do you think poker is a sport?

[playsuji6]

No i wont accept poker is a sport, since its like a chess game and a players are no need to be healthy,physical fit or something else required to fit for the game. only thing need is learning poker and have some good skills to play!!!!

Poker is a game not a sport!!!

 

[RogueRivered]

Some people simply dont think any form of definition applies to poker, or the word sport for that matter.

So I throw out the gauntlet to you.

I think poker is an orange.

Now I challange those who feel that poker is a sport to prove me wrong.

Poker is an orange.

Remember you are not allowed to refer to anything as meaningless as a definition.

This is my new game.. no, my new sport.. actually Ill go the whole hog.. its my new orange!!!

Now I've lost the will to live!

 

[Ioreojr]

Well, there are two different types of sports... physical, and mental... poker surely fits into the mental part of sport.. and if you think about it.. in those 3to 4 day tourneys most people are dead tired too. lol... i do think that if chess can be a sport then so can poker, its just not really a physical one..

 

[Hambone8705]

This reminds me of a question someone asked me one time. "Are golfers athletes?" My answer was "A Golfer does not have to be an athlete, But an athlete can be a golfer."

 

[kolobot]

Im asking my self a question. If sport means: a game that involves physical exertion, how come we count longbowing or horseracing as a sport? Poker therefore must be a sport just as horseracing is (they also have their taktics, and tells and everithing, and if it involves any physical action then its actualy the same as raising your hand with cards and throwing them into the muck.

 

[unstoppable4]

Poker is not a sport. If you honestly believe that it can be compared to football, then you've never gone through two-a-days.

 

[Xavier]

According to Wikipedia Poker is a sport.

"Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determiner of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play."

It says sport refers to card games and board games as well as physical sports. There are often several definitions of a word. I think its a misconception of what the word sport means that has arisen that people think a sport has to be physical. Its bascially just any game involving skill thats played on a widespread level.
Its like the misconception of weighing people in kg. Kg is a unit of mass, and weight should be measured in N.

 

[RogueRivered]

Poker is not a sport. If you honestly believe that it can be compared to football, then you've never gone through two-a-days.

This is exactly why I think most people have a problem with calling poker a sport. They find it insulting to their own past sweat and blood. You have to look past your own suffering to truly answer the question.

I think its a misconception of what the word sport means that has arisen that people think a sport has to be physical.

I totally agree with that.

 

[MATTYGIT]

Now to throw another cog that get my goat... I hate the fact that every activity has the need to be a sport... according to the definitions earlier on the thread, sports have to have a quantitative non-subjective winner or looser... ok, great... I agree... So in order to fulfill this sporting quality... things like ice-dancing, and parallel bars and synchronized swimming have judges. What the hell, man. Activities that have a huge level of athleticism yes, but sports... come on.

As for me... in truth, no, I do not believe that poker is a sport. And this category of "mind-sport"... nah... I don't buy it... yeah it's a great game, but on any level; online, live, pro or amateaur... it's still a game... just like chess I am not sure why people think it's more lofty to classify it as a sport. And that in order to play they should be classified as atheletes.

If you told any athletic director or sports director at a university, college or high school that they now have to govern the chess club, I'd like to see what his face would look like.

 

[hipshot55]

If you told any athletic director or sports director at a university, college or high school that they now have to govern the chess club, I'd like to see what his face would look like.

Not to mention the geek riot going on in front of the athletic center put on by the chess club at the very idea of being associated with 'shudder' jocks.

 

[RogueRivered]

Physical skills are a dime a dozen. Most of our favorite sports stars play the game smarter than their opponents. That's why they're stars.

Oh. I guess steroids help with the physical part for some.

 

[orchidra]

Definitely a sport.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary states

Sport
1. n. amusement, dirversion, fun
2. pastime, game
5. v.i. dirvert oneself, take part in pastime.

So based on the above it must be a sport.

 

[Stu_Ungar]

According to Wikipedia Poker is a sport.

"Sport is an activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively. Sports commonly refer to activities where the physical capabilities of the competitor are the sole or primary determiner of the outcome (winning or losing), but the term is also used to include activities such as mind sports (a common name for some card games and board games with little to no element of chance) and motor sports where mental acuity or equipment quality are major factors. Sport is commonly defined as an organized, competitive and skillful physical activity requiring commitment and fair play."

