Competitions are generally understood to be a great way of flexing your writing muscles and testing them in a public arena. This is true but there must be caveats.
     Much depends on the judge and their place and standpoint in the writing scene.  If the judge is an academic located in Post-postmodern writing, then a rhyming poem may well struggle to do well. Conversely, if the judge is a die-hard traditionalist, then ultra modern poetry may also struggle.
  However, competition judges are invariably independent and objective, and do the best they can to give an unbiased result. But we are all “Human” and it is a truism that in all competitions that a different judge could produce a slightly different result.
   Competitions are not a lottery - a common excuse for people who don’t enter. The secret is to send in your best, well-crafted, original writing, with at least some idea of what the judge might be looking for - which can be indicated by previous winners and competition guidelines.
    The prime method of giving yourself a chance is to read and obey the rules. As someone who runs competitions and has, very occasionally, judged them, I regularly despair when I read something that grips me but is ineligible because the writer hasn’t done what’s asked. Recently, I read a 2000-word story submitted to a poetry competition. Wonderful story but what a waste of an entry fee.
   If you are interested in competitions then check out Kudos magazine, formerly known as “Competitions Bulletin”.