Luck or Skill
In every endeavor we take on, there is that eternal question of luck or skill. Your friend was able to land his dream job – was it because he lucked out, or because he was genuinely qualified? She graduated with honors despite the fact that she was partying every night – is she just close friends with Lady Luck, or is she just a genuine Superstar? I’d like to believe that the outcome of any event is the product of both luck and skill. In the first example, for instance, your friend got his dream job. One doesn’t simply get job offers effortlessly. At the same time, even the smartest people work in less than perfect jobs. It makes sense though that a person would get his dream job. The word dream means that he’s probably spent his entire life honing the skills to make this dream come true. The fact that he was able to find an opening was lucky. The fact that he got the job? Both.
My friend has always told me that luck is the application of skill. I never understood it, but it makes sense that people need to be skilled in order to get lucky. Take the game of Texas Hold’em – you are given two cards by the dealer and five cards shared with your opponents. There are four rounds of betting and decisions need to be made on the spot.
Poker is a game of luck because that’s the only word to describe getting pocket aces from the dealer or getting a 5 at the river when you had 3 4 6 and 7 considering the slim odds. Poker is a game of skill because that’s the only word to describe the well-calculated decisions that lead to victories despite not-so-great cards. It takes luck to get great cards and skill to work these to your advantage, by bluff or by raise. In order to win the game though, you need both to work hand in hand.