barmar, on 2015-June-03, 10:20, said:
Then we're back to my suggestion that it's a false dichotomy. There's luck: random factors in the game that no one controls; skill: the players' abilities; and something else.
Well, the main random factor, ie the "luck", is the way the cards fall. Post #5 gives some examples of this, and I find it odd that there has been further discussion in this thread.
There definitely is "something else". There are times, totally unpredictable in my experience, when you are in the "zone" and can do nothing wrong. You know early on that you will win the session, if not the event, or at least come much higher than your expectation given the field you are playing in. And there are times when you can't do anything right, and times in between. I guess skill does come into play here, though; the ability to be successful when not in the "zone". Still I think that this phenomenon is a little different, is not really luck and not really skill, though not a million miles away from either of those things.
I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones -- Albert Einstein