Words get refined all the time. The definition of 'sport' should be as well. What kind of athletics do you require for curling? It's still a sport, yet some of the best "athletes" of curling are far from athletic.

As for luck, this exists in all sports as well. A sprinter can start fast, a football player can hit the ball on someone's shoulder and consequently score.

I think that poker is a sport because it's competitive and in most cases you have really good talents sticking out.

Poker is not a sport, its a game, now lets move on

Poker its a sport......like chess ,backgammon.....but its more complicated, more adrenaline.....etc if u dont belive me google it!!!

Curling is a sport bcuz it requires physical technique/skill/talent. If you don't consider poker players as athletes, you can't consider poker as a sport. It's just a game of chance and skill.

Well, to me that's cherry picking. You call for certain aspects and ignore others. Besides, I can guarantee that playing at an event like WSOP for seven days straight or online poker for 12 hours a day requires a lot of technique/skill/talent/mental endurance and physical skill to some extent.

I know a lot of people who are too exhausted to play live poker for more than a few hours and I'm sure a lot of people here can relate to this. Take a guy like Viktor Blom, who sits down at eight tables and maintains focus for half a day without deteriorating.

If someone asked you what you did for a living, and you had to choose from two responses: a) I'm an athlete, or b) I'm a professional gambler -- how would you respond and why?

Sure, being healthy helps in long poker sessions. But being physically fit doesn't mean you have physical or athletic talents. And for the most part, I don't think playing marathon poker sessions has anything to do with physical skill. People survive long sessions by changing their state of mind (i.e. Viktor Blom). Physical skills don't win you poker games either. Take the obese teenager who plays WOW 24/7. He can do it not bcuz of physical skill/endurance, but bcuz he changed his state of mind.

Athletes might play poker. Poker players might play sports. Poker players might be athletes. Poker is like a sport, but it's not. Sorry, but I disagree that poker is a sport.

Not all sports are athletics, as not all runners are athletes. those who play chess are athletes? yet, chess is a sport.

Chess is considered a "mind sport". If we followed that definition poker would be a "mind sport" as well. So would almost every activity that you do. I don't consider chess a sport. I consider it a game of strategy. If we were to broaden all the definitions in the dictionary, porn stars would be athletes, animals are humans (since they have feelings), etc, etc.

Runners might not be athletes but they are athletic. I consider athletes people that play sports or athletics at a high level.

It's not anything athletic.. but everyone seems to think it's a skill because its on ESPN.

Look, I know what you're getting at but my point is that the word 'sport' is outdated and needs to be redefined. Did you know that chess is recognized sport by the International Olympic Committee?

It's completely irrelevant whether I'd pick being an athlete over a professional gambler. Same goes for curling vs football then, but it doesn't make it less of a sport.

As for physical skills and poker, you focused on the least important part of my point, where "technique/skill/talent/mental endurance" was the main point, which is why I wrote "and physical skill to some extent."

Granted, you can be obese and play 12 hours a day, but the vast majority of all professional poker players are either in a decent shape or even athletic (Patrik Antonius, Gus Hansen, etc). Just look at the type of people you see at final tables of EPT, WSOP, etc. In fact, even Kasparov (the chess champion) claimed that he was working out at least two hours per day because it helped his game.

I don't think you'd argue that fitness has no impact on the game. If you're fit, you can endure more and keep your highest level of game longer than if you were obese.

Last but not least, I understand that your definition of 'sports' is by the book, but I hope you understand my point of view.

PS. I'm off to bed now and will be happy to continue this discussion when I wake up. DS.

Yes, I am aware that chess is recognized as a sport by the IOC. Do I agree with it? No. I feel chess should be considered an international game of skill. On a side note, there is a HUGE difference between poker and chess. Chess is 100% skill. Poker is not. Bcuz of that, I can't see poker being recognized as a 'sport' by the IOC anytime soon.

As for "technique/skill/talent/mental endurance" -- that could be said for (almost) any game. I understand where you are going with this. My point is that there are different terms and categories for different games. IMO, sports rely on physical abilities and that's what makes it different than other games. Wiki 'sport' and you get athletic sports, combat sports, disabled sports, electronic sports, mind sports, etc. etc. I prefer to go by Wiki's first paragraph that "sport is generally recognised as being based in physical athleticism." The liberal use of sport is more for respectability than anything else.

Nope --- fitness is important, no argument there. People who are in good shape will have an advantage over others that are not --- in anything. But physical abilities in sports and being in good shape to perform better in general are two different things.

Lastly, how would you redefine sport without including every game, competition, activity in the world?

