how much skill is involved in poker??

I always get asked by my friends who aren't as involved as I am with poker if I realize that poker is a game of luck and that I shouldn't waste so much time brushing on my skill...

However.. I believe that skill weighs more than luck when putting a percentage on both.

I'll say no limit texas hold em is 70% skill, 30% luck because your skill alone can win you a tournament in some cases.

In other games I think that more luck is involved because there's not much reading or bluffing you're just playing the cards you're dealt.

Any ideas?

I play holdem so I will stick to that. I definitely agree with you in that it takes more skill that luck. Any player can win a few hands (even a few big pots) but it takes skill to do it consitently and do well in tournaments. My percentage would be 37% luck 63% skill (who likes those numbers? lol).

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lmao... I'm going to get a bad rep as the debater in this group... I disagree and call it 60% luck to 40% skill. I (as I am sure we all) have seen good or even great players get there butt kicked by amatures and novices. no bodies make it through the ranks to achieve greatness in tourneys, only to never achieve the same greatness again. NO! you could play your cards with the greatest of skill, but, if lady luck is not in your corner start making the arrangements for the trip home!

Yes there is some skill in that, but in poker you arent trying to read the cards only, you are reading the person. Online Poker you are reading how they bet, the speed in which they bet, the card that have come up and how they have reacted to them. Offline "Real Poker" you are reading the guys face, their bets their speed, twitches etc etc... In my View their is very l
little luck in Poker especially Holdem. Its knowing when to fold and when to bet, thats why you always see the same faces at the final tables of the WSOP and WPT. If you think poker is a game of luck you are going to lose alot of money!!

I'll play middleman and split it evenly between the two. I've seen too much of the luck half to count it as inferior to skill. I get great nights when I keep getting face cards and aces, and I get terrible nights where I can't catch a hand. The skill part comes in with calculating pot odds, reading opponents, picking up tells, and knowing when to bluff and most importantly, when to fold. So yeah, 50/50 sounds about right.

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My theory on the luck vs. skill battle is you pretty much have to have some cards to begin with. You're not going to bluff your way through an entire tournament bluffing each pot w/ a 7 2 os. I believe the skill comes once you get your cards, and knowing how to play them. Once you learn what to play and how to play the luck diminishes slightly. But i think that when it comes to %s its pocket 4s vs. A Q.

Let me give you a quick example... 11 person brick and morter game. I think it was only a $10 buy-in limit wagering. I was so hot that night I won 95% of the hands I played. Believe me I stayed with some real garbage till the end of the day. When we were down to three people, Our group professional gave a preflop raise. I called. He wagered the whole length of way. He caught an A to give him trips from the flop. I caught the straight with my 2 5 os... to this day most of the group that I play with name a low hand flop after me.

I am no great shakes at poker, and this probably just sounds stupid, but if u actually want to win a tournament or game you need lady luck on the last hand, at least. If you are all in pre-flop or pre-turn/river, you need luck on the cards to win the showdown. Basically, you need to have a winning hand to win the game - you cant bluff someone if they're all in. But im just being annoying.

Skill/luck in nl hold'en is dependent on the risk involved. Luck is on a diminishing scale as the amount of risk increases.

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