USA Today skill vs luck

Quanah Parker · #1 10-26-2007, 04:47 PM

I swiped this from the legislation forum.
Currently, mostly skill leads the poll at 43%

Poll on USA Today website with a corresponding story about skill v. luck. Please weigh in!

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/poker...22-lobby_N.htm

bystander · #2 10-26-2007, 05:10 PM

There is a luck component in poker.. So in legalistic terms - it is a game of chance ... thats why its called 'gambling'
Chess is a pure game of skill..

Henry17 · #3 10-26-2007, 05:19 PM

Skill. There is a luck component but it disappears over a large enough sample. Pretty much any sport I can think of has a luck component.

bystander · #4 10-26-2007, 06:49 PM

The luck factor never 'disappears' with time - it sure is less.
The luck factor say in chess is miniscule and dependent on player's health, fatigue, nervousness etc. So too in other games .

This cop out that over x amount of years its all skill - doesn't work.
Since no way can you define something as a 'game' over a long period (more than a year) and since games must be finite - there is a substantial luck factor.

The WSOP ME clearly shows that.

bigwavedave · #5 10-26-2007, 09:18 PM

"The test of the character of any kind of a game ... as to whether it is a game of chance or a game of skill is not whether it contains an element of chance or an element of skill, but which of these is the dominating element that determines the result of the game, to be found from the facts of each particular kind of game. Or to speak alternatively, whether or not the element of chance is present in such a manner as to thwart the exercise of skill or judgment."

State v. Stroupe (this case was about pool)

xSCWx · #6 10-26-2007, 10:05 PM

[ QUOTE ]
There is a luck component in poker.. So in legalistic terms - it is a game of chance ... thats why its called 'gambling'
Chess is a pure game of skill..

[/ QUOTE ]

Even chess has aspects of luck in it. If you find a player who is only slightly worse than you he will still be able to beat you sometimes.

The same applies to people who don't allow "luck" shots in billiards. If you make a shot 95% of the time then you are still relying on luck to some extent.

iheartponeez · #7 10-26-2007, 10:12 PM

[ QUOTE ]

Even chess has aspects of luck in it. If you find a player who is only slightly worse than you he will still be able to beat you sometimes.

The same applies to people who don't allow "luck" shots in billiards. If you make a shot 95% of the time then you are still relying on luck to some extent.

[/ QUOTE ]

What aspects of chess involve luck?

A_C_Slater · #8 10-26-2007, 10:13 PM

All the options are irrelevant because there is no stated timeline.

Naked Penguins · #9 10-27-2007, 08:00 AM

This skill vs. luck thing has gone on forever. Anyone with half a brain can see that poker is clearly a game of skill. ----It's at least as much or more so than other "skill" games such as baseball---look at the 2007 baseball season. The best team record for the season was 96 wins and 66 losses. So they won 59.3% of their games. For the last 5 months, I have won 61% of my poker sessions. Clearly poker is more skillful of a game than baseball...

So even with the best baseball team in the league, it's practically a coinflip for whether they are going to win each game or not, especially since most teams are closer to 50% win rates. So, i SUPPOSE the only responsible thing to do is to ban the game of baseball permenantly, because it is CLEARLY a game of chance, and theirfore evil and will destory families...

PartysOver · #10 10-27-2007, 08:21 AM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

Even chess has aspects of luck in it. If you find a player who is only slightly worse than you he will still be able to beat you sometimes.

The same applies to people who don't allow "luck" shots in billiards. If you make a shot 95% of the time then you are still relying on luck to some extent.

[/ QUOTE ]

What aspects of chess involve luck?

[/ QUOTE ]

For example: on average, you make the optimal move 90% of the time and your opponent makes the optimal move 75% of the time. Sometimes your far worse opponent wins by choosing the optimal moves by "accident"