I would like to call poker a sport, but the more I think about it the more I'm hesitant to give in. By using the definition as a competition and such, that lends itself to many other "sports". Take, for instance, "gaming." Many will tell you that playing certain games like Call of Duty or Madden should be called sports because it is competitive, takes skill, and most importantly was on ESPN. Also, I think poker does require some personal fitness. When's the last time you saw an obese man/woman at the WSOP ME final table? I don't remember either. I don't think you can compare poker to chess, they're simply not the same. For that, I think it would be difficult to think that the IOC would deem it a sport. Think if they did. Many people who just finished watching the WSOP on ESPN Tuesday night would go qualify for a huge competition by just shoving on any and every hand. In short, I would love to call poker a sport, but just can't really bring myself to it. A competition yes, a great game yes, but perhaps not quite a sport.

How about.. An activity with a significant amount of participants and fans who compete against each other, where certain characteristics/abilities/properties determine the likely outcome of a game.

I don't know.. English is not my mother language so I'd probably fail pretty hard if you asked me to make an infallible definition.

Poker isn't a sport
for 90% of people poker is gambling, excitement, allins, dreams
this is a hobby that takes time and money, for many people poker is a addictedness
when you win one hundred dolars, that means that ten players lost ten dolars

poker isn't a sport, because I didn't send a ten-years child to poker tournament
poker can not be future for children

Cmon you can do better than that

I believe that poker is a game that requires alot of mental exercise and skill. But since chess is also a game and considered a sport, I suppose poker could fal into that category. It really doesn't matter whether it's a game or sport, everyone should just enjoy it.

Poker is game of skill and luck, but when u play real poker more skill than luck opposite when u play online. i dont think it is sport coz sport u normally associate with some sort of physical activity where u compete with others. the only sport where there is no physical activity wud be board game like chess where its only mental activity needed but then again that is really in category of 'game' not sport so poker also i wud say is a game but not only of mental activity but also where luck is needed bcoz unlike in chess everything is not always in ur hands u dont know the next card ur gonna be dealt

You have hundreds of millions playing soccer and to most of them it's a hobby that takes time and money as well.

The reason you don't send your 10-year-old son to a poker tournament is for completely different and obvious reasons. You could as well make the same argument for bobsleigh and many other dangerous sports.

Don't do with poker something more
for most people it's a gamble, few people control it and they make money
or you're lucky and win big money

For me it's a sport of the mind, each thinks he wants, but I always keeps me plugged in as they say, I think it's a gamble for those who play without focusing on it not too interested in winning as is dependent

Poker is gambling bcuz it is associated with wagering money on an outcome that is heavily influenced by luck. You will never see it on a school curriculum. The social consequences of introducing gambling to kids, any form of it, would be devastating. Gambling has destroyed more lives than any 'sport' out there. That's the stigma attached to it. This is why goverments frown on gambling and take great pride in sports.

There are rules, regulations, equipment, to protect athletes in sports. Injuries happen of course, but it's not like it's an unforeseen circumstance. No matter how good you are at poker, you cannot control the cards that are dealt. Also, no matter how good you are at a sport, you will never be able to beat a pro athlete in his chosen game no matter how lucky you are. In poker, an amateur can trump a pro bcuz the luck factor is so great. Athletes don't lose over and over again bcuz of bad luck. Pro poker players do. Bankroll management does not "protect" you from bad luck either. The bad luck is gonna happen regardless. Understand the distinction between it being possible to endure and being impossible to prevent.

The uncertainty in a game of poker is far greater than the uncertainty in a sport. So other than the fact that athletes rely on physical abilities, the other major difference is the luck factor.

This harm to argue, everybody regards it as it as what he wants it, for me this game but if I win for it always I am glad. In high stakes though money income opportunity
My opinion not sport

I know people who haven't had a negative month in the past three years. The bad luck you're referring to is normal but extremely abnormal in the long term. Also, bankroll management is not designed to protect you from bad luck, but to be able to withstand statistically probable bad luck and get out of the hole.

As for your last point about uncertainty in poker vs sport, again, you need to put things in a bigger perspective. A poker professional will win a lot over time whereas a beginner relies heavily on luck. While it's possible to be a consecutive winner that way, it's statistically improbable.

I guess a decent comparison would be that if you have a 1,000 hour soccer game with professionals vs amateurs, you'll be able to predict the result, but luck will also play a certain factor and the amateurs are highly likely to score goals. If you take Phil Ivey vs an amateur in a 1,000 hour poker game, luck will win the amateur some defining hands but it's extremely unlikely that he will make any profit.