“Beginner’s Luck” follows someone deciding to play a game of poker at a casino for the first time. They’re told that beginner’s luck is on their side, and that even if they lose, it’s cheaper than a drink. The game that follows is described with wordplay based around poker terminology such as burned/washed cards, “betting skins,” as well as bluffing. The game doesn’t go well for the amateur and they decide that the only way they can win is by spooking — a cheat which exposes face down cards on the table. They’re caught in the act by security as their luck turned out to be a lie. The song is a light psychedelic pop track with flutes, Mellotron and plucky synths. Musically there are hints of late-era Beatles, as well as the session work of Bernard Purdie through the track’s extensive use of the Purdie Shuffle. It also features a distinct bass line, one which Lucas has called his favorite to play.
The inspiration behind the song is a bit vague. Following a performance of “Oddlife” on 2022-04-18 at the Event Lawn at Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas, Joey talks about his gambling losses and how he doesn’t know how to play blackjack. In this aside, he gives a very quick summary of why Stu wrote the song. “Stu went to bed early and he didn’t write another song about gambling, which is why he wrote ‘Beginner’s Luck’… so no new song about gambling unfortunately. Maybe I’ll write one. It’s called ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’” When asked if the song was inspired by a trip to Las Vegas during the Chunky Shrapnel Reddit AMA, Cavs confirmed it, though claimed that Stu is a gambling addict. Stu responded, saying “it’s sad.”
The liner notes state that Ambrose (vocals), Cavs (drums), Lucas (piano) and Stu (vocals/guitar/keyboards/bass/percussion) played on the studio version and that it was recorded at Flightless HQ by Stu. The final track was mixed by Michael Badger. It was released as a single on December 12th, 2017 alongside “All Is Known.” According to Jason Galea, the single artwork was a draft of the art for Murder of the Universe’s album cover. The song became the opening track of Gumboot Soup, which was released on December 31st, 2017.
In an interview for Eleven PDX Magazine, Stu mentioned that “Beginner’s Luck” was soundchecked throughout their 2018 European Tour before they ever played it. The earliest documented performance of the song was on 2018-03-03 at L'aeronef in Lille. The song would then be played a few other times in 2018. These versions were faster, featured a different groove, were typically longer, and (at least occasionally) featured Malcolm Brown of the band Whitney on keys while Ambrose and Stu sang without their instruments. While the song had started as a late set track, it soon became a show closer — a spot it would not see past this point. “Beginner’s Luck” was played more often in 2019, starting with a show on 2019-06-26. A performance of the song from 2019-10-16 was used as a bonus feature for Chunky Shrapnel. As of writing, this was the final performance of the song. 2019 live versions of “Beginner’s Luck” are longer than the studio version with an extended intro featuring soulful vocals from Stu (now on keys) and extended outro guitar and keyboard solos.