Question for poker players on here

I did ask this question on a poker forum and it clearly rattled some people. My question is, do you think that luck plays too big an element in poker - in particular online poker where the blinds are 10 mins or less?
I am a decent player, read probably 10 books, I am a solid player. But I have totally IMO realised that poker is just a game of luck.
Luck as in you are dealt QQ or KK and play it strongly and someone has a higher pocket pair KK or AA. Players calling big bets with junk and hitting 2 pair or trips - I had a hand recently where I had AA and blinds were 200/100, someone raised to 400 UTG, I re-raised to 1000 and UTG called. Flop K33. Basically he was some donk who had 34 off suit.
In the later stages of games when the blinds and antes are high it becomes an all in poker game and this is when luck plays a massive part. You may hold AQ and are up against A9 and be a huge favourite but get busted out.
Every single table I am on I see people lose unluckily. I saw a hand the other day where someone had JJ and the flop was JK7 all different suits. The other player bet all in and was called by JJ. The other play had 56 off suit. And out came 8 and a 4 giving him a straight.

I just don't like the game any more because luck IMO plays a huge factor in the game. Games like chess, bridge, backgammon are real games of skill and luck plays next to no part in such games. But poker is massively based on luck.

Would you agree?

There's a lot of luck involved, but also the skill comes into play on how you play your hands or how you bluff a hand.

If it was just down to luck the main poker players wouldn't win all the big tournaments would they.

In my experience bad players moan about luck, you reduce the variance by playing as many tables as possible and playing hands correctly. If you play the odds right you make money.

Obviously if you get Kings against Aces there's not a fat lot you can do but these are unlucky situations, the poor players overplay weak hands and that's where you can make money.

If you want to make money over a long period of time from poker or any other gambling you're going to need more than luck.

It's skill.

Obviously it's luck in which hand you get dealt.

the rest of the game, well...

Hipster_Nebula wrote:Obviously it's luck in which hand you get dealt.

the rest of the game, well...

Not just lick in the hand you get dealt, but what others have (you may have KK but someone has AA) and luck on what cards come out.

And Nat - I am not on about the live tournament poker that lasts days, I am on about online poker where the blinds rise quickly.

I'd advise you against playing turbo games. If you're playing tournaments my advice is don't play anything less than a £5 game and you want blinds increasing no less than every 10 minutes.

Michael Bolton wrote:

Not just lick in the hand you get dealt, but what others have (you may have KK but someone has AA) and luck on what cards come out.

And Nat - I am not on about the live tournament poker that lasts days, I am on about online poker where the blinds rise quickly.

You get dealt far more hands in a shorter space of time online, so the principle is the same.

Bad players blame luck.

Bernard Dennis Park wrote:I'd advise you against playing turbo games. If you're playing tournaments my advice is don't play anything less than a £5 game and you want blinds increasing no less than every 10 minutes.

There's definitely far more luck in turbo tournaments because you need to get hands fast. Shit players love them because it requires less patience, Im not a fan.

Correct.

I poker a lot.

I play poker at work, my poker name is Pennsylvanian Crack pot.

What's yours?

Mine is Eva Delle Harlowe.

Hipster_Nebula wrote:Mine is Eva Delle Harlowe.

That name has an almost Amosesque ring to it.

It does now you mention it.

coincidental I'm sure.

I always doubted she was a woman when I saw her photo.