Important news for the poker community.

Dzill_230

Dzill_230

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On November 16, 2024, poker was officially recognized as an intellectual sport by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA). This decision places poker alongside disciplines such as chess and esports.

This recognition was made possible through years of effort by the World Poker Federation (WPF) and support from leading poker organizations. WPF President Igor Trafane noted that this is an important step in strengthening poker's status on the global stage.

The recognition of poker as an intellectual sport opens new opportunities for players, the industry, and businesses, providing legitimacy, career development, and new international competitions.

The next step will be the development of standard regulations and the creation of international structures for competitions.

Let’s celebrate this achievement together! 🎉

 
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valeski 28

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Very good news!Now, thanks to this recognition, both poker and chess players are at the same level. Thanks for sharing mate
 
najisami

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Thank you for sharing indeed. That's some great news for the poker community. Really glad to hear it (y)🥂.
 
R.Holynskyi

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I don't consider poker a sport. For me, it's a game of chance, and it's nonsense to consider a game for money a sport :)
But I think each of us has the right to define for ourselves what poker is for us.
 
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Adventurebound2

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I will absolutely argue that it is not a " game of chance" but rather insist it is a game of skill. If it was purely a game of chance why are there very famous pros who earned their fame by winning tournaments etc? That would never happen if things were pure chance.

I would argue that it's all about being able to read one's opponent by their actions. I mean everything from timing to act, bet size v board texture, frequency of betting, etc ad nauseum. Your opponent has no clue what cards you have & can only guess by your actions. It takes skill to bluff or otherwise make them think you have a better hand no matter if you do or not.
 
pentazepam

pentazepam

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I will absolutely argue that it is not a " game of chance" but rather insist it is a game of skill. If it was purely a game of chance why are there very famous pros who earned their fame by winning tournaments etc? That would never happen if things were pure chance.

I would argue that it's all about being able to read one's opponent by their actions. I mean everything from timing to act, bet size v board texture, frequency of betting, etc ad nauseum. Your opponent has no clue what cards you have & can only guess by your actions. It takes skill to bluff or otherwise make them think you have a better hand no matter if you do or not.
As the saying goes: Poker is luck in the short run but skill in the long run.

Unless the rake is very high the best players win in the long run.

The "problem" is that the long run can be very long - especially in MTTs - unless you play A LOT.

But you are correct that no Poker Pros would be possible if the game was not beatable. The edge gets smaller every year online since most fish are gone. And poker is not like chess there you just have to be a little better. Because of the rake poker is a negative sum game and you must be a lot better than your opponents to be a pro. Or the reality is more likely that your opponents have to make a lot of mistakes for you to earn money.

So I consider Live Cash Games the best way to earn money if you don't get sponsored or are part of a team.

Online is beatable but it's tough to be a pro 2024 by just playing.
 
moots

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Poker isn't a sport. Poker is only about money. If you eliminate the money aspect, there is no game.

It's not like baseball, soccer, chess, or even tic tac toe.

If poker is a sport, then so is trading stocks.
 
pirateglenn

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Sports definition as a word is:

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

An intellectual Sport however is just a personal rebranding by some smart ass who thinks they can circumnavigate the word sport lol - collectively again known as Mind Sports.

I will await my gold medal for crosswords.
 
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As the saying goes: Poker is luck in the short run but skill in the long run.

Unless the rake is very high the best players win in the long run.

The "problem" is that the long run can be very long - especially in MTTs - unless you play A LOT.

But you are correct that no Poker Pros would be possible if the game was not beatable. The edge gets smaller every year online since most fish are gone. And poker is not like chess there you just have to be a little better. Because of the rake poker is a negative sum game and you must be a lot better than your opponents to be a pro. Or the reality is more likely that your opponents have to make a lot of mistakes for you to earn money.

So I consider Live Cash Games the best way to earn money if you don't get sponsored or are part of a team.

