Do you think poker is a sport?

[pdutty]

Poker is like a chess.. if you consider chess a sport then it is too.

[LyndaNova]

Poker is a sport, and chess is a sport.

Unlike physical sports, chess and poker can be played by a wider range of people.

Chess teams and poker teams should be added to the Olympics. Why not?

[gerhardt]

Yes, I do work up a sweat sometimes...

[Asianpride]

isn't chess considered a sport so why not poker.

[DeadBabySoup]

it's only a sport if you don't understand the english language or choose to ignore it. a sport is an athletic competition. there's nothing athletic about poker. you don't need speed, strength or agility to play poker. it's a game. a game that requires a lot of skill. but still a game.

i think the whole notion of it being a sport came from it being shown on espn. it's a sports network, so it must be a sport, right? well, they show the spelling bee too. and nathan's hot dog eating contest. they're both forms of competition, but they're not sports either. the fact is, espn had dead air time they needed to fill. the world series of poker is long and filled a lot of dead air. this helped make poker popular. but it didn't make it a sport.

[DeadBabySoup]

I needed the other choice for the poll, so I could not give a concrete answer on the poll.

Dictionary.com defines sport:
It has about 20 formal definitions

nouns
# 3. diversion; recreation; pleasant pastime.
# 6. an object of derision (The Donk, my addition)
# 8. something or someone subject to the whims or vicissitudes of fate, circumstances, etc.

verbs
# 17. to amuse oneself with some pleasant pastime or recreation.
# 24. to spend or squander lightly or recklessly

Synonyms 1. game. 3. amusement, fun, entertainment

Poker fits pretty well with the accepted definition of sport, it must be one.
I was on the fence until I went to dictionary, I think it is, my vote is yes.

words have different meanings, thus different definitions. the meaning you want to apply to poker is an athletic competition. that's the definition that's applied to baseball, football, basketball, etc. if you want to put poker into that category, you have to use that definition.

poker has different definitions as well. one is a long metal rod designed for moving the embers of a fire. what you're doing is like saying, well poker meets the definition of a card game i found in the dictionary. so it must also be a long metal rod designed for moving the embers of a fire.

fyi: i'll never claim to be a great poker player, but i am a professional writer. so i do have a certain amount of expertise when it comes to words

[littleskins1728]

yes it is, and whats so grate about it is that everyone plays diffrent,.

[swburge]

Yes poker is a sport. It takes skill to be good at poker. You have to keep your emotions under control and play the players more then the cards. I think since chess is a sport based on skill then poker is to.

[DeadBabySoup]

ps... chess isn't a sport either for the same reasons.

[PokerGemmy]

Interesting question... yeah I think I would class poker as being a sport.

[Clearwheezy]

I think it's a game.

[big_rob187]

of course its a sport you can win and you can lose and you can get pissed off beyond belief

[ventben]

Poker is not a sport. It is a game of skill. Sports involve some sort of physical activity. I just cant see something a sport where you can sit at a table and drink a beer. Just my $.02

[braveboat27]

Depends on which poker you talking about. Cash game is not a sport, but a way to earn money. MTT is a sport, with trophy winnings. That's why i didn't answer the poll.

I agree with this post...

[andrewK]

I don't think poker is a sport just because it is a skill game. Not every skill game is a sport. A sport requires physical abilities and poker just does not have the requirement.

[smiler90]

Dont be rediculous, is chess a sport? or backgammon? answer.....no.....how can poker be a sport when there is no physical activity, anyone who voted yes has no clue....

[liladypokerpro]

mayu...... clean up your signature.....

[ProtekYoNuts]

Poker is a card game. IMO Golf is game not a sport.

[bsg]

You wudn't call world of warcraft a sport, why wud u call poker.

[AdhdIsMe]

No way is poker a sport.You call it a sport when a physical attribute is greater than the technical attribute to give you an advantage. Football,soccer,hocky,basketball,baseball, Poker is an indoor game like chess. GTFO if you think chess is a sport. Golf aint a sport either