College Paper... Poker: Luck or Skill

[Awesemo]

You should discuss variance and show that even in the long run, a player's results are hugely affected by luck.

Don't forget to discuss the role of game selection as a skill.

Two players of equal skill could make significantly different amounts of money, if one chooses games filled with less-skilled opponents than the other.

Other than that, poker is about making correct decisions. But there are so many factors that go into making correct decisions over and over (including your own psychological makeup) that it can get very complicated.

[soko]

Turning in to a 3 page essay is gonna take alot of imagination, you could go in to details about gambling theory and what exactly is considerd gambling in your introduction, go over things like the long run, short run, expected value, then you can maybe write half a page about luck and certian luck myths, check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler%27s_Fallacy then you can expmain the different aspects of skills, for example, how emtions play a large part of the game and bankroll issues, table selection, how the game is constantly evolving and how your skill can turn in to a handicap if you play too much of a mechanical game where people can guess your cards.

I would broaden your topic from just "luck vs skill" to The essentials to become a good poker player, and just include the luck aspect as a sub-category.

[bwana devil]

small stakes hold em has a bit in the front about how poker is gambling. but if done correctly it is gambling w/ an expected winning outcome. im poorly paraphrasing but there should be some material for you to reference.


bwana

Here's your outline

Introduction: Poker requires skill
-Basic Gambling Concept of EV
-Basic NL rules
-The luck of the hole cards and the skill of knowing which to play and when
-The notion of relative value, the luck of the opponent's cards and the skill of knowing when your top set just got killed by a straight
-The luck of the available seat and the skill of table selection as contrasted with the inability to select tables in a tournament
-The luck of variance and the skill of proper bankroll management.
Conclusion: Over the long run everyone has the same luck and the skill is just a matter of knowing when the odds are in your favor.

If you're a little short, add a couple paragraphs about pot odds.

If you can't get three pages out of that then what the hell are you doing in college?

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I completely agree. Could you expand on this however? How can I turn this 2 phrase statement into a 3 page paper?

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You can't turn out a 3 page paper on this topic? I think I could make a dissertation.

Wow, thanks alot guys. I am going to start working on the paper now. Ill let you know how it goes.

[tomdemaine]

Someone on 2+2 said that poker is like a coin flip for $100 followed by a chess game for $1. In the short term the luckiest will win but over a year the best player will be ahead.

[Felipe]

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You could expand it into tourneys (luck playing a bigger factor) vs. cash games (skill bigger factor). Just a thought since it needs to be 3 pages. Honestly I don't see how it wouldn't be at least that long.

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I think tournaments and cash games are both about skill. They are both influenced by random events, but a good knowledge of probabilities gives rise to great profits in both kinds of games.

Is your paper on POKER or TEXAS HOLD'EM? THere is obviously some distinction there. Some posters are treating poker like you have two hole cards - that's hold'em! Top pair, that's community card poker variations. If I were writing the paper, I would discuss odds in 5 card draw. People know that game, and your professor might be better able to understand where you're coming from.

Don't forget to ask yourself who your audience is...

Good Skill
Felipe

[Python49]

If you can't think of stuff to say to fill up 3 pages on this topic then you really should find another topic/hobby.