Skill Vs Luck - Poker

There has been much debate about skill vs luck when talking poker. To do well you need a little of both however one without the other is a recipe for disaster. On the luck side, all things being equal we all get our fair share. This is often referred to as as 'swings and roundabouts'. The element that distinguishes some players from others is the skill which they have developed.

If you are thinking about getting started in poker, you should be aware of a few key facts. There will be times when you have the best hand, get your money in the pot and some idiot calls you, hoping to catch miracle cards, hitting his winning hand. This is one of the most infuriating things in poker, but putting it into context, that is poker. I always look at it from the flip side, if we didn't have players that called with garbage and committed chips to pots when it wasn't warranted, there wouldn't be any easy money. Ok, from time to time they will catch but in trying to catch miracle cards, you can be sure that they are the underdog. The odds are against them which means one thing. In the long run they will lose money, so don't be disheartened.

All you can do in poker is get your money in the pot with the best hand. The rest is down to luck, some will go against you and some will go for you, that's the game. It is common place to see players who lose the plot when they lose a hand, particularly when getting out drawn after being in pole position. They let it affect their game as they can't stop thinking "What If" and they end up losing a whole load more chips. Get one thing clear, you will have many a bad beat, learn to move on and don't dwell on past hands to the point that it negatively affects your game.

If you get your chips in with the best hand and you get outdrawn, you have played the hand well, just got unlucky. In the long run, making the right move will work in your favor. To give you an example. Let's assume your opponent keeps entering pots where he is a huge dog - let's say he plays 10 hands and on each hand is 20% to make his hand on each hand. If this player wagers $20 on each hand he will spend 20*10 = $200. As he is a 20% dog each time, he will only hit his winning hand once in every 5 hands or twice in 10 hands. So if he plays 10 hands and wins two hands he will get a return of $40 having spent $200, so would lose $160. Odds are very straight forward. Now the two times that he wins miraculously, it will hurt but looking at the bigger picture, you will be out ahead in the long run.