[Closed] Do u think Poker is a sport?

camb dict

Definition
sport noun (GAME)
/spɔːt/US pronunciation symbol/spɔːrt/ n
•
[C] a game, competition or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job
Football, cricket and hockey are all team sports.
I enjoy winter sports like skiing and skating.
•
UK all types of physical activity which people do to keep healthy or for enjoyment
She used to do/play a lot of sport when she was younger.
•
old-fashioned fun or enjoyment

notice first definiation mentions effort.

I wrote to the national gambling commission and they clearly stated it's not a sport. Those bastards.

Originally posted by luvr7
It's on the sports channel cause they don't know where else to put it.

♦ LOL

I think it is a sport. If motocross, auto racing or any type of horse activity is considered a sport then why not? Granted, a physically gifted person has an advantage over the ones who are not in those activities, but it can be the same with a poker player, who has to spend lots of hours in the table. However, for me only tournament poker qualifies, cause there's a winner after all. Cash poker would be an infinite sport, as there is never an end.

Well, can it be considered as a mind sport?

I think not, there is element of chance involved in poker, compared to chess or bridge...

Poker is a game, and admit it or not, it's a gambling game...

Originally posted by dubrovnik
Well, can it be considered as a mind sport?

I think not, there is element of chance involved in poker, compared to chess or bridge...

Poker is a game, and admit it or not, it's a gambling game...

You've picked the wrong place to affirm something like this

Originally posted by dubrovnik
, there is element of chance involved in poker, compared to chess or bridge...

...

All sports or games have an element of chance, otherwise they would be science or business................ where 'nothing is left to chance'.

If there was no chance involved you would never watch a sport because the stronger or better player/team would always win. Sports do provide upsets with the 'underdog' springing surprise results.

Originally posted by andyb43

Originally posted by dubrovnik
, there is element of chance involved in poker, compared to chess or bridge...

...

All sports or games have an element of chance, otherwise they would be science or business................ where 'nothing is left to chance'.

If there was no chance involved you would never watch a sport because the stronger or better player/team would always win. Sports do provide upsets with the 'underdog' springing surprise results.

I agree 100%. Sports are a ton of luck, anyone who is/was playing totalizator will confirm this. I mean professional sport. So luck is not argument why poker is not a sport.

Anyway i think poker is not a sport. Why? Because majority of population understand it as a bad gambling. Thats all. Word meanings in language evolution and average Joe mind are made by society, not by logics. We are part of society and society dictates meanings of things. Im a law student, so i look at stuff not by my individual eyes, but i try to look from society point of view

Originally posted by slowshow

Originally posted by andyb43

Originally posted by dubrovnik
, there is element of chance involved in poker, compared to chess or bridge...

...

All sports or games have an element of chance, otherwise they would be science or business................ where 'nothing is left to chance'.

If there was no chance involved you would never watch a sport because the stronger or better player/team would always win. Sports do provide upsets with the 'underdog' springing surprise results.

I agree 100%. Sports are a ton of luck, anyone who is/was playing totalizator will confirm this. I mean professional sport. So luck is not argument why poker is not a sport.

Anyway i think poker is not a sport. Why? Because majority of population understand it as a bad gambling. Thats all. Word meanings in language evolution and average Joe mind are made by society, not by logics. We are part of society and society dictates meanings of things. Im a law student, so i look at stuff not by my individual eyes, but i try to look from society point of view

exactly

This is quite a retarded debate. Nobody will ever agree because they won't agree about how "sport" is defined.

FWIW I think sport necessarily includes competitive activity, with structured rules on a regular basis with an existing competitive circuit. And poker could qualify- though there is an excellent argument for the luck factor disqualifying something from being a sport.

Also, A) Physical activity is not a pre-requisite.
B) If snooker has physical activity, reading a player's expressions, face etc and removing your tells counts as such.
C) I don't think social disapproval or player mentalities have anything to do with whether this is a sport- thus boxing and in the past duelling were also sports despite the questionable ethics of the activity and its participants.

I think it is a game of skill but not a sport. I dont think the gambling aspect is of any consequence because I can lay a wager on any aspect of a physical activity and make it into a sport that still involves gambling. If you called poker a sport then you could also call bridge a sport and there for my grandmother would be considered an excellent athlete based on her ability to kick ass at bridge. Luck also has no bearing on the definition of a sport. A sport is not defined by the ratio of skill versus luck, but luck will always come into play for any sport.

The actions/decisions made in poker are not directly related to a physical activity and therefore cannot be considered a sport. (Indirectly yes it does require stamina but so does sitting and staring a blank wall for long periods of time).

