Random may be random, but over a long enough period of time, the good and bad hands will even out, it is the Law of Large Numbers. Since players can expect over a period of time, they will receive a distribution of hands, then how they play the hands, not what the specific hands are will determine the outcome.

You may be fixating on TV, however there are over a hundred major tournaments in a given year, and the overwhelming bulk of them are won by players with some relative level of experience. Note, the top players win multiple tournaments, and finish in the money in several more. the last two winners of the WSOP flagship tournaments are regular players (Moneymaker was the exception not the rule). These very same top plyers win in the millions from Cash games (where even the added randomness of tournament play is excluded). Doyle Brunson has been a consistent winner for decades.

There are many examples of top players winning significant pots, and even tournaments, by playing trash, but pursuading the other (weaker) player to fold the better hand.

If a player new he had the better hand, or the goal was only the better hand, luck would be the dominant factor, but it is all the other factors thatare skill based.

I may lose at Roulette, Blackjack, or craps,but it is Poker and Sports that finance and justify my multiple annual trips to Vegas, Riverboats, and other gambling destinations.

And if you think all you need is a little luck, let me get a deck of cards. If your contact is with the game is the internet only, then I agree that luck is more of a factor. There are too few skilled players, and all to frequently, not enough at stake for the other factors to come into play.

There is a reason that so many poker players support themselves off the fish who come to town relying on Luck.

Peace Out