Describes a successful outcome to a first attempt at something. The notion of a learning curve suggests that such success is improbable. Its occurrence is almost mystical and can be perceived in many different ways.
The simple occasion of beginners luck is entirely positive and is sometimes considered a blessing. A desired task has been successfully accomplished and for certain until the next attempt the success rate is perfect. This however could be just about the only positive thing said of this form of luck.
Often used as a cry of foul by those on the losing end of or otherwise disgruntled by the occurrence, beginner’s luck may or may not serve as indication of future outcomes to the same or comparable events. In fact it sometimes is looked upon as a curse. Rather than being attributed to the actual qualities inherent to continued success it often indicates that the good fortune was just a phenomenon and is not duplicable on a consistent basis if ever again.
The significance of a specific occurrence depends in part on how difficult the task was perceived to be at its undertaking as well as how future attempts play out. Obviously the magnitude of an event is directly related to its difficulty. But if subsequent attempts at the same feat are routinely successful even the most monumental effort might stand up in a historical sense as inevitable rather than beginner's luck.
Be it considered favorable or inauspicious, why beginners end up doing things that well-trained people sometimes can’t is subject to much conjecture. One idea is that it is essentially a self-fulfilling prophecy. Because one does not know something one does not know how to fail at it either and feels none of the pressure associated with knowing how to succeed. Another theory is that it is just statistically likely.