OnTilt18

So often you hear a poker player moan, "Of course he hit his one-outter on the river", or "his gut-shot just had to come." It seems like every "poker story" you hear is about a bad beat. I would much rather hear a story about a player making an incredible read and laying down a monster hand. I'll get it started; this is a story I read somewhere:Phil Hellmuth and Howard Lederer are playing in some tournament, and are seated across from each other at the same table. Hellmuth raises preflop with KJ, and the table folds around to Lederer. Hellmuth and Lederer go heads up into a K J 3 flop. Hellmut

I think Abbaddabba makes an excellent point. If you know anything about poker, you know that its popularity has skyrocketed over the past few years. This is due to the fact that, besides its addicting nature, poker is the one sport that any player can essentially "win" at. Any amature can get lucky and win a tournament. Look at any other sport, and the comparisons are non-existent. I obviously wouldn't be able to walk out onto an NFL football field and lead the league in rushing. Moneymaker was an amature, and he won the World Series of Poker, an event that would have been unheard of 20 years

Haha, I'm not trying to get into a cyber fight with anyone on a poker blog. I asked a question because I was sincerely interested. But anyways, I'm glad it has attracted some replies. So, if the last sentecne was unneccesary, I apologize.

I didn't get out my TI-89 and graph a function of it. I used the word calculate in a non-mathematical sense. If that's all you gained from reading the post, you may just want to stick to Green Eggs and Ham.

Daniel, I was wondering how much of poker you think is luck? When I first started playing, I calculated it about 90% luck and 10% skill. Then, when I started playing a little more and my game improved, those numbers flipped. Now, I have it calculated at about 70% skill and 30% luck. However, playing in a home game with a diversified group of players is much different than playing in the poker circuit with seasoned pros - skill is obviously more valued. What do you think?