Luck

I debated with a gentleman at the gym the other day on whether poker was a game of skill or luck. He claimed that the fact casinos wont ban supposed good poker players, but will blackjack players, that poker was not a game of skill. The problem with that argument is in blackjack the house pays the winner and in poker the house takes a rake out of the pot no matter who wins or loses.

Poker is a game of skill but luck cannot be ignored. And in tournament play you often have to roll the dice. When your stack doesn't grow with the rising blinds at some point you have to go all-in with the first thing that looks like a respectable hand. Or you just have bad luck. When your nuts are busted on the river. Some may say the most money is lost at a table when more than one have a full house. A rare hand that you wouldn't usually expect there to be two of.

I happened to mention to my wife that she always seems to have good luck when I am around... And that I have bad luck when she is nearby. At least that is how it has been on our three trips to the casino to hit the poker room. My stack grew while she was off playing slots or perusing the casino, but I couldn't help but lose when she came into the room to watch or just wait in the poker room lobby.

We went to take advantage of a slot promotion where they give you $5 for playing $20 on the slot machine. Came away at a loss. When I went by myself I came out ahead nearly $6.

I noticed it with dealers also. You'll make several big hands with one dealer and then the dealer changes and the hands dry up. Or proximity with a dealer. I've had the same dealer on more than one occasion and when sitting directly next to them I did very poorly. But on another occasion when sitting across from them I did well.

I sat down at a table and an older lady across from me put in all her chips in despair on my first hand. She was their with a real grinder, perhaps her husband. She won and looked across at me with a smile. She mentioned she had given up. She had been losing all night. Then she won again... and again and she kept smiling. She obviously thought my arrival changed her fortune.

Then there are the people who just upset the whole atmosphere. The two guys who keep talking it up, standing saying they are going out for a cigarette but then don't go. Play another hand, never clear if they are going or staying. If they are in the next hand or not. Even the dealer seemed to get a bit annoyed. Messes up the whole mood, rhythm of the game. Language usually isn't a big problem. The dealers work hard to discourage any abusive language.

Of course in a ring game many of these misfortunes can be overcome with discipline play and keeping an even temperament. I had been doing poorly recently on the Internet with my play money stack rocketing down after going well beyond half a million. We just recently got a new more secure Internet connection and a new computer with the latest protection software and my luck has changed.



Only Frank could get away with those lyrics.

Our local casino in "Ante" their monthly publication actually has a star gazer. You can find not only your luck days but specific times down to the minute when your luck will be running high... If you can believe it.