Some people may still find it difficult to believe that poker is a game of skill rather than luck.

In particular, cynics may point to the fact that cards are dealt randomly to each player. In any particular hand, it is clearly a matter of luck as to which players receive the best cards. Whilst this is true, it is also true that over any reasonably large number of hands (say 10000 hands) each player seated at a table will receive pretty much the same number of winning hands as every other player at the table. If there are 10 players in the hand, they will each have about 1000 occassions when they are dealt the best hand. It stands to reason, therefore, that the player who makes the most of their winning hands and loses the least with their losing hands is likely to make the most profit overall.

Another point that the cynics may fail to consider is that poker is not really a game played with cards - it is a game played with money (or chips!). On the whole, it is down to each player to decide when to put money into a pot and how much to put in. So while the cards are distributed randomly, the actual moves of the game are made with money and these moves are made entirely according to the decisions and judgements of each player and not by a random process at all.

A good poker player is not a gambler. In fact, in many ways, he is the very opposite of a gambler. Gamblers bet at unfavourable odds. A good poker player only bets when the odds are in his favour. A good poker player is not an addict - he is able to get up and walk away from a game when he no longer looks likely to make money - and he can do this regardless of how much he has won or lost so far.

A good poker player takes no account of luck. He believes, instead, in probability. He may have a lucky rabbit's foot on a chain around his neck or pretend that his favourite hand in Hold ' Em is Queen-Deuce, but this is merely to confuse his opponents. His favourite hand is, of course, Ace-Ace. He would obviously never swap his Ace-Ace for Queen-Deuce! He just pretends otherwise.

A good poker player aims to win money - but he is not motivated by greed or the excitement of betting with large sums of money. He views money merely as a way of keeping the score in a game that he aims to win.

A good poker player's judgement is unaffected by the size of the stakes in a game. He is not worried by the equivalence of the stakes in real terms. Thoughts such as "Hey, I could have bought a new car with the money I just lost in that hand," do not concern him. If they did, it could affect his play.

A good poker player does not curse when he is called and outdrawn by an inferior hand - he knows that not every hand will go his way- but he also trusts in probability - he wants poor players to continue to try to outdraw him - he knows that over the long term he will win far more than he loses.

A good poker player is not distracted by personal vendettas or petty rivalries. He will not try and sit down against other good players to prove he is the best. He will prefer to sit down against poor players. After all, choosing a good game to play in is one of the main skills in being a good poker player.

A good poker player knows the difference between being lucky and playing well. If he plays well, but is behind due to an unfortunate run of cards, he knows that he merely needs to carry on the same way and, in the long-run, the probabilities will still favour him. On the other hand, he knows when he himself has been outplayed and he has been lucky to win a hand. He ignores his winnings, berates himself (privately) for his mistakes and either improves or leaves the table.

A good poker player is unconcerned with status - the only reason he might want the respect of other players is if this helps him to make a profit out of them. He is unconcerned with being either popular or unpopular.

Above all, a good poker player concentrates on making correct decisions. He knows that it is the quality of his decisions that will determine his success in the long run.

There are many, many useful proverbs (and sayings) in poker - each containing a slice of wisdom. Here are just a few of them:

Don't throw good money after bad! Poor players will often view the money they have put in the pot as still "their money." When they have committed a substantial sum to a pot, they will keep calling further bets even when it should be clear they cannot win the pot. They are throwing good money after bad - committing more money in a desperate attempt to rescue the money they have already put in the pot - money which, in reality, they have already lost! Don't fall into this trap! It is important that once you put money in the pot, you no longer consider that to be "your" money. How much you have already put into a hand should have no bearing whatsoever on whether you continue to stay in a hand. Having lots of money already in the pot will, of course, increase the pot odds available to you - but who put that money in is largely irrelevant!

Sometimes you will make a poor decision and bet or call when you should not have done so. Admit you made a mistake and avoid losing any more money the same way. Don't refuse to accept you made a mistake and waste more money trying to prove you were right all along!

Furthermore, the same principles apply to a game as a whole. If you lose money because you are being outplayed, don't bet more and more money and play in more and more hands to try to win "your" money back. That's how people who start a game playing for pennies end up losing their cars!

(Here's a thought: Poker wisdom can be applied in many areas of life. For example, how many people in dead-end relationships can't accept reality because they have already invested years of their lives in the relationship and can't admit to having made a mistake? How many go ahead and get married only for it to end in a messy divorce? If they had played poker and learned the lesson of not throwing good money after bad, things might have turned out differently!)

