Poll: Poker - Luck or Skill based game?

[Embz]

Seeing as my housemate looses $100-$200 a week on online poker I would say that it is more a test of intelligence

 

[DefunctTheory]

Wow i think the poll result so far says a LOT about how much the escapist community knows about poker (ie, not a lot).

Their confusing how THEY win poker with how professionals win. Its very much like comparing your mini-golf skills to Tiger Woods.

 

[Codeman90]

its not all luck, but I think the majority of poker is luck.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well to ruin the validatity of the poll the answer is both. As luck is required with getting cards while skill is required with calculating chances of getting cards, calling bluffs and bluffing, etc

I did not include the middle option as I feel 90-100% of voters would have chosen that one. I'm more so looking for which people think is more important within the game if that makes sense?

Ok that's fair enough maybe the title needs a bit of rethinking to say which is more important instead of having the title phrased like that.

 

[hey_iknowyou]

The answer is both really, luck when your a beginner of hard pressed, and skill when you begin to understand the game. but i would say over 50% of it is luck

If you were to play a cash game with one of the worlds top pros then by your logic if it was 50/50 skill and luck then you would end up leaving the session with a profit roughly 25% of the time then (say you play four sessions, he would beat you twice based on skill, once based on luck and you would win once based on luck, approximately.)

Do you think this would actually be the case? Keep in mind I am not talking about a tournament where you can win one hand and it would be over, you can keep rebuying and putting chips on the table whereas you are not allowed take any chips off the table until the game is finished.

 

[hey_iknowyou]

Well to ruin the validatity of the poll the answer is both. As luck is required with getting cards while skill is required with calculating chances of getting cards, calling bluffs and bluffing, etc

I did not include the middle option as I feel 90-100% of voters would have chosen that one. I'm more so looking for which people think is more important within the game if that makes sense?

Ok that's fair enough maybe the title needs a bit of rethinking to say which is more important instead of having the title phrased like that.

Good point, I edited in an explanation at the top

 

[51gunner]

If a person who is terrible at poker is dealt nothing but amazing hands he'll always beat the "champion" poker player. Its mostly luck, over 50% anyway.

Luck is a constant factor in poker though, played over any sort of reasonable amount of time the cards balance out evenly.

Provided a player in question can afford to continue. It's not like online poker where you can pull more virtual cash from nowhere and wait for it to come back around, or take more of that to a different table.

Frankly, I'm pretty damn biased here though because I will forever argue that poker is a game of luck and not a sport of skill. This is because I want to throttle whoever chooses to put poker on sports channels when perfectly good rugby games go untelevised.

 

[Zepren]

Totally skill, i play poker alot so trust me, i'm a doctor.

Maybe it's not so much skill. It's more of a state of mind too. To be emotionally detached from the game so that your moves are all based on logic.

You don't see that mindset much elsewhere, especially MW2. The number of people who hunt you alone down cause you killed them is insane.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well to ruin the validatity of the poll the answer is both. As luck is required with getting cards while skill is required with calculating chances of getting cards, calling bluffs and bluffing, etc

I did not include the middle option as I feel 90-100% of voters would have chosen that one. I'm more so looking for which people think is more important within the game if that makes sense?

Ok that's fair enough maybe the title needs a bit of rethinking to say which is more important instead of having the title phrased like that.

Good point, I edited in an explanation at the top

Ok. Well on topic I think it is ultimately more luck based than skill based. While skill plays a huge factor it boils down to luck.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

It's a little both. LUck mostly lies in the getting of the right cards at the right time. Skill lies in the ability to read others, calling out bluffs and calculating the odds of your success based upon the other players' bets.

 

[Samcanuck]

It's both. If your cards are crap all game long...good luck winning anything. But you still need to know how to play your hand, and understand what is ment when people place bets depending on what cards are down. (Texas hold 'em style). Because its an A or B question...I'll choose skill. Any mook can get a lucky hand.

 

[hey_iknowyou]

Totally skill, i play poker alot so trust me, i'm a doctor.

Maybe it's not so much skill. It's more of a state of mind too. To be emotionally detached from the game so that your moves are all based on logic.

You don't see that mindset much elsewhere, especially MW2. The number of people who hunt you alone down cause you killed them is insane.

I play a large amount of poker as well, I couldn't argue that it is entirely based on skill though. There is always going to be an element of luck in a game. Not in the longterm obviously, but you can easily go on long enough runs where cards constantly turn against you, you can get your money in with the best of it and constantly get sucked out on, etc.

If you play winning poker though I do agree, over a long enougb period of time you are guaranteed a profit.

 

[Private Custard]

If a person who is terrible at poker is dealt nothing but amazing hands he'll always beat the "champion" poker player. Its mostly luck, over 50% anyway.

That's where the pro mindset will have a huge advantage. You could have the best hand in the world, but when you're up against a pro, you'll end up doubting your own name by the end of the night!

 

[rsacks]

I say luck. Yes it takes skill to calculate odds, pick up on tells, know what to bet when you want someone to call or fold and so forth. However if you just don't get the right cards or someone else IS getting all the cards, there isn't much else you can do.

Plus different forms of poker (Holdem' vs draw vs stud vs omaha and so on) require differing amounts of skill and luck.

 

[hey_iknowyou]

I say luck. Yes it takes skill to calculate odds, pick up on tells, know what to bet when you want someone to call or fold and so forth. However if you just don't get the right cards or someone else IS getting all the cards, there isn't much else you can do.

Plus different forms of poker (Holdem' vs draw vs stud vs omaha and so on) require differing amounts of skill and luck.

I disagree that varying forms of poker are more luck based than others. In any game the "luck" factor remains constant over the any sort of decent amount of playing time, after that the results boil down to skill levels between players.

 

[anthony87]

Anyone who says luck is more important than skill has never played a serious game of poker in their life.

 

[Shinigami214]

I'd say skill takes a front seat - mostly because while luck can turn a game, skill lets you win on the longterm.

 

[Jindrak]

Yes.

 

[amorpheus]

Luck. You need to know how to use the cards you get, but claiming that it's purely (or even mostly) a game of skill seems pretty vain to me. Sure, luck evens out over time, whatever that means, but how many hands do you need to play for that argument to work out mathematically?

I won't argue that there isn't any skill involved, but it's mostly about estimating your chances - i.e. luck.

 

[ad4m101]

Id say its 100% luck for most people, you can only do as good as your dealt.
However spread over a entire sessions am sure people can read people and what not to make a
educated guess at wins/loss chance or what not, knowing what cards could be in play.