Zynga poker is the game of Luck or Skills?

[DREW]

Hello friends I have started playing the Zynga Poker game from last week and it is really one of the interesting and time spending game that I have ever played. Now there is one question from my side to everyone who plays this game on regular basis that is this game based on skills of playing the game or totally on the luck of the particular player. Please help me out in solving the confusion because it really worried me here since I am playing it from last week and it is getting over me and creating lots of doubts in me.

[Januarius]

I played at Poker stars for a pretty long time and I think the experience I gained there helps a lot in Zynga Poker. Of course, there are always some lucky calls and bad beats, but that part of the game and I think on long terms skill is more important than luck. But you are right, Zynga poker might be a bit more "arcade" than real cash poker since you get chips for free and there are a lot of inexperienced players at tables with low blinds.

[Beothuk]

That makes a lot of sense, and I appreciate your logic as I have said elsewhere, you elevate the discourse on these forums. I guess I feel what you describe here isn’t out by my experience, but after thinking about it, maybe now I know why. I do play as you suggest - mostly tight, aggressively hitting flops where the all-inners simply calls, and calling all-in bets when I have a strong statistical hand. But in order to take advantage of the long term multiplier effect for eg, losing 80% of the time but getting 8:1 returns when I win, I think I would need to play 1 a lot longer in one sitting.

[Delaware]

I have been able to make Zynga poker work for me, and have accumulated, gradually, more chips than random luck can explain. In other words, it's not like i won a few huge pots I am talking about a gradual upward trend over the long term. But, i will say this - playing with people who push all-in pre-flop is just not fun. Yes, if it's one or two guys doing it, you can outplay those guys long-term. In fact, you can make a lot of money off those guys. But there's another, more common scenario: you're at a large table, all seats full, and one guy pushes all in pre-flop, and then 7 or 8 others do it. Those are just terrible odds for any one player - even with AAs. There are just too many ways you can get beat. The right play, with that many people pushing all in with no cards showing, is a fold.

[Fox28]

I love playing tables like that filled with people who are trying to give their chips away. As long as you have the correct odds to get your money in (as you do in the previous example which was an even money bet where you're a 2:1 favourite) then you'll be a long term winner whether there are 2 players, 8 players, or 100 players. Suppose 8 players with equal stacks go all in preflop and you are looking at KK. You assume to have the best hand, but because of the number of players involved you figure the kings will only hold up roughly 20% of the time (which on average is probably about correct but it could be higher depending on how bad the other hands are). It's an easy call to make and a profitable one even though 4 times out of 5 you're handing your money over.

[Huron]

My 50M of chips have gone on the bingo-table though I tried to play properly. I didn't do all in, just raised whenever I had good cards; Bingo-players always did all in in the return of my raise, and lucks with them. So, I conclude that to be a winner, we must ALL IN. Most of my friends say the same thing. It's my conclusion. Why? I've learned that the computerized system of Zynga Poker loves people who love all in, and the system would let them to be winners.

[Cajetan]

Short term, it has a lot to do with luck. Long term, no. Let's put it this way. We roll a die and I pay you a dollar if it shows a 5 or 6. Otherwise I get a dollar from you. We roll the die until someone goes broke. I can easily experience some short term downswings, paying you 4 or 5 times in a row or whatever, but over the long term I am going to take your money. Inevitably, it will happen.