If you can't spot the sucker in your first half-hour at the table, it's you! This proverb is largely self-explanatory. When you sit down at the poker table, you will probably be aiming to make money. You should be able to do this if you are a better poker player than at least some of the other players at the table. If, after a short while, you can't spot at least one player who is significantly worse at poker than you are, then how do you intend to make any money at that table?

People who chase straights and flushes get to go home on trains and buses. Strong players like to play with strength in their hand and invite poor players to try their luck to out-draw them. They will, of course, make sure that the pot odds do not justify trying to make the draw. Sometimes you will have the pot odds to justify a straight or flush draw, but this is the exception rather than the rule. If, playing a live game, you routinely try to chase those unlikely straight and flush draws, you are heading towards only being able to afford the cheapest form of transport home available - those stretch limos or even a taxi will be out of your price-range! This doesn't literally apply when you play on the internet, of course, but the idea is still valid.

Even a blind pig can pick up an acorn. This reminds us that, sometimes, even a very bad player will pick up an unlikely draw but that this doesn't mean he is a good player.

Checks (Cheques) are for banks! This simply reminds us not to be a calling station. If you have a poor hand, fold. If you believe you have a good hand, why not bet? So many more nice things can happen when you bet. A bet may give you information about your opponents and, sometimes, even a small bet will unexpectedly make everyone fold and you will pick up the pot there and then. This doesn't mean you should bet recklessly, of course.

Never show your hand unless someone has paid to see it! Many players will sometimes show their hands when they don't have to. They may do this simply out of misplaced politeness - showing their excellent hand to a player who has just folded, so their opponent can rest easy knowing they did the right thing! They may show their hands for advertising purposes.

However, many top players believe you should never show your hand unless you have actually been called and are obliged to show it. There are good reasons for this.

Firstly, humans are naturally curious. Sometimes, people's curiosity will lead them to call you when you have the best hand, almost just to find out what you have. If they can find out what you have without having to pay for the privilege, you are missing out on profit-making opportunities.

Secondly, by showing your hands, you are unnecessarily giving your opponents information about how you play. They have the opportunity to learn more about you and will therefore have a better chance of beating you.

Luck is a giver never, a lender ever. In the long-run, there are no "lucky players" or "unlucky players." We all get pretty much the same cards over the long term. If you have a run of good cards, you may need to remind yourself that it won't last. Don't allow yourself to assume the good run will continue. Firstly, you must make the most of your good cards while you have them, but you must also be ready for a run of bad cards and the probable necessity to fold a lot of hands when this happens. Furthermore, if a player makes a run of lucky draws against you, don't let this put you off your stride - they won't stay lucky for ever!

One proverb that doesn't apply in poker: "Don't kick a man when he is down!" There is a saying about not kicking a man when he is down. In poker, however, it is perfectly acceptable to stamp on his head. The very idea of winning at poker involves taking advantage of other players' weaknesses. This is perfectly acceptable behaviour since, when people sit down at a poker table, they are giving consent for other players to lie to and deceive them and generally try to rip them off. This is what makes poker such an "honest" game - everyone knows that the players are trying to "rip each other off," so to speak. Being compassionate and going easy on a player when they are losing is not the point! This is not to say that after a hard-fought poker game, rival players cannot remain the best of friends off the table, just as intense rivals in any other sport can be best friends off the field of play, but, generally, you should feel free to exploit your opponents' weaknesses as much as you can!

Here's a good philosophical reason for what I have said above: One of the unfortunate things about modern life is that people often live in such comfort that they can afford to live in a state of denial about their own weaknesses. When they make a mistake, they deny it (often until they are blue in the face!). In days gone by (or, perhaps, in some "undeveloped" countries today), a man who was not a very good hunter could not deny this fact. He would either have to recognise his failings and learn to improve or he would starve to death. In the modern world there are not usually such drastic penalties. We live in a padded world, where we are protected from the consequences of our actions and mistaken beliefs and from our own failings and weaknesses. Such an environment can, and often does, make people conceited and arrogant.

Things are refreshingly different at the poker table. People cannot hide from their weaknesses. If they are playing badly, they may pretend to themselves they have been merely unlucky. This, however, will do nothing to stop them losing. They will continue to lose until they face up to reality. Thus by exploiting their weaknesses and taking their money, you are actually doing them a favour - You are teaching them to be more honest with themselves! If this lesson costs them a few quid, then it is money well spent!