Is Poker a Game of Skill or Chance?

[Dynamon]

Poker is 60% skills and 40% lucky

 

[Galmedic]

Many skills required like bankroll management and when to leave a cash table as well as tournament ICM
But luck is very important as well!

 

[hachile1]

In your opinion, is poker a game of skill or chance?

it's sure there is chance but there is also bluffing, and the psychological games that are powerful in poker, if you count on the chance you will win maybe in a shot or two but certainly you will lose so it's a whole poker good luck

 

[Pickat]

You can't avoid the chance involved in the game but with proper skills you can overcome the variance and win with regularity . So I guess you would say that it is more skill than chance .

 

[Cody5991]

I will honestly say I laugh at anybody who thinks poker is more a game of chance than skill...yes chance or luck will win you the game at times but skill will always prevail.

 

[MrPokerVerse]

Poker is a game and the element of luck will always be present here. In tournaments the percentage of luck is 40%, in cash games is much lower but it is still there.

There has been a few threads regarding luck and skill that had me posting. This has a different element to it. Most post like to throw a percentage out there. Not sure how one comes to that conclusion and what it is even based on. I'm wondering however the difference in and MTT and cash games? Are people more skilled in cash games and there is less luck?

 

[Tbone461]

In a lot of situations I would rather be lucky. To me it takes a bunch of skill to put yourself in a position we’re luck in poker has little to no effect.

 

[57noona]

I feel at times it is both skill and chance. Skill is measured in the long run of things. Chance is like taking each hand by itself. Any one can win a pot or two. But it takes some skill to win a Tournament with a large field. You need some luck along the way to win a Tournament and to win more than one Tournament I think it takes skill to win theses.

 

[disciple]

Definitely involves both.
Skill = Science + Art + Experience + Study
Luck may even out at the end but you might die before your luck catches with you.

Therefore you have to strive to increase your skill through studying, deliberate practice and reflecting on your experience.

 

[praevus]

1 day - You need more lucky than skill
1 year - You need more skill than lucky

I think that a player without lucky can be profit (less than a lucky player) but player without skill hardly be profit. Obviously that is in long term, not a day.

 

[successlaw]

In your opinion, is poker a game of skill or chance?

I find poker a skill play ..lets say 75% and 25% luck. In short term you can win by luck but on long run skill makes the diffeence.
Thats my opinion about it.

 

[Tox1cel]

I will say the game is based on skills more than luck ... But depends, because if you are playing with a begginer and you try to make bluff, he will probably call the smallest pair he's got on hands... So in that case it's all about the luck.

 

[rigor mortis]

This is a topic that has come up countless times.
Skill is having the knowlrdge, ability amd training to perform a certain activity or task well (OED Definition). Poker like all other card games is a game of chance, you have no control over the value of the cards dealt to you, or the following community cards, pure happenstance.

 

[eniseysmail]

I think this is more a game for a chance. But this chance is very tricky. Just relying on chance is useless and deplorable. It is necessary to carefully study the tactics of the game of opponents.

 

[Manifestor]

I think good luck to play 30 percent in poker, the most important thing is a cold mind

 

[WarBabyBunz]

Both, you need skill to play the cards you are given.

 

[Vilgeoforc]

There has been a few threads regarding luck and skill that had me posting. This has a different element to it. Most post like to throw a percentage out there. Not sure how one comes to that conclusion and what it is even based on. I'm wondering however the difference in and MTT and cash games? Are people more skilled in cash games and there is less luck?

60% skill and 40% luck - this my only my figures, based on my sensations and beliefs, not claiming on truth. You can have your own numbers and no one will prove you wrong. As for tournaments and cash, here I am absolutely sure that the players in the cache is much more skilled than players MTT. In the cash, you can reduce the level of variance due to a more skillful game in MTT without luck impossible to win.

 

[maki1808]

Poker is a game that you have to use your skill to manage and increase your chances.

 

[MrPokerVerse]

60% skill and 40% luck - this my only my figures, based on my sensations and beliefs, not claiming on truth. You can have your own numbers and no one will prove you wrong. As for tournaments and cash, here I am absolutely sure that the players in the cache is much more skilled than players MTT. In the cash, you can reduce the level of variance due to a more skillful game in MTT without luck impossible to win.

Does reducing the level of variance by increasing the skill level gain you more pots? You could argue with that logic, you are just putting yourself into a bigger percentage to get lucky based on having less skill than those type of players.

 

[sedlacekj]

Poker involves both skill and chance. They are not equally applicable to the same part of the game.

Chance is involved in the distribution of cards for your hand, those of the villains, and also for the flop/turn/river. However the probability math for any particular card showing up is solid and you need skill to use this. Your hand's equity relative to your opponent's is chance, but ranges for player positions are knowable, and skill is needed to apply those ranges to your calculations. The way players play their specific hands is not chance however unpredictable, and once the pattern is observed, skill is needed to have this knowledge help you. Calculated pot odds is a skill, and using it with hand equity is also a skill. Knowing when players are bluffing is another skill.

 

[Darth_Moola]

I don't think this is an either-or question. There is definitely chance involved, but there is a lot of skill you can develop in order to facilitate better chances of winning. Theoretically, most games are games of chance, it's just about how much of a role chance plays. In poker, chance plays a substantial role. In football, skill is more dominant. But poker has lots of skill involved, and football does have some chance.

 

[TheniT]

Long-term skill is more important, concentration and discipline are very important as well.

 

[mtmigmike]

Luck plays a big role in poker, but if you don’t know how to play poker you don't succeed.

 

[narc]

Poker is sure to be a skill game, this is effective in the long run! Luck is also convenient as there are BAD BEATS! Faced with the facts, a crucial skill that we can have problems with is control, that is, the patience to expect a good hand and / or know how much to risk.

 

[eniseysmail]

And you will not understand - this is skill and skill or luck. One day of the game is relatively successful, another day - complete failure.