"His study of more than a billion hands of online Texas Hold’em found that 85.2 percent of the hands were decided without a show of cards. In other words, players’ betting decisions were of overwhelming importance in determining the outcome." (emphasis added)
This is a tautology; the real question is whether there is significant discretion in making those decisions. The 85% statistic is meaningless without knowing how many of the winners within that segment simply folded weak hands and kept strong ones, in which case it would be clear that luck is the dominant factor. The 7% where the poorer hand won might merely represent the occasional exception to the rule.
Also, share of hands isn't share of stake. Sure, lots of hands of Hold'em are folded out -- often before the flop. But what share of the amount wagered is decided that way may be pretty different than what share of the hands are decided that way.
This is a tautology; the real question is whether there is significant discretion in making those decisions. The 85% statistic is meaningless without knowing how many of the winners within that segment simply folded weak hands and kept strong ones, in which case it would be clear that luck is the dominant factor. The 7% where the poorer hand won might merely represent the occasional exception to the rule.