"I remember the first time I went to a casino in Las Vegas, I decided to forgo the slot machines and try my hand at the blackjack table," recalls a gambling novice. "And although I'd never played the game before, I walked away from the table after having several winning hands -- with an extra $1,000 in my pocket!" Chances are, there were more practiced players sitting at that same table, and yet a total neophyte managed to beat the odds.

"There are moments when a beginner, who is more naive and less anxious about the outcome, might outperform someone more skilled," says Robert Smith, Ph.D., a psychologist in Waltham, Massachusetts. The theory behind the phenomenon is that someone with no background, experience or expectations may be so relaxed about the performance -- and so unconcerned about the results -- that he or she performs unexpectedly well. "For someone who is an expert and has put years of time and practice into perfecting their performance, there is much more pressure to succeed," says Smith. And all that pressure can occasionally have the negative effect of causing an expert to flub up.

It's called luck because a rank beginner cannot be expected to have the necessary skill to succeed. And obviously, sinking a hole in one the first time you step onto a golf course does owe a lot to pure, dumb luck. No one -- no matter how athletic and coordinated -- is going to give Tiger Woods a run for his money on the very first try. But by not being Tiger Woods, there's also very little riding on what happens when you step onto the course. And when the bar is very low and people don't expect much from your performance, it's surprisingly easy to exceed expectations. But when the whole world is watching, it's not uncommon for even the most skilled to cave under the pressure and perform below their abilities.

The problem for those lucky beginners starts once they begin focusing more on the outcome and start trying harder to perfect their game, stroke or move. As soon as you move past that "who cares, what have I got to lose?" attitude, your inner critic weighs in with all sorts of unhelpful commentary.

So how do you harness the fluke success you might have experienced when you first tried something new? The best advice you can give yourself is to relax. The reason you were able to perform so well with so little practice and learned skill is that you weren't worried about winning or losing. Of course, it's hard not to care about the outcome once you've devoted time and energy to becoming more proficient. But try to recall the reason you fell for the sport, game or activity to begin with -- because you had so much fun! And remember the old adage: It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.