Is Poker a Sport?

[DaveShoelace]

Ok Guys, bit of a loaded question really as I half a good idea of the sort of responses Im going to get.

Is poker a sport?

I suppose the short answer is:

No, of course not, what ridiculous thing to say.

It is after all, an activity which does not require any athletic ability whatsoever, if we think of sport principally as a physical arena then it certainly isnt.

But it is shown on sports channels on TV. While it may not be a sport in terms of competing, it does seem to have molded itself into a popular spectator sport.

Maybe poker isnt a sport, but is it fair to say that professional poker players have a lot in common with sportsman? With sponsorship and ability Phil Ivey and Daniel Negranus are the Micheal Jordans and Wayne Rooneys of the game - but most poker players you see are fat, smoking slobs who sit down all day for a living, are far cry from the (non darts) atheletes.

It is of course a competition of ability, like chess or boxing or football or swimming. But by that token then surely a game of trivial pursuits could be regarded in the same manner.

Ok, I've planted the seeds, I want to start a discussion over why we think poker is like a sport, and we think it isn't.

Go for it

cheers

[Suited_Jock]

No, of course not, what ridiculous thing to say.

[byronkincaid]

No

[Colchester Kev]

No, of course not, what ridiculous thing to say.

Lets hope he doesnt see this as a deliberate attempt to wind him up, and then throw his toys out of the pram

[Rooky9]

sport     /spɔrt, spoʊrt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[spawrt, spohrt] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. an athletic activity requiring skill or physical prowess and often of a competitive nature, as racing, baseball, tennis, golf, bowling, wrestling, boxing, hunting, fishing, etc. 
2. a particular form of this, esp. in the out of doors. 
3. diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime. 
4. jest; fun; mirth; pleasantry: What he said in sport was taken seriously. 
5. mockery; ridicule; derision: They made sport of him. 
6. an object of derision; laughingstock. 
7. something treated lightly or tossed about like a plaything. 
8. something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc. 
9. a sportsman. 
10. Informal. a person who behaves in a sportsmanlike, fair, or admirable manner; an accommodating person: He was a sport and took his defeat well. 
11. Informal. a person who is interested in sports as an occasion for gambling; gambler. 
12. Informal. a flashy person; one who wears showy clothes, affects smart manners, pursues pleasurable pastimes, or the like; a bon vivant. 
13. Biology. an organism or part that shows an unusual or singular deviation from the normal or parent type; mutation. 
14. Obsolete. amorous dalliance. 
–adjective 15. of, pertaining to, or used in sports or a particular sport. 
16. suitable for outdoor or informal wear: sport clothes. 
–verb (used without object) 17. to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation. 
18. to play, frolic, or gambol, as a child or an animal. 
19. to engage in some open-air or athletic pastime or sport. 
20. to trifle or treat lightly: to sport with another's emotions. 
21. to mock, scoff, or tease: to sport at suburban life. 
22. Botany. to mutate. 
–verb (used with object) 23. to pass (time) in amusement or sport. 
24. to spend or squander lightly or recklessly (often fol. by away). 
25. Informal. to wear, display, carry, etc., esp. with ostentation; show off: to sport a new mink coat. 
26. Archaic. to amuse (esp. oneself). 
—Idiom27. sport one's oak. oak (def. 5). 

[Suited_Jock]

No, of course not, what ridiculous thing to say.

Lets hope he doesnt see this as a deliberate attempt to wind him up, and then throw his toys out of the pram

I was having a bad day .. i see the funny side now.

[Sark79]

It is a mind sport or mental sport.  Chess, backgammon and memory contests are all mind sports as well .  I view any kind of competitive activity where you can shout "come on you beauty" after winning as a sport. One of the best mental atheletes is Dominic O'Brien. He is the 8 times memory world champion.

[Gryff]

If your definition is purely athletic then no, its not a sport.
If you consider mental competition in games of skill as sport then yes - its a sport.

Nuff said.

[DaveShoelace]

No, of course not, what ridiculous thing to say.

Lets hope he doesnt see this as a deliberate attempt to wind him up, and then throw his toys out of the pram

Not at all, I dont mind you using my original post to answer my own question

[charmaine]

  bravo

[Suited_Jock]

No, of course not, what ridiculous thing to say.

Lets hope he doesnt see this as a deliberate attempt to wind him up, and then throw his toys out of the pram

Not at all, I dont mind you using my original post to answer my own question

clever

[DaveShoelace]

No, of course not, what ridiculous thing to say.

Lets hope he doesnt see this as a deliberate attempt to wind him up, and then throw his toys out of the pram

Not at all, I dont mind you using my original post to answer my own question

clever

Glad you think so, took me long enough

[I, Zimbra]

I don't think poker is a sport, but that doesn't have anything to do with the athleticism (or otherwise) of the competitors.

Golf, Motor Racing and Snooker are classed as sports, and they're not athletic.

[kinboshi]

I don't think poker is a sport, but that doesn't have anything to do with the athleticism (or otherwise) of the competitors.

Golf, Motor Racing and Snooker are classed as sports, and they're not athletic.

Yes they are.  They all involve some form of physical ability, co-ordination, and pitting one person's abilities in this area against another.  Some sports rely on less physical abilities than others, but they are involved in some shape or form.  Which is why darts is a sport, as is pistol shooting, etc.

Poker and chess aren't sport. They are on another level altogether.

[Sheriff Fatman]

Brilliant, complex game - yes.

Sport - no.