Online Casino Luck

Is Poker Luck or Skill?

A recent ruling in a Pennsylvanian court found two defendants guilty of organising "games of chance" in their garage. To their credit - and the delight of the Poker Players Alliance - they are set to take their fight to the supreme court, adamant that poker is predominantly more a game of skill than of chance. Of course, any Joe in an online casino can get lucky, but even the best poker players in the world will agree that there can be times at a table when all the luck in the world could not buy you chips. In truth, the game is a melting pot of both of these ingredients, together with a dash of nerve and a soupcon of cold, hard maths.

As in life, in poker players make their own luck while the indolent cry, "Fate!". The adage goes, "no guts, no glory," but wading in full-tilt is only going to end in tears. In reality, while anyone can get lucky in poker and earn a low straight on the river, good players make their own luck.

For instance, if a player makes a flush on the river, it could be said that he or she has got lucky, yet there are a number of factors leading up to the river that will explain if it is merely good fortune. If this happens in the second hour of the game and with a large pot, the odds are that this player has built the pot up, weighing the pot odds first.

The art of bluffing is also key in creating luck. If, for example, a player with a bad hand re-raises or goes all in, forcing the other player(s) to fold, it can not be regarded as luck that those players threw their cards away. The bet was made in an attempt to incite fear or miscalculation - two key factors when judging when to bluff. This is another reason why the brick and mortar game is easier than online poker, because it is much harder to bluff someone who is not really paying complete attention to the bet. The only way to gauge bluffing in online poker is to analyse betting patterns, and for that players really have to be paying attention.

What inexperienced players often do is focus only on the cards in front of them. This is not a dangerous way to play - it is an over-safe way of playing. The "no guts, no glory" philosophy is a difficult one for newcomers in online casinos to grasp, but it they want to make their own luck, it is certainly one they must master.