RE Skill
When observing poker the first thing that comes to mind is, poker is a sum zero game and people make decisions based on mis-information. This makes poker an abstract game. To make a concrete decision based upon this a person needs skill and how do we acquire this? Experience from playing hours and hours of practice either on line or live. People who think luck is just as important than skill are
gambling on the abstract instead of trusting their reads at any given table and situation.
If we put ourselves in situations against people with less skill and can take their chips based on observation on a leak in their game and do this over and over is this luck or skill? The more experience we have the quicker we can observe a leak in any persons game and luck has nothing to do with the outcome of this.
Even though, we are trusting our reads and get our opponents to put their chips in behind there is still no guarantee we are going to win. If we are all in pre-flop with an opponent then the skill and playing poker is over, then it is up to the cards that come out and what happens was supposed to happen.
Peoples free will to think however, is what makes this a good topic of discussion and there is no real right or wrong answer. I embrace the gambler or an opponent who thinks luck is just as important as skill because these are the people we get our chips from. If we get sucked out on because they get lucky so be it. I personally say no to luck because that is for others to have and if they choose to use the word luck then it is their own free will to have that approach.