Whether you play online Poker or live, you will eventually wonder about the influence, or lack thereof, of luck and chance in the game. In order to have a proper perspective, it would be ideal to know how it affects the skilled and mediocre players.
If you listen to the accounts in online Poker, it will seem that luck tends to smile more on the bad players. We have all heard the stories of how the AA was cracked by a 22 when the fish gets the other 2 on the river. There are also plenty of stories about a high two pair getting beat by a gutshot straight or a flush in a runner runner situation.
However, the fact that luck seem to favor the mediocre Poker player is due more to the Poker playing style of these individuals. Their lack of skills, means that they have to play in such a way as to need luck to win. While there are a lot of times wherein these bad beats do happen, it is also a fact that the losses that they get (which are more frequent) is barely remembered.
By contrast, good Poker players do not play 72 off suit, nor do they take a J6 to the river. This fact means that it is less likely that they will get a miracle draw or a backdoor flush.
Good players win because of their Poker strategies. When they make a raise on the turn and get their opponent with a bigger hand to fold, it has nothing to do with luck; it is all about skill and the ability to read the situation.
Of course luck will come into play for the good player every now and then. However, this is something that can only be seen as a bonus, and that it is the way they should be treated. By playing and sharpening your Poker skills, the less you will depend on luck.
This concept is something that is totally alien to mediocre players. They see luck as something that will always be there on their side. This line of thinking will be evident in the way that they play, and you should always take advantage of this opportunity. Most often you will witness these Poker layers going for broke on the river with garbage hands.
The bottom line is that luck will only influence your game when you let it. If you let it, you will not succeed. But by relying on your own Poker skill, you will prevail in a lot of games, especially against those that depend on the whims of fortune.