Need to set up a study where a series of pre-arranged hands are played by several groups of players to determine whether probability or luck plays more of a factor in the game.

so had to

Well, that was a very dumb and incorrect ruling, made by judges who clearly don't understand the game.

"But it said simple math, tactics and psychology played smaller roles than luck in determining the winner."

True. Assuming they're defining "winner" here as "the winner of a hand", which I imagine they are. Luck does play the largest role in any individual hand. But over a series of many hands, strategic factors greatly overtake it. You don't make hundreds of thousands of dollars every single year by simply being consistently lucky.

Alacritous: Need to set up a study where a series of pre-arranged hands are played by several groups of players to determine whether probability or luck plays more of a factor in the game.

Um, doesn't that pretty much defeat the whole idea of "luck?"

/They do this already in Bridge, which is well-recognized as a matter of skill, not luck.

oldebayer: Um, doesn't that pretty much defeat the whole idea of "luck?"

set it up so different groups are playing the same hands, in the same order. and track to see which games are won by the skill of the players.. if the same hands win in many of the groups, then it would be "luck" (the players don't know the hands or the order). If the same hands lose more often, but the same players win more of the hands, then it would lean more towards skill.

Rev.K: I can't possibly understand how they came to this decision.

I suspect it went something like this:

If we decide that it is a game of luck, we can regulate and tax it.

I Said

That explains why it's generally the same group of people, professional poker players, who win.

Oh wait . . .


Who win what? Tournaments that are filled with other professional poker players?

It's a game of luck for me, bad luck.

B-b-b-but I thought that pro poker players were real athletes!

Idiotic.

So, how come many of the same players are always at the final tables in big tournaments? They have the most luck, or the most skill?

Play the player, not the hand.


Stryyder: so had to

I fold

"It's not the cards that you have all the time that makes you a winner or a loser." - Doyle Brunson

"Ninety percent of the hands aren't shown in a poker game." - ibid

Here's the thing... if you can't spot the sucker in your first 30 minutes at the table... then you are the sucker.

/Rounders FTW

Stryyder: so had to

she has a pair!

Swiss Supreme Court rules that Texas hold 'em is a game of luck

I've read their decision. It is full of holes.

Then why are the same three people seated at the championship table every year?

Hanging around, hanging around. Kid's got alligator blood. Can't get rid of him.

/I'd like to get one of those judges in a game

wpmulligan

Swiss Supreme Court rules that Texas hold 'em is a game of luck

I've read their decision. It is full of holes.


That's the cheesiest comment I've read all day.

Me: Pocket Aces
Other guy: 7, deuce unsuited

Bet: All-in, pre-flop

Winner: Other guy

Had stupid shiat like that happen more than once. There is some skill involved, but it still boils down to what cards turn up. That's why it's called 'gambling'.

D-D-D-Dave: Play the player, not the hand.


Stryyder: so had to

I fold

I'd go all in. Then bust.

Englebert Slaptyback: I Said

That explains why it's generally the same group of people, professional poker players, who win.

Oh wait . . .


Who win what? Tournaments that are filled with other professional poker players?

A significant majority of WSOP main event entries are amateurs. The last several years, though, amateurs or semi-professionals have won as well. But if you look at the ~5% of the field who cashes each year, you'll see many of the same names again and again.

Of course, most pros make their real money in cash games, which are much more skill based to begin with. A good poker player can make a rather dependable monthly income playing cash games. If any amateur player were to sit at a table with a top pro and play for a few hours, the amateur would come out behind almost every time. That is the definition of a game of skill.

You guys should all STFU you don't know what you are talking about, it is all luck!

Why yes I have invited the members of the Swiss Supreme Court over for a "friendly" game of poker tonight....How did you guess?

Treygreen13: An awful ruling.

I know. I'm boycotting Swiss Miss hot chocolate starting tomorrow.

if poker is a game of luck to you, you probably should play something else.

//unless your at my table, of course.

Irontoast: So, how come many of the same players are always at the final tables in big tournaments? They have the most luck, or the most skill?

It's like pro wrestling, my friend

Texas hold 'em is a game of luck, not skill.

When I play, it's neither.

IStateTheObvious: Me: Pocket Aces
Other guy: 7, deuce unsuited

Bet: All-in, pre-flop

Winner: Other guy

Had stupid shiat like that happen more than once. There is some skill involved, but it still boils down to what cards turn up. That's why it's called 'gambling'.

Bad beats happen. But if you're able to consistently be all in with an 80/20 advantage, you'll be rich before too long. And if your opponent regularly gets his money in as a 20/80 underdog, he'll be broke eventually as well. There is variance in the short term, of course, but in the long run the player who puts money in best will win. And being able to know when you're best is a skill.

Good to know that I'm making a (pretty modest) living on pure luck.

Englebert Slaptyback: wpmulligan

Swiss Supreme Court rules that Texas hold 'em is a game of luck

I've read their decision. It is full of holes.


That's the cheesiest comment I've read all day.

I am serious. I'm not trying to brie funny.

Am I only person left in the world who prefers 5 card stud to Texas hold 'em?

All games have elements of luck in them. Except for chess. And who the hell plays that?

On the scale of luck, 0 being totally skill-based and 10 being totally luck-based, chess is a 1, poker's about a 6, and the majority of all other games on a casino floor are a 9 or a 10.

Treygreen13: I met Mike Matusow the other day. I imagine he would be upset to hear that he's not a "skilled" player.

I also imagine he'd be upset to hear that he's losing his touch.

also met him. he's a dick

wpmulligan

I am serious. I'm not trying to brie funny.


I havarti made my point.


It is pitch dark. You are likely to be eaten by a gruyere.