Have you ever gotten really lucky while playing poker? Now, I don’t mean lucky as in getting dealt big pockets and flopping sets, etc, I mean hitting that miraculous two outer on the river to win a big pot. If you find this type of thing happening to you frequently, you will probably also notice that despite those big pots you still fluctuate at or below even. In order to win at poker consistently you must not rely on luck.
Here’s the thing about luck; it’s a two edged sword. The best poker players are essentially at war with luck, but without that element there would be no poker, or at least no professional poker. If Gary Kasparov challenged you to a game of chess for an even-money wager you would be a fool to take the bet. If Tiger Woods challenged you to a round of golf without spotting you any strokes, it’s a similar situation. Think of a professional poker player as the house at a casino. The pro player has a small --or even a large-- edge, but in any give session the “customer” can win. Casinos stay in business for the same reason pro-poker players do, if players could never win, they simply wouldn’t play.
So next time you get outdrawn by a two outer on the river, don’t get mad, Luck is what keeps the losers in the game long enough to attract new ones.
