than 80% favorite going into the last card you need
your hand to hold up.Keep getting snapped off in these situations despite our skill can
lead to some sub par results. If that is the luck factor in this game, we don't have any control of that.

 

[xpvictor1]

Luck is crucial

Even the best poker players rely on luck sometimes, some maybe even quite often.
It is almost unthinkable that anyone wins a MTT without winning at least one lucky hand.
Tell me I am wrong .. have you ever won a tourney without at least one lucky hand.

 

[Dutydog]

As someone once said “Poker is 80% skill and the other half is luck”.

 

[nghoffman]

For those terrible players out there, luck is definitely the most important aspect of poker.. As for the rest of us, patience, patience and well-timed aggression get the job done just fine.

 

[Andymac37]

Luck definetly plays apart.. if u r gonny take a tourny down u need to win the flips, some times u r at the mercy of the deck no matter how good u get it in . Every 1 on Cards chat will have 100s of bad beat storys and 100s of storys about hitting sets vs over pairs its just part of the game.. but wen u watcg the best players they can always get value on there hands where others would check , and they know how and when to bluff.. lucks not the most important every thing has to be working if u r gonny ship the tournament

"DONT BLUFF IN MICRO STAKES " 100!!!

 

[Lina1020]

Luck is one of the most important things in poker, but there has to be knowledge. Unfortunately, I'm not lucky many times.

 

[Vilgeoforc]

I think the ratio of 90% to 10% is true for chess, not for poker.

 

[PatValShark]

Luck is equally as important as knowledge and experience. It is a synergy of all. I just hope you are lucky enough to have the patience to acquire the knowledge and experience.

 

[steve01991]

luck is just one aspect of the game that you have to overcome. sometimes other players seem to get lucky against you and sometimes you get no luck what so ever. Today it seems i am not getting any cards at all , so on days like today i stay away from the tables and go for a swim or something.

 

[johnnylawford]

I think it's important to consider what luck is -short term variance. If you sit down at a slot machine and make $10,000 in 3 hours it doesn't mean slot machines are a good investment, it just means you won the 1 in 3 times a player will make money. In the long run there's a high probability you'll be 100% stuck if you keep playing that same slot machine 3 hours a day for a year.

Likewise, if you invest in a successful stock portfolio you'll be ahead in the long run, even if you're down during a recession. You have to think about poker in these terms, playing well is like investing in stock where you'll win in the long run even if you lose when the 'market' is down, not like playing a slot machine where you measure results by what happened in the last three hours (or weeks, or even months).

 

[blackflag]

The longer you play, the less luck becomes a factor

 

[aditzaH8]

Well it's a major factor!I was playing live against a guy who basicaly won only by luck!

 

[youri]

Poker is mostly discipline and avoiding tilt also, skills and knowing the fundamentals and a tiny bit of luck.

Random Jack recreationally playing poker will be counting on his luck and gambling whilst a John who is a poker pro will be working.

 

[mimietmour]

I think luck is a factor, as temperature, noise, time of the day, even odor, all depends how sensible who are to those factors.

 

[Kmason531]

Luck is 0% of success of poker.

 

[blueskies]

Over time, the best players will TEND to win the most, but on any given hand luck is the most important factor. It's not just about decisions, what hole cards you get, what hole cards others get, THAT is already luck.
So a lucky garbage player likely won't make money over the long run, but in a short span of time, he certainly can win. If he's smart and quit after a big win, then he'd be a winner. But luckily most of them can't help it, they keep playing.

 

[steve01991]

you have to have some luck, but smart playing always wins over luck in the long run.

 

[Tbone461]

In my humble opinion luck is a vital part of any deep run in a tourny. It is just as important to not get unlucky as it is to get lucky.

 

[VVi10]

No way. The most important is about you learn how to mixture all the things involved in playing poker and make the best play every hand.

 

[Delfino]

In my experience there's no such thing as luck

 

[perrypip]

Luck is going to be a big factor if you play a cash table for an hour or play a single tournament. But over many hours cash table play or many tournaments the players with the skill are the ones who come out on top.

 

[James24543]

Many newcomers to poker believe that the most important thing in the game is luck. In fact, this is not so. Professional players believe that only 10% of success depends on luck in poker, and the remaining 90% depends on the player’s skills. Experienced players can even win with the obviously worse cards among their rivals. I use various psychological techniques and expertly bluffing you can beat an opponent with the best combinations on the table, but what’s your opinion?

I agree with this.

 

[UkoChebuko]

I can explane this very good on my native language, but in English will be hard for me.

Let's say you have a casino. With a roulette..."Half lost at the zero" rule, only 1.40% edge...But you still "want" this game in your casino. This is not "gambling", nothing similar. If somebody walk into the casino and bets $100 on black, it is mainly, almost "only luck". He can win, he can lose. Only luck...But if he plays lets say 10k times, most likely you will win. If he plays 10k times only "straight" (1 to 36), the risk for you is higher. You can lose a lot of money. "Variation"...Like in poker, MTT, spin and go.

If you have this 1.4% edge (6.4% edge , because + 5% rake) this is not "gambling", this is not luck, this is "skills". If you play only one MTT, this will be "pure luck". But if you play 10k MTT, then this is not "exactly luck". If you play 5 milion hands at the cash tables, this is not "luck".

Sorry for the bad English...

 

[tata777rus]

For example. Tournament 3500 players. Three aces on the flop. You both go all in. You have two deuces, your opponent has two threes. Luck cheated on me. Sorry, I am writing through a translator.