Would You Rather Be Lucky or Good?

Poker has a lot of luck in it. There is never a good time to suffer a piece of bad luck and we all hope for the poker gods to smile on us in key situations. New players trying to learn how to play poker need to take time to understand lucks role in poker. But would you rather be lucky or good?

Readers may think this is an easy question; you would rather be good at everything of course! Certainly longer term profits can be made at cash games when you are a skilled player who takes the time to learn the game thoroughly and always plays at the maximum concentration level they can. But many players prefer not to take the route of grinding through millions of poker hands for a living. Many choose to shoot for the big score.

2006 winner of the World Series of Poker Jamie Gold received a lot of criticism for his aggressive style which was backed up by a good run of cards. You cannot win a big tournament like the main event of the WSOP without good cards but poker fans felt he had more than his share. A $12 million win would set you up nicely for life, so being as lucky as Jamie would save you the time grinding this sort of profit in ring games which is extremely difficult to do for all but a handful of the top cash game poker players.

Playing poker for a big win is a perfectly valid strategy for playing online poker or live poker. Instead of coping with the daily grind many players simply buy in to big tournaments in the hope of hitting that big score once in their life then retire or set up a series of investments. Providing they have a good knowledge of poker tournament strategy then they have as much chance as the next player to win the tournament, providing they get the necessary luck to do so.

Before you decide to set aside $200 per month seeking a big win in an online or live poker tournament remember that Tom “Durrrr” Dwan was estimated to have a bankroll of around $14 million which he amassed by being one of the best cash game players in the world. Dwan played few tournaments during his rise through the cash game limits. Not everyone can have a bankroll of $14 million but even if you could earn an extra $2000 – $5000 each month from cash games would that make a major difference to your lifestyle? It most certainly would to mine.

As far as poker goes, this type of cash game income can be fairly assured providing you work at the game and understand that some months you will make more and some less. If you play a lot of poker hands each month with a steady win rate then the income soon adds up and to an experienced player becomes almost reliable.

I would like to be both lucky and good so when I am grinding away at the online poker sit and go’s or the online cash games my skill wins me money, then I can buy into a large poker tournament and in the style of Jamie Gold luck my way to a life changing win. I do not ask for much, you should see my wish list for Christmas! Whether you want to be good or lucky at poker depends on the goal you have for your poker playing and the time you want to spend playing it. My Christmas list by the way is a $1 million dollar win at poker and a WSOP bracelet. See what you can do Santa!

By Malcolm Clarke