Beginner’s Luck – Real or Imaginary?
Beginner’s luck, we’ve all heard of it and we’ve all probably used the term ourselves at some point or another. But is beginner’s luck really a thing? Do you believe in the phenomenon? Or do you think that luck can be explained away by various circumstances and coincidences? It would seem that stories of beginners winning poker tournaments abound; year after year, a total beginner somehow manages to wipe the floor of professional players. And we’ve all heard a story or two about a total beginner choosing a random casino from an online casino list, picking a random slot game, and managing to walk away with the jackpot on their first or second spin.
Is It Just Instinct?
Professional players tend to scoff at the idea that beginners are inherently luckier when it comes to casino games. And in all fairness, when you look closely at the gameplay that led to a beginner taking the pot in a game of poker or blackjack, you can see that although luck does come into it, it’s not wholly responsible. First of all, a beginner is more likely to listen to their guts, or follow their instincts, than a regular player. The reason for this is that a beginner is unlikely to know anything about strategy. A beginner is unlikely to be aware of probable outcomes; they don’t have the knowledge that is needed to weigh up the percentage of risk associated with the cards in their hands against the cards showing on the table. Therefore, a beginner is more likely to bet based on how they feel than on the information in front of them. Betting like this leads a beginner to make riskier bets, bets that a regular player would tend to avoid.
In a game like blackjack, going with your gut can make all the difference. A player who religiously follows the strategy chart is more likely to keep their losses to a minimum than a beginner. But it is the beginner who will make a risky bet when the odds are stacked against them, and it’s these risky bets that lead to excitingly big wins. Is the beginner lucky? Yes, undoubtedly so. But it could also be said that by following the rules of the chart to the letter, an experienced player is sucking all the luck out of the game. And in a game like blackjack, you always need a little luck.
Other People’s Mistakes?
In poker, it works a little differently. When a beginner follows their gut, it makes their gameplay unpredictable. An experienced player is used to other players making moves in the same way that they do themselves. In other words, if two experienced players are playing against each other, they are likely to have a better understanding of all the possible outcomes of the game, and a better understanding, therefore, of how and why their opponent is making certain moves. It is easier for an experienced player to get the feel of another experienced player’s strategy and so make their moves accordingly.
But with a beginner, anything could happen. It’s impossible for an experienced player to get a handle on a beginner’s style or strategy because a beginner doesn’t have style or strategy. And this uncertainty can cause an experienced player to make a mistake. Most professional poker players will tell you that it is these mistakes that help a beginner win, and that it’s nothing to do with beginner’s luck.
Or Just an Extra Dose of Luck?
When it comes to slot games, or any games of chance for that matter, beginner’s luck is harder to explain away. There is really no skill or strategy that you can employ to help you win a slot game. Roulette players (and even slot game players) may swear by the Martingale Strategy, but this is a strategy that simply helps you recoup your losses, it doesn’t help you win. With games of chance, you either win or don’t – it’s all about luck, all of the time.
Why then, are beginner’s still more likely to get lucky on a slot game or at a roulette table than a regular player? Or perhaps they’re not more likely to get lucky, perhaps we just want to believe it’s true. Perhaps, we all want to believe that luck can be more than just luck.
