Good Poker Players Are Pretty Smart Guys Sometimes, I like to think that poker online is all about the luck. Deep down though, I know that this isn’t true. I know that this is just a bitter little voice in the back of my head that is disappointed in the fact that I have been outplayed once again. Make no mistake about it. When I lose at a poker game, I am simply outplayed by someone who knows more than I do. I have come to the uncomfortable realization of late that good poker players are pretty smart guys. As much as it pains me to say it, they may even be smarter than me. Good poker players have these naturally high levels of intelligence that allow them to calculate pot odds, read the table, and internalize new playing styles all in the time it takes me just to read my cards. The truly top notch players have razor sharp card knowledge that one really only sees at high rank universities. Sure, I am sure that some of it can be learned. People can learn to count cards or calculate pot odds. But I still believe, given the amount of times that I have been outwitted and outplayed, that the best poker players are just an intellectual cut above.