It says sport refers to card games and board games as well as physical sports. There are often several definitions of a word. I think its a misconception of what the word sport means that has arisen that people think a sport has to be physical. Its bascially just any game involving skill thats played on a widespread level.
Its like the misconception of weighing people in kg. Kg is a unit of mass, and weight should be measured in N.

Its Wikipedia.. hang on two minutes and ill log in and change the bit about card games beinga sport!!!

Just because its on a wiki dosnt make it true, anyone can contribute to a wiki!

 

[Stu_Ungar]

Definitely a sport.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary states

Sport
1. n. amusement, dirversion, fun
2. pastime, game
5. v.i. dirvert oneself, take part in pastime.

So based on the above it must be a sport.

Could you post the whole definition given and not just points 1,2 and 5.

 

[chapstick]

Poker is not a professional sport to me because it isn't physical (although I'm willing to overlook that one), but mainly because you have to pay to play. Imagine if basketball or baseball players had to pay to play...

 

[hipshot55]

Poker is not a professional sport to me because it isn't physical (although I'm willing to overlook that one), but mainly because you have to pay to play. Imagine if basketball or baseball players had to pay to play...

Works for me. Put more money back into the economy than what a lot of them are evidently spending it on.

 

[Monoxide]

The thing that gets me about your argument is, what about the coach? A coach can be 86 years old and direct a football team using his strategies, similar to a poker player using strategies. Is he not participating in the sport just because he isn't a player? Could young and strong athletes compete successfully on a team without a coach? I don't think so. So the requirement that you have to have some level of athleticism and youth to participate doesn't make something a sport or not a sport.

What about horse racing, the sport of kings? Is it a sport? Who are the players? Only the jockies? I don't think so. There's a lot more that goes into it than who is riding the horse -- owners, trainers, vets, etc. They may not be athletes, but they are participating in a sport.

I think a poker player is kind of like the coach, his cards and chips are the players, and he uses his stamina and concentration to try to outplay (and outlast) his opponents. Is it any wonder that the young players do better in the long, grueling tournaments? Of course not. It does take a physical toll on your body, even if you're not an athlete.

Poker is not a team sport, so the fact that you use a coach as an example doesnt work. A coach in a football team isnt "playing" so to speak, he plays a part yes... but he cant play.

Horseracing....yup thats a sport, you are riding a horse, but you control the horse, it 95% depends on the jockey to determine the victory.

Poker just isnt a sport... shouldnt be in that "catagory". imo.

 

[Pothole]

The Oxford Dictionary states

Sport
1. n. amusement, dirversion, fun
2. pastime, game
5. v.i. dirvert oneself, take part in pastime.

So based on the above it must be a sport and all poker players are sports.

My Doctor tells me I should do more excerise and play more sport. I will now be able to report that I'm doing half what he recomends, but I don't know if it's doing my health any good. I'm developing RSI of the index (mouse clicking) finger. Too much on-line poker.

This makes sex a sport too then, for points 1,2,5, and the fact you burn the same amount of calories as taking a 5 mile hike, ( the fella does anyway ).

 

[scphillips87]

Ok, I've got the answer... Google.com says :

Definitions of sport on the Web:

• an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition
• the occupation of athletes who compete for pay

So it is about 1/3 to a 1/2 a sport. It isn't active, but you can exert yourself physically if you Hollywood too hard. Poker players aren't athletes, but in my opinion an overweight Roger Clemens isn't an athlete either. And yes, not surprisingly, poker players compete for pay.

So hopefully that keeps the answer vague. Cheers.

 

[Styrofoam]

like all things, the answer is both yes, and no.

Am I playing a Sport when i play a pick up game of basketball on my driveway, or running a mile in my neighborhood? I'd say no on both of those, as there is no real competition. However, if I am in a league of some sort, or a tournament or something similar, it becomes sporting, or running in a track and field competition then running a mile is a sport.

The same can be said of Chess or poker, or Boggle, or Scrabble, or checkers (Just to point out... the person who said that chess is WAY harder than checkers hasn't done their research. There is almost as much theory on checkers as there is on chess). If I play a game of chess with my dad in my living room, I do not believe that I am playing a sport. I'm playing a game, but if I go to a tournament then I'm playing a sport. Its about the competition first and foremost.

I think most people cannot grasp that athletics and sports are two different things, because the two terms have been used synonymously for so long, but they are not.

Just one more thing: If all sports require physical exertion, why then, did I double letter in both debate, and academic team in high school?