Originally posted by AquamanBT
I think it is a sport. If motocross, auto racing or any type of horse activity is considered a sport then why not? Granted, a physically gifted person has an advantage over the ones who are not in those activities, but it can be the same with a poker player, who has to spend lots of hours in the table. However, for me only tournament poker qualifies, cause there's a winner after all. Cash poker would be an infinite sport, as there is never an end.

If you don't see how horseback riding is different from poker in the physical sense then clearly you've never done any serious riding. Good luck trying to ride properly in any sort of competition if you're out of shape. Same thing for motocross and even auto racing...these things are dependent on physical abilities such at reaction time etc.

"Out of shape" does not completely limit poker abilities....look at Doyle, Raymour, Moneymaker....It may affect stamina and how long you can concentrate but does not directly affect how well you can do.

Poker is not dependent on physical abilities....aside from overweight players, there's also blind players and of course sweet little 96 year old Jack Uri.

If you try and say poker is a "mind sport" or something along those lines then university studies would also be a sport...

The fact of the matter is that poker is not a sport because of the lack of physical abilities required. It is a game of skill with an element of chance thrown in there.

Edit: And yes there is an element of chance thrown into real sports like MMA. For example, someone could be a 4-1 favorite to win a fight but the underdog still has that chance. But if the underdog scores a lucky punch and knocks the favorite out it is because of something he did, a physical effort he made. In poker the element of chance has nothing to do with you. It's the flip of a card. Comparing the luck factor in poker and the luck factor in sports is not the same.

I think it can be considered a sport. But I wouldn't mind if someone says it's not. I really don't care if it is or not.

I think there's several viewpoints to take this from, but mainly it is whatever you make it.
I personally think of it as a hobby, i'm not very good at it but i enjoy it and want to continue and get better. However, let's take an example; football, is considered a sport, yet could also be someones hobby until they go pro and it becomes their career. I think games have more specifically recreational value, even though they are competative. I would also so that training is more relevant to sports over games, because of the meaning of the word.

Eventually the way you play poker, the way you see it, is what you make of it.

If you took luck out of the equation poker would be a sport.

While i consider there to be luck in most forms of sport, like in soccer the ball hitting the post.. bad decisions by the referee etc. etc. It can't really compare to the worst player in the world beating the best player in the world in a coin flip situation.

It's a gambling game.. Roulette isn't a sport... Backgammon isn't a sport.. so why would poker be a sport.

Think about the home game you play with your mates (if you don't just imagine one.) while you play that to have fun, and hopefully win, but I don't think anyone could argue that they are playing sport.

While sometimes poker gets close to being a sport (WSOP etc.) There are times when it is obviously gambling, and hence IMHO can't be considered a sport.

If an overweight person can play it, than it,s not a sport!

I used to play footbal for 9years.. In those 9 years i didnt consume as much RedBull as have consumed for last 2 months .. So.. surely is a sport since it makes u exhausted both physically and mentaly ..+ u want to be the best..
clear IMO

.

Originally posted by Paskkal29
If an overweight person can play it, than it,s not a sport!

LOL.

Golf is a sport - Whack a ball, jump in a golf cart and get out and whack it again...........is this a sport because there is skill involved or the physical activity of having to smash a crappy little ball around a course?

Fishing is a sport - Agreed or not? Sit around waiting for a stupid little fish to bite!!! A sport because there is skill involved? (Location, lure selection, technique etc.?

Now is poker a sport? - If fishing is a sport then so is poker...... Sit around waiting for a hand and picking your spots to play them.....skill involved? Sure is.....Exercise - well my brain hurts after an 18 hour session....but so do my arms after raking in copious amounts of chips during that session...hehe

Originally posted by ImAnAcehole9

Originally posted by Paskkal29
If an overweight person can play it, than it,s not a sport!

LOL.

Golf is a sport - Whack a ball, jump in a golf cart and get out and whack it again...........is this a sport because there is skill involved or the physical activity of having to smash a crappy little ball around a course?

Fishing is a sport - Agreed or not? Sit around waiting for a stupid little fish to bite!!! A sport because there is skill involved? (Location, lure selection, technique etc.?

Now is poker a sport? - If fishing is a sport then so is poker...... Sit around waiting for a hand and picking your spots to play them.....skill involved? Sure is.....Exercise - well my brain hurts after an 18 hour session....but so do my arms after raking in copious amounts of chips during that session...hehe

Lol? Those are pretty borderline sports. Golf does take physical ability anyways. You and Tiger Woods face off and see who can drive the ball the farthest. I personally don't consider fishing a sport nor do I really consider golf a sport beyond competitions.

To whoever said poker should be a sport because video games are considered Esports. Go look at professional Korean Starcraft games and tell me that doesn't take physical skill (hand-eye coordination, hand speed, precision, reaction speed). Starcraft is like poker, but with a physical aspect (which is why alot of good sc players are also good poker players).