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StumbleRay Brewer:
Scene at the Rio shows a winning poker hand is a lot of luck
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.
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It's a scene that has unfolded time and time again during television broadcasts of the World Series of Poker.
A player who is running short on chips desperately wagers everything he has, only to be called by another player who easily has him covered. He has one of those towers of chips everyone watching at home dreams of having — neatly stacked, full of colors and impossible for the amateur eye to count.
The two players flip over their cards and the short-stack is in clear trouble. He has an ace-three off-suit and is facing elimination against a pair of jacks. Five cards later, however, the short stack doubles up, catching an ace on the river (last card) to remain alive.
"Nice hand," the loser sarcastically says, repeating the famous bad-beat phrase to let the opponent know he got lucky.
Welcome to the Rio.
The 57-event World Series of Poker began last weekend, bringing thousands of gamblers to town with hopes of leaving as the next multi-million-dollar poker star. The above-mentioned hand unfolded Tuesday during event No. 6, the No-Limit Hold'em Shootout.
The 2,000-player-maximum tournament included several players who surely dream of becoming the next Joe Cada.
Cada, then 21 years old, bested 6,493 players in winning last year's Main Event and pocketing $8.5 million. He's in elite company and should have enough money to avoid getting a real job the rest of his life.
But Cada was lucky. Everyone who wins money gambling has luck. Poker, like every game in the casino, is a game of chance.
Some people surely will disagree, claiming the players with the most experience and knowledge will eventually outlast those who lack skill — you know, that guy who takes your money every week in a home game by consistently playing nine-two off suit.
The scene in the hallway during the tournament's 20-minute break included several people on their cell phones rehashing their hands. "Can you believe he got that card," one player said when describing his apparent bad luck. "He had one out."
One out is all it takes. And that one chance has helped the game grow in unprecedented popularity over the last seven years.
A beginner like you or me, or a player who calls the game his career, can walk away with a life-changing profit on any given day .
Now, that truly would be a nice hand.
No charge to watch
If you are looking for a cheap entertainment option this month, the World Series might be your safest bet.
The Nevada Gaming Control Board requires all gambling tournaments be open to the public, meaning there is no fee to be a spectator at the Rio.
However, there are a few rules: spectators must be 21 or older, no cameras with flashes and no interrupting the game.
Spectators were literally feet away from the outer tables during Tuesday's No-Limit Hold'em Shootout, with notables such as Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu in action. One table featured professionals Kathy Liebert and Chris Ferguson as the last two remaining players — the winner of each table advanced to Wednesday's second round.
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"Some may surely disagree" you say? Really? Do you have a single clue what you are talking about, or are you just another journalist who is too lazy to talk to anybody? I know dozens of professional poker players who make their living playing the game. They are as professional as any doctor or lawyer and have spent years studying their craft and honing their skills. The players who LOSE think it's all luck. The ones who win know differently. If you think this is not true, then I invite you to sit down with a few of my friends. Show us how it's all luck. We would be delighted to learn how we have gotten lucky all these years.
I make more than $20/hr playing poker, hour after hour, day after day. I know what I'm talking about. You, sir, are a hack.
Geez, somebody is sure full of themselves this morning.
Political_Pragmatist :
You may make some kind of a living playing cards, but every player knows that luck of the draw ultimately rules the day. Why dod you think these guys are sweating bullets and on their feet at the final draw? Yes there is much skill involved in the game, mental prowess, self control etc. but luck is still a large part of being successful at playing cards for a living.
In poker, as in life, luck wins in the short term but skill wins in the long run.
I have to agree with environprotector, there is a lot of skill,mental capacity, involved in poker but when a player is dominated and hits the river how can you not call that LUCK?? Even pocket aces get busted, how is that not luck? Political Pragmatist have you not heard Phil Helmuth say that "if there wasn't any luck in poker he would win every hand?" Don't get me wrong if all you do is rely on luck to win it won't get you very far that is where the skill and other factors come into play... thats why the pros sweat it out when up against an unknown in tourneys cause they know sometimes luck prevails...if you play enough poker like you claim, you yourself should have experienced people getting LUCKY....
While no one is probably going to read this reply, I'll invest a few moments for the record. Noindex is exactly right. Those of you who think it is all luck are seeing short-term results. Even someone who is a 99% favorite loses one time in a hundred. But they win most of the time, don't they?
Bad beats are dramatic, and I've taken my share. But to a professional poker player, it brings a smile, because in the long run he wins. A pro thinks like the house when it comes to craps and blackjack and keno. He's playing the odds game. If he gets all his money in good when he is the favorite, he's going to win. To do that takes enormous knowledge and skill, which pros work at for years and years.
Poker is a skill game. We win money from those who think it is a luck game because they don't understand it at all, nor are they willing to put in the effort to learn it beyond a few basics. Would you expect a high school basketball player to compete with an NBA player? It's exactly the same thing.
Yes, Phil Helmuth said "if it weren't for luck I'd win everytime." Every professional knows if it weren't for luck, those who lose their money in the game wouldn't play because luck is the only chance they have. And if they play long enough, that luck won't hold out.
"In poker, as in life, luck wins in the short term but skill wins in the long run."
No truer words have ever been spoken. A single poker hand is 99% luck. A poker tournament is 50% luck. A poker career is 1% luck.
People get a clue. If you or I or anyone played tournaments for a living, we would win and/or loose as much as anyone else depending upon LUCK. Winning tournaments is luck - period. Just don't do anything stupid and get lucky - period. (If most people really understood probabilities, vegas wouldn't exist).