No. The less skill the players have, the less likely it is that it will matter who goes first. At the grandmaster level, I think the ratio is something like 2 to 1 in white's favor. That's win-loss ratio, not counting draws. That's the accurate portrayal of the strength of white over black, since that removes the variable of downright lousy play. When you're dealing with players rated below 1500 in chess.com rating, I'd guess the ratio is probably around 50-50.
--Fromper
fritz 10 database of 150000 master games...
white 36 %
draw 42 %
black 22 %
fritz 10 database of 150000 master games...
white 36 %
draw 42 %
black 22 %
It's interesting the amount of draws at master level almost 1/2
The amount of draws at master level is so high thanks to Kramnik 
If you look at the real top tournaments, like the World Championship, Linares, Corus, Dortmund, Sofia etc. you'll find an even higher draw rate, usually far above 50%. The Russian Superfinals taking place right now is a nice exception to that, with 42% draws, and 27% wins for both sides. That's mostly thanks to Morozevich who drew only one game, lost one and won his last six games!
That's exactly right! You aim to equalise, and hope your opponent makes mistakes. It's supposed to take no less than 3 minor mistakes for white to get a lost game.
Major mistakes tend to be rare in master play.
???
Could you rephrase that please?
I disagree with the high percentage of draws on a personal level. Great, you drew because you were unsure of how the play would unfold. Grow a pair and play it out. Draws by repetition are fine, as well drawing in situations late where its clear that there is no way one side can win. But there are so many move 12-20 draws that are just bull. That's why Fischer will always be held in my highest regard. As far as I can find, he has the best win to draw ratio I can find. Kasparov even disappoints me with a huge number of draws, almost as many as he has wins. Fischer has almost twice the number of wins to draws.
You can't learn by drawing from unclear positions. You learn from giving up pawns and working back, or trying unfamiliar lines and positions, not from getting scared and wanting that half point.
As of today the win rate on chess.com for white is 49.9% and 47.4% for black. Seeing as how so many games are played, isn't this a pretty accurate portrayal of the strength of white over black?