Online is beatable but it's tough to be a pro 2024 by just playing.
I'll only argue one point because I agree with the rest of your post. The fish are far from gone and we get new ones every day.

Last night I bought into a .20/.40 game for $4.40. In low stakes ya gotta play tight because so many call with any two cards no pair no draw & suck out with a river flush or something equally as bad. The dealer was with me for once & soon I broke $50. With a big chip lead (and a bit of whiskey) I opened my game just slightly. Every time I was all in on the flop with a set or better & lost to a bad suck out it was only a few hands more when I didn't loose an all in post flop against those fish. Next thing I knew I broke $100 then $150 so I set a goal of $190 to be my stopping point. Cards were so hot it seemed doable but I stalled out around $170. Hit a bad streak & dropped to $110 (whiskey idiocy) but was right back to $170+ in short order. An hour later drawing dead for the most part I called it a night shy of $190 at ,$176.60, not bad for a $4.40 buy in. The fish are real if you look in the right places....
 
eetenor

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Sports definition as a word is:

an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.

An intellectual Sport however is just a personal rebranding by some smart ass who thinks they can circumnavigate the word sport lol - collectively again known as Mind Sports.

I will await my gold medal for crosswords.
You missed this definition in Miriam Webster and some others

(2)
: a particular activity (such as an athletic game) so engaged in----it does not state that sport is limited to games of movement only that the common place use of the word sport refers to games of movement for many people

an activity involving physical exertion and skill-----both chess and poker involve physical exertion just at a much lower level than running around chasing a ball

:unsure::geek:
 
pirateglenn

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its all subjective to the country and dictionary you use, mental sport?

I will never see Poker as a sport - thats my view and im entitled to that lol.
 
finaltable1

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good time to invest in companies that produce chairs for gaming - cause you know these two poker muscles of a atlete need a good care.
might be a good idea to launch a startup, something like wristband for the finger, maybe fingerband? just to keep athlets sweat away from the mouse.
 
john_entony

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That's great news! I'm already imagining myself going to the Olympic Games as part of the Ukrainian national poker team. :eek: In fact, I will do my best for it. There's not much left: to learn how to play poker. :ROFLMAO:
 
CDNMAN 42

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Great idea. I can hardly wait for those Olympics, hey let's start an international Poker body. one that puts all players together. and we'll call it CardsChat.
 
Luvepoker

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As a person who's very sarcastic I love the comments that I've seen up here and frankly I do understand but let's look at it this in a different way

this is a good day for poker. Anything that gets people and can help people understand that this game is not just a bunch of degenerates throwing money on a table and praying that the gods let him win for a change like a lot of the games in the casino is a good thing. Just look at the long term top pros they continue to play and they continue to win. they have their ups and downs but it's called variance. These people don't just play the game they continue to study it even years later. Those who study and work hard and try to improve every day are the ones who win so it shows how much skill there is in this game. As a student of the game myself and a person who's put a lot of time in to learn the game there is a lot you could learn to help you improve and become a better player. This is where I love the fact that it's now being recognized as a mind sport or mind game. Hopefully this will get our lovely politicians to finally allow this game to be more played so all players in the world can play together online.

Now As for the sport aspect. I love this game and it is a great game which the better skilled players can play and win long term. I really don't like the way the world has taken certain words I'm going to make it more comfortable to be used in a way that's not true. Well I understand mine sport is used to describe the game is technically challenging by using your mind I do find the sport comment to be a little bit too much. As an ex athlete I can tell you one thing poker is not a freaking sport. It is a game a game that we all love and it's a great game but when it comes to sports please stop it's not a sport.
 
Dejana

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Every time someone writes that poker is a sport, I get a little stroke... :love:
 
ratbat615

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about time. win for us. good job to the people who made it happen.
 
Like2Play2

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Thanks for the news. Good for all poker players around the world.
 
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it is a 'mind sport' not an athletic sport.
 
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