50 poker players.......... :glugglug

Poker is a combination of a number of skills. Very few things in life are achieved with luck.

If there weren't luck involved you wouldn't be able to get bad players to put up their money to play.
However, it's still much more skill than luck.

On a good night (when you're catching good cards) a good player will win 3 racks of chips. With the same cards a bad (average) player would only win 2 racks of chips.

On a bad night (catching shitty cards, draws not filling up etc) a good player will lose 1 rack of chips but with the same cards a bad player will lose 2 racks of chips.

Luck can play a factor in how you do on any given session, but in the long run the money goes to the players with a solid understanding of the math and psychology of the game.

it takes skill to identify luck

both.........

Obviously, in the short term luck can prevail. But mathematics and probability always win out in the long run. If you play long enough, skill far outweighs luck when it comes to poker.

No matter how skillful you are, there are going to be bad beats, and you are going to get your pocket aces cracked. But, if you understand the game, and the odds, in the long run skilled players will always make money.

Like Mike said in Rounders, "Why do the same 8 guys make it to the final table at the World Series of Poker every year? What are they, the luckiest guys in the world? It's a skill game!"

poker is all about skill, brain and experience... :winkwink:

agreed !

I'll say is 60% skills/knowledge and 40% luck

:2 cents: :2 cents: :2 cents:
80% LUCK: on any given single hand
80% SKILL: Over the course of an entire year of play

I think I heard Chris Ferguson say that once too :thumbsup