Online Poker, do you really need skill?

[Red187]

I remember when I have first learned to play poker there were no iPhones and the times were different. I was 15 at a time and my base knowledge was from a phone App I don't even remember the name it was an old .jar kinda app for them buttony phones [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]. And I have always had this question do you really need skill or is it pretty much just a matter of luck.

Or how would you differentiate strategies for different types of games as an example for cash games with no limit, or in tournaments.

 

[eniseysmail]

Well, it is clear that the tactics of playing at different types of tables (tournaments, spin&go, cash) are completely different. Somewhere you need to be restrained, somewhere to play aggressively. All this will be established in understanding after some time.
And one more comment for you: don't you think that for newcomers to the game, it seems like luck is with you? Do they feel like the perfect lucky ones?
I think that the first victories are felt so joyfully that they are not yet overshadowed by defeats. Therefore, you begin to think that this is it - my happiness. And these feelings begin to fade as the number of losses increases. So the game starts to seem complicated.
Perhaps you need not to praise your victories, but to equalize them with your losses?

 

[dregan]

Of course, the tactics of the game are different in tournaments and at cash tables. You have to practice the game to understand the small differences.

 

[TaigaMaster]

of course you need skill, and training is constant ...

 

[AntA_KO_v]

As one pokerpro said, luck is needed in every particular hand, but at a long distance it does not matter at all. So skill and discipline are the main weapons against dispersion. After all, poker is a game of skill!

 

[shim36]

I think I need the skills.
In a game where you have an opponent, you basically have a strategy.
Unlike the lottery, you have to be patient and take action on your own.

 

[MAGICUZ]

One day game is luck, distance game is skill

 

[Red187]

I guess so in general there isn't a certain technique you can follow to be the best at it. Especially I find it difficult playing online because most of the players are not very readable. Does that get better over time?

 

[redsfan]

Not much skill in free rolls on online poker.Way more luck needed to do well.Gets worse and worse.

 

[najisami]

I guess so in general there isn't a certain technique you can follow to be the best at it. Especially I find it difficult playing online because most of the players are not very readable. Does that get better over time?

True, there isn't one particular strategy you can bring to the table and stick to. You have to learn different ones to use in different circumstances, the table dynamic will dictate your choice. I guess that's where the skill lies.
But I have to add that online poker is even harder than live one. As you mentioned, reading players by "looking" at them is out of question. Relying on the timing and the betting pattern does not make up for a good look at a real person in action which forces you to rely more on the cards you are dealt ( luck!? ). But with time, constant learning, patience and perseverance, experience will be build up, and combined with some intuition, avoiding that bad luck factor will become more attainable.
Results may vary...

 

[Royal9012]

I remember when I have first learned to play poker there were no iPhones and the times were different. I was 15 at a time and my base knowledge was from a phone app I don't even remember the name it was an old .jar kinda app for them buttony phones [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]. And I have always had this question do you really need skill or is it pretty much just a matter of luck.

Or how would you differentiate strategies for different types of games as an example for cash games with no limit, or in tournaments.

The only difference in strategy game, are between online poker and live poker.

 

[maestro121920]

Yes you need skill. Both physical and mentally. Hope this helps my friend. See you at the tables and I wish you luck.

 

[fundiver199]

Of course you need skills, if you want to be a long term winner. If you just want to sit down, left and right, chase some draws, wim-bam-boo, dust away your stack, and then its over, then you dont need skills

 

[drakongad]

I got my first skills on joggers for play money, after I understood the basics of switching to freeoles and away we go

 

[Cooking]

You can win one tournament with luck, but to be a successful player in the long run you’ll need skill.

 

[jeffman123]

You definitely need skill if you want to make money over the long run. Over a short time-span, yes, you can get insanely lucky or unlucky and win/lose money regardless of how you play. However, over the long run, skill will beat out the variance and you will either win money or lose money depending on it.

 

[Stasey]

of course, you need skill,especially on the distance

 

[Drake2]

In my opinion I believe that 70% is technical and some 30% is lucky, because you never know what might come at the showdown. But with the technique you can go on working hands against all kinds of opponents and stages of the tournament

 

[lauestla]

You need skills to limit the consequences of the luck factor.

 

[Alizona]

The "skill factor" only reveals itself after you've played thousands of tournaments.

All poker tournaments take place in the "short run", where luck governs over skill. You can be the most skillful player in the tournament but still lose. And you can be a total rookie and win the tournament. That's what luck can do in the short run.

But over the long run (years worth of playing poker), something odd occurs... the luck factor approaches zero, and literally disappears. That's because over time, you end up getting just as many lucky hands as your opponents do, and all that luck cancels out... leaving only the respective skill levels between the players to determine who will be a winning player in that game, and who will be a losing player. Luck has NOTHING to do with it, given sufficient sample size... but realize - that sample size has to be HUGE. The "long run" in poker can be measured in decades... so don't mis-interpret my words, just playing 100 tournaments doesn't mean you're in the "long run". You're still in the short run and still prone to luck-based downswings (or upswings, it works both ways). I would estimate its more like 1,000,000 tournaments (or something equally ridiculous) when we can state that the luck factor has finally approached zero. In other words, most players will never reach "the long run" at this game, and thus, most of us will always be at the mercy (or the blessing) of "luck". Over time, the longer you play, the less luck should be an issue at all. If you get dealt a string of bad luck, you shrug and keep right on going. That's what having a "long run" mindset does for you, if you can find such a mindset and always keep it at the forefront. It's not as easy as it sounds, most players have tilt issues!

 

[Leeyonah96]

Yes, you need more practice and know the strategy of the game.

 

[Like2Play2]

Yes, you need more practice and know the strategy of the game.

I think you need a little bit of everything and then some
Because online poker is programmed (In my opinion) so that the person with the best starting hand puts in a big raise
But unfortunately the bad beats come into play
And your pocket aces lose to 22
Because 22 hits the flush

 

[Oldstrings]

Love to hear about people winning! What were your biggest cashes?

 

[AQA272]

In modern online poker at the limits up to 11usd (cash and tournament), the skill is not needed at all !!!enough to learn poker combinations, the main thing here is luck and as many all-ins as possible


GL!!!

 

[digdug0037]

The thing you need are a lot of skill, some luck here and there, and a whole lot of patience.