Poker Theory

bballI have developed a theory. It probably won’t increase your profits, but it might help you understand the game…or at least show insight as to how I understand the game. Let me know if you agree.

Theory: The experience of a highly skilled poker player is equivalent to the experience of a moderately skilled player of any given sport.

Say I’m good, not great, at basketball. I go to make my shot and it may or may not go in the hoop. Conversely, if I was Kobe, I would almost certainly score. The less skilled I am, the more I rely on luck to cover my inconsistency. If I was Kobe–nay, better than Kobe–I would never need luck. The whole of my career would be nothing but net.

I’m saying poker is the same, only it hits a wall. If I am a bad card player, I require ample luck to make up for it. If I am moderate, I need less luck. If I possess flawless poker ability, I still require some luck to win any given hand.

My theory compares experiences, not performance. This is completely independent from the skill of your opponent.

Sorry if this post seems a little stream of consious and poorly worded. I haven’t really fleshed this out. So what do you think? Is luck as used in sports at all like the luck used in poker? Is it downshifted? Am I crazy?

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Posted in: Rants & Ravings

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This entry was posted on Thursday, June 25th, 2009 at 11:12 pm and is filed under Rants & Ravings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

  • Poker is a great game for mentally strong people
  • Poker is also a game of mental analysis which is the first tool or shall I say weapon to at least measure-up how and when you will beat your opponents. To analyze is to determine wether it's time for you to bet all you have for the winning.
  • videopoker
    i think if you want to be a skilled poker player you should play and be one of the PRO's get some tips and hints to them
  • Your thoughts kind of echo Mason Malmuth, whom I am currently reading. Luck can help make up for bad poker playing and I am guilty of having some good luck. My over game is improving although I do donk much more that I would like to.

    I think it was PokerVixen that originally pointed that out to me and I first I said, oh sour grapes. But she was right and I have been improving my game.

    She did make a mistake. You should never criticize a player at the table - it might make them a better player. You should always pause a second and say "Nice Hand" even while you might be thinking (*(@*(*@##.

    Your comments have helped to ground me as well. Thanks for posting.
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