Editorial: Poker as a Game of Ability and Skill
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Players who understand poker know it to be a game of skill, ability and strategy. People on the outside of the game believe that all poker results depend on the turn of a card and a dash of luck. In cardrooms, in online forums, and even in the halls of power, the debate goes on as to whether poker is a game of skill rather than one of random chance.
How much luck is involved in winning at poker? How much skill does a player need? Is either factor overrated? One poker expert argued that the game is “a hundred percent luck and a hundred percent skill”. One former world champion made famous the saying, “If it wasn’t for luck, I’d win every time.” Even veteran players often cannot tell where their luck ends and their skills begin.
One way to measure a player’s skill is to assess his level of success over the long term. In the span of a few hands, an inexperienced player can “get lucky” against a more skilled opponent. Over the long term, the veteran player will show consistent winning results based on his experience. The short-term player is gambling; the long-term player is playing poker. Smart players understand the difference.
Another factor that skilled players use to determine their ability is that they measure their success based on their decisions, not their results. Most players know that the ability to make the correct decision, given the cards, the bets and the opponents, are what lead to long-term profits. While the cards may turn against them occasionally, they understand that luck, good or bad, never lasts forever.
Experienced players also understand the idea of bankroll management. Most players who visit a casino and play craps, roulette or baccarat toss their chips on the table and hope they win. Knowledgeable poker players see their bankroll as an investment similar to “seed money” used to start and maintain a business. Each bet, call or raise at a table is an investment that the player knows will reap huge dividends.
The fact that so many players have made their livelihoods at poker tables around the world should speak for the fact that poker is a game that requires intelligence, knowledge and experience well beyond a lucky charm or any other superstition. High achievers in various walks of life have gone on to great success in both cash games and major tournaments on the poker circuit.
The most important skill that any poker player can learn has nothing to do with cards or chips. The best players learn to control their emotions during the ups and downs of a session, a year or a career. Since these players recognize how important each decision becomes in the course of a game, they also know how destructive anger, fear and other negative emotions can affect their play and their bankrolls.
How much does a player’s skill level contribute to their success? Is skill more important than luck? As Thomas Jefferson once said, “I am a firm believer in luck; in fact, I’ve found that the harder I work, the luckier I get.” When determining a player’s ability to succeed in poker, skill and luck need not be mutually exclusive. Luck helps, but skill lasts longer.
13-Oct-2009, 16:56
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