Luck in Poker:
Category: Poker
There are many people with a limited understanding of the game of poker, who will tell you that the game is comprised of luck, as you can’t change the cards you will be dealt. Whilst there is truth in the statement that ‘you can’t change the cards you are dealt’ what you do with those cards is where the skill factor of the game comes in.
When the poker gods deem it fit to deal you a very strong hand, you have been lucky. However, that luck is meaningless if you do not have the skill to extract the maximum profit from the situation. Similarly, if you are dealt a good hand, which is ultimately the worst hand out there, your skill will dictate how early you decide you are beaten, and thus, how much money you save yourself. In this way, the most skillful players will gradually make more money than the less skilled players, because all luck evens out over time, but skill is constant. This is the theory of the game, and despite my frustrations sometimes, I for one, feel this must be true.
The problem is, that even the most skilled of players can only hold out for so long, with luck repeatedly and firmly set against them. Sometimes you can play the perfect hand, or the perfect tournament, and lose regardless, and this is probably the only game in the world where this is the case. This does not negate the effect skill has on the game however, and I feel that league tables are a good idea in poker because they allow luck a chance to even out for all the players involved.
The only thing we can do as players when our luck is poor, is quietly and calmly outplay our opponents the best we can, and wait for the results to go in our favour, as they undoubtedly, at some point, will.