Is Poker A Sport?

[JMACK007]

Thanks benny the cunt, but I don't think I have contradicted myself there. At no time during a sport are you reliant on the turn of a card, and in most cases, the "mental" aspect of poker really goes out of the game at the end of most tournaments (which is why alot of tournaments are won with hands that would not even be considered to be played most of the time).

What I was getting at is that you can physically influence the outcome of most sports, but with poker, at the end, alot of the time, you have no control whats so ever....

[JMACK007]

I think the word "control" has alot to do with this argument.....

[Origami]

chess and poker similar

sport has physical/mental/skill[techniques]

games have skill[techniques]/mental/ physical?

is horse racing a sport??

golf a sport ?? lets play a game of golf the sport of golf ??

[JMACK007]

Yeah, horse racing is a sport for the people who partake (i.e. the jockeys, trainers, etc.). Not for the masses who bet on it though (i.e. I bet on the horses, so I am a sportsman!!???)....

As far as golf goes, You can physically determine the outcome of a golf tournament. You don't get to the 18th green and wait for someone to flip a coin to see if you win or not, you have to physically put the ball in the hole....

[bennymacca]

What I was getting at is that you can physically influence the outcome of most sports, but with poker, at the end, alot of the time, you have no control whats so ever....

this is very true. but the whole part about the "in the zone" is a mental thing not physical. anyway, thats me nitpicking. your argument is valid, i agree with you

I think the word "control" has alot to do with this argument.....

yep it does. there is luck in sports as well - gary ablett might get injured at a crucuial part of a game, or a gust of wind might blow a kick off course. but there is certainly less of a luck factor than in poker, i 100% agree.

chess and poker similar

tbh i think chess and poker are about polar opposites. chess is about as close as you can get to a 100% 0% luck game. and in the spectrum of skill games, poker probably involves the most amount of luck out of any of them.

[muzzington]

If someone asked you "Do you play a sport?" would you really be fine answering "Poker"?

[maccatak11]

The correct definition of a sport is one where competitors as individuals or teams can influence the outcome based on physical prowess under an agreed codified set of rules.

Whether poker fits under this banner can be defeated on two counts. The physical abilities of somebody rarely influence the outcome of the game, and although rules for poker games are similar in different establishments, poker has yet to be codified i.e. an agreed set of rules and/or conditions for any and all competitions (to my knowledge anyway).

Poker isn't a sport, although the sport fanatics among us may like it to be.

[Caleb]

Yeah, but even with those two silly sports, you can influence the outcome physically.....

"C'mon, hold up one time!!!!"

<SMASH FISTS ON TABLE>

If someone asked you "Do you play a sport?" would you really be fine answering "Poker"?

Yes, depending on how attractive she is...