On luck and randomness

recently I heard this take:

When you play poker and lose with a better hand, it's easy to feel disappointed or even cheated. "I had a 70% chance of winning there" => "I should have won", since the other player only had 30% equity. Why is it fair that they win?

Neither outcome is fair. The other player didn't deserve 100% of the pot. But neither did you. You only deserved 70% of it. But most pots in poker, like many incidents in life, have a binary outcome. You either get into a particular college or you don't. You either get the job or you don't. But whether it works out or it doesn't, you never truly deserved it. You put in some effort and deserved some part of it, and you end up getting either 0% or 100%.

Bust just like in poker, one hand shouldn't decide everything. Over time, the sum of your results should reflect your effort and ability.