And when you throw in the fluctuations of eight or nine opponents' cards--including no-limit showdowns in which two or more players have very strong hands--the luck factor becomes practically decisive.

FORBES: Mastering The Luck

The article focuses on luck as a factor of success: the authors found that hugely successful people (think Bill Gates) are no luckier than anyone else.

FORBES: Harnessing the Power of Luck

Luck is a factor in many--if not most--professional contests.

FORBES: Magazine Article

No hand develops without luck as a factor.

FORBES: Magazine Article

But in public education, you don't want luck to be a factor.

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As skill becomes less of a transformative factor, luck takes the reins.

FORBES: Beating The Market Takes More Dumb Luck Than Skill

Luck seemed barely a factor in the case of Albert Gore.

CNN: Excerpt: 'The Prince of Tennessee: The Rise of Al Gore'

Luck is always a factor in venture investing.

FORBES: Stanford Investor Loves the Underdog

Blind luck will always remain a factor in all human undertakings, as fecklessly distributed in the next century as it has been in this.

FORBES: What's new, what isn't

The fourth factor has been sheer luck.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS