In coh2 the "RNG" simply ruins the game - this game has been around long enough that by now I should know the answer to "who is going to win this firefight" "should I retreat now?" ect
But I don't and the top players don't know either - I often see them getting squad wiped due to the ridiculous nature of RNG ( and just how bad retreating works in this game) you can have a full health squad get wiped on retreat, even when retreated perfectly, all because of some crazy crits.
The worst thing is a lot of these factors are 100% completely out of the players hand. No advanced micro, no advanced knowledge of strategy or the map can eliminate these critical and broken RNG moments
And why so much people play poker then? RNG is extremely big factor in poker.
In a game with RNG skill is a value that determines your ability to minimize chance of losing.
In the poker you can always calculate your chances based on information you have: total number of cards (the deck), cards in your hand, open cards on the table.
You can do same in CoH: theoretically - based on unit stats or practically - based on tests.
According to my tests Tiger wins vs IS-2 on mid distance with 75% chance (won 3 times in a sample of 4)
That means if I play Wermacht I will ALWAYS take the 1v1 fight with IS-2 on mid distance, and if I play Soviet I will ALWAYS avoid 1v1 fights with Tiger on mid distance.
You need to make such tests with your friends (ofc, if you have any ).
You can make it for different units, cover types, distances, veterancy levels, etc.
As a result you will gain knowledge of which circumstances favors you, so you can minimize risks of losing.
Noone is protected from epic unluck, but pro-players minimize influence of unluck.
I hope you got my point.