Is Poker a Sport, or Not?
While the argument of whether poker is a game of chance or skill has been debated for as long as one can remember, it is not quite everyday that you will hear people debating whether poker is a sport or not. I came across a British guy’s perspective on this topic. Let’s follow his series of articles on whether or not poker is a sport. Here is what he has to say about it:
I have stumbled across many dictionary type definitions of sport, some of which I could have used because they would clearly define poker as a sport, however the following is from our good friends at the Oxford English Dictionary, not only are Oxford probably the most reputable but their definition highlights the problem people have with thinking of poker as a sport:
An activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.
The competition we have no problem with here, poker is of course a competitive game against other people instead of the house. The skill element I hope nobody disagrees with because if you are a poker player and you don’t accept the skill element involved then you probably are a very weak player and are welcome to my home game any time.
The clear difference between poker and other commonly agreed upon sports is the physical aspect, most impartial observers employ a no sweat, no sport system of judging whether something is a sport or not. Poker is far from a physical game, however anyone who has participated in a live tournament that spans several days will tell you differently. Those things are physically exhausting and to be able to play your best game after days of poker with little or no sleep is nothing short of actual physical ability. But using tournament poker as an advocate for the poker is a sport argument, that would mean discounting cash games and internet tournaments because of the fact they can be relatively short pursuits.
Tournament poker may be a test of endurance, but the dynamics of a single hand can hardly be considered anything but a mental activity. Doyle Brunson could hardly be considered an athlete, a senior citizen and rather on the portly side, yet he is still to this day one of the best players in the world.
As far as I can see, if we follow the definition of the word sport strictly, then poker cannot make it – sad to say. However, maybe physical exertion is not everything. Think about other endeavors which are considered sports but not really dealing with physical exertion. Barry Carter, to whom the paragraphs above can be attributed, mentions darts and snooker. A close cousin would be pool. I would tend to agree with him on this one. Chess definitely does not require physical exertion yet it is included during sporting events. So where is the distinction here? I suppose you guys have gotten the point by now.
What are your thoughts on this?
Andrew Kicak is a poker enthusiast, a writer, researcher, speaker, and consultant. You can visit his blog and sign up free to get 
