

The perfect play - ILIKEPONIES
http://joshgoldstein.me/post/31933920121/theperfectplay

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brettbender
> If it’s true that poker is a skill game, then only the true greats should be
> able to play perfectly.

No, even in a skill game, it is possible for someone who does not understand
the rules to make the perfect play. It is just extremely unlikely, and it is
extremely likely that a more skilled player will beat a less skilled player on
average. The greater the skill disparity between two players, the more one-
sided the competition should become.

I'm sure Josh realizes this, and I like the blog post as a whole, that quote
just struck me as wrong enough I had to post something.

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ILIKEPONIES
Disagree with your first point, unless you are suggesting they fall into it
(aka just luck out). Like the infinite monkey theorem.

I agree with everything else. Obviously a more skilled player will beat a less
skilled player if the game they are playing requires skill (which poker
obviously does).

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brettbender
>> No, even in a skill game, it is possible for someone who does not
understand the rules to make the perfect play.

> Disagree with your first point

You may, but it is possible for a much better player to lose (even in a "skill
game") to a player with very little or no knowledge of the game. You may
consider this "lucking out" but even the most skill-based games have an
element of luck, and in edge cases new / worse players will beat better /
experienced players - this is simply how these things work (and part of what
we as humans generally find exciting about contests of skill).

This is why many competitive games limit the element of randomness among
professionals by various means. In poker, all players have the opportunity to
play very many hands - no single hand decides the outcome (unless they decide
to go all-in, for example). Similarly, in 9-ball and tennis (among other
sports), professionals at the highest levels play sets of games - because the
outcome of a single game is not indicative of the involved players' respective
skill levels. On any given day, given enough games, I would beat Jeannette Lee
at a game of 9-ball, even though her skill at the game is leaps and bounds
above mine. At no time (ever, haha) would I realistically be able to beat her
in a best-of-nine game format. That is why she is world ranked and I am
commenting on a website.

Saying that "only poker greats will play a perfect hand" is erroneous, many
people play perfect hands. The difference is a professional will probably know
(or suspect) that they are about to make the perfect play. They also will
attempt to do so regularly, and know the difference between perfect, good, and
bad plays, whereas bad/new players will not (or will much less frequently).

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ILIKEPONIES
Totally agree that a worse player can beat a better player in a skill game
(when there is some luck involved).

Trust me - that's how I used to make my living and no matter how much better
you play than your opponent, sometimes you lose in the short run.

I think we are arguing the same thing now.

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ILIKEPONIES
now if only i could get more upvotes, that would be perfect :)

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intellegacy
I liked this post, Josh. You interested in meeting up to discuss startups and
poker next time I'm in NYC?

I'm looking to meet startup people in the real world.

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ILIKEPONIES
thanks! shoot me an email or tweet.

