Beginner's luck

csabika94 · Jan 18, 2026

“Granny” Almost Makes Final Table in First Poker Tournament After Her Favorite slots Were Removed A casino removed an 88-year-old woman’s favorite slot machines, so she decided to enter a $1 million guaranteed poker tournament instead, where she nearly won the tournament. Linda Hammons, who had never played a poker tournament before, entered the $500 Mystery Bounty event at The Beau Rivage Heater, a Gulf Coast Poker Tour (GPT) event in Biloxi, Mississippi. She more than held her own in the no-limit hold’em event, finishing 14th out of 2,628 entrants for $10,100 ($8,400 in the main prize pool and $1,700 in the bounty). Call it beginner's luck if you want, but the poker players in attendance were so impressed by the deep run that the local media picked up the story. "I showed them"

this also happens 😂😂😂

If you had known you would get beginner's luck, how would you have taken advantage of it?

nabmom · Jan 18, 2026

Maybe play the Powerball lottery?

Or satellite in to the Main Even at the wsop and see the final table.

john_entony · Jan 18, 2026

I don't know, but I have such a feeling that I was also very lucky when I first registered at Poker Stars many years ago. Or maybe it's just my perception, it's hard to say. But I think that many rookies who were unlucky at the beginning of their poker journey did not continue playing this game.

R.Holynskyi · Jan 18, 2026

Luck, ‘beginner's luck’, ‘experienced player's luck’, ‘plumber's luck’, ‘professor's luck’... how do you think all these types of luck differ?
There is no such thing as ‘beginner's luck’. It does not exist. It is a fiction, a sham, a label. Either you have luck or you don't, and that's the end of it. But whether you are a beginner, an experienced player or a plumber is a completely different matter

fernandofcp · Jan 18, 2026

Beginner's luck is a factor to consider. Poker involves a mix of skill and luck. In the short term (a few rounds or a single tournament), anyone can win if the right cards come their way, regardless of technique. Therefore, beginner's luck in poker is a real characteristic that occurs frequently.

Zorba · Jan 18, 2026

R.Holynskyi said:
Luck, ‘beginner's luck’, ‘experienced player's luck’, ‘plumber's luck’, ‘professor's luck’... how do you think all these types of luck differ?
There is no such thing as ‘beginner's luck’. It does not exist. It is a fiction, a sham, a label. Either you have luck or you don't, and that's the end of it. But whether you are a beginner, an experienced player or a plumber is a completely different matter

This is true, but in poker I would call it donkey's luck, that's when you get it in as a massive dog and win.

Kasztor007 · Jan 19, 2026

If I knew in advance that beginner’s luck was on my side, I wouldn’t use it on one big gamble. I’d use it in formats with high variance and many decision points like large-field MTTs or bounty tournaments. A deep run there has huge value, and loose calls or unconventional lines can work because opponents struggle to put you on a range.

In cash games, luck fades quickly over volume. In tournaments, one good run can replace weeks or even months of grinding.

infonazar · Jan 19, 2026

Newbies are no more or less lucky than other players

It's just that when luck is on a newbie's side, it makes a bigger impression on us because newbies usually make exceptionally stupid decisions

schtiuky · Jan 19, 2026

this is like a movie scenario

GrannySmit77 · Jan 19, 2026

I read that story somewhere on a site with poker info. Very funny. 10k is not life changing money anymore. Still it must have been fun for her to win more than she ever has at slots. Maybe she'll inspire more elderly women who play slots to try out poker. A bigger guarantee won't hurt the poker industry. And also makes for a funny headline when someone like her reaches the final table.

WrongUsername · Jan 19, 2026

cool story glad to here it wish she won tho

austral · Jan 19, 2026

Register every tournament possible 😂

farahonloveshad · Jan 19, 2026

If I had known I would have beginner's luck, I would have played with more confidence from the start and taken advantage of every strong hand to risk a little more, looking to build a big stack and go further in the tournament.

marco198121 · Jan 19, 2026

Sometimes it depends on several combinations. For example, and I see this a lot in online poker rooms, a guy who inexplicably has good hand after good hand builds up a chip stack that makes him untouchable at the table, and with that, he manages to accumulate more and more chips, even though he's not very good, just because he got lucky. This happens every day.

Propane Goat · Jan 19, 2026

The problem with beginner's luck is that you don't know when it's going to run out (if there is even such a thing in the first place). Everyone goes on a heater once in a while and they seem like they're invincible, until they aren't.

csabika94 · Jan 19, 2026

Propane Goat said:
A kezdők szerencséjének az a problémája, hogy nem tudhatod, mikor fogy el (ha egyáltalán létezik ilyen). Mindenki bekapcsol időnként egy fűtőtestet, és úgy tűnik, legyőzhetetlen, amíg már nem az.

Obviously, those who play more often know that there are times when we are in a rush. This is probably the case with this as well.

dompoker · Jan 21, 2026

I know that professionals don't believe in luck, in this case of Mrs. Linda, I think it influenced 6% of luck, and 40% of knowledge, because I think she played at tables, with real money.

s0ftdumps · Jan 22, 2026

Beginner's luck is the worst possible thing that can happen to a newbie in anything that involves risk/risk management. False sense of understanding/ thinking your special is very expensive

miroslata32 · Jan 22, 2026

i think its not about beginers luck but to be aa bit luckier than opponent

Dorugremon · Jan 22, 2026

csabika94 said:
“Granny” Almost Makes Final Table in First Poker Tournament After Her Favorite Slots Were Removed A casino removed an 88-year-old woman’s favorite slot machines, so she decided to enter a $1 million guaranteed poker tournament instead, where she nearly won the tournament. Linda Hammons, who had never played a poker tournament before, entered the $500 Mystery Bounty event at The Beau Rivage Heater, a Gulf Coast Poker Tour (GPT) event in Biloxi, Mississippi. She more than held her own in the no-limit hold’em event, finishing 14th out of 2,628 entrants for $10,100 ($8,400 in the main prize pool and $1,700 in the bounty). Call it beginner's luck if you want, but the poker players in attendance were so impressed by the deep run that the local media picked up the story. "I showed them"

this also happens 😂😂😂

If you had known you would get beginner's luck, how would you have taken advantage of it?

Not necessarily beginner's luck. I've seen this before when some older lady joined a live game table. Said she was a beginner and I saw no reason to doubt her. However, she applied a lot of common sense and so did pretty well. The biggest leak in her game was giving up too easily on the river. I bluffed her off two pair and unforch, had to show since a third player was all-in. I knew I wouldn't be able to do that again, and, indeed, she learned a lesson and loosened up on the river calls.

kmiarka · Jan 22, 2026

"beginners' luck" is often having a viral fame however for regulars it's called a "good run / good day" without any fame with it

both case scenario - granny smahed! hahahah

csabika94 · Jan 23, 2026

a novice player attaches much greater importance to it... It will bring joy

andron205 · Jan 23, 2026

This is very important at later stages of tournaments

chicbulls2 · Jan 31, 2026

it is always present

MishkaZL · Feb 1, 2026

Whether beginner's luck exists or not is not that important. I think it would even be worse for a beginner if he won one of his first tournaments, as he would get the idea that poker is easy money, which in turn would lead to disappointment over time.

Beginner's luck

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