WSJ: Harvard Ponders Just What It Takes to Excel at Poker

[KipBond]

Any game, including poker, is a game of skill to the extent that the actions of you (and any teammates/opponents) determine the outcome of the game. It is a game of luck to the extent that the outcome is determined by other criteria (usually a non-predictable/random event within the game).

Poker is fairly unique in that some games can be mostly luck, while others are mostly skill. For example: a poker tournament with 2 people both with $1,000 in chips, where the blinds are $1,000/$2,000 is completely determined by luck. Same tournament, 2 people, with blinds of $1/$2, increasing gradually every 120 minutes, is mostly skill.