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Since the days of the poker boom, many individuals within the poker industry have claimed poker is a sport and should be treated as such by the general public. On the other hand, some of the game's opponents have claimed poker cannot be considered a sport and is more akin to classic gambling games. The debate has raged on for some two decades now, and it is definitely worth considering, as the implications of treating poker as a sport could be substantial.
We have decided to break down the different arguments for and against poker being considered a sport and come up with some conclusions of our own.
If you want to discover whether poker can be considered a sport and why, keep reading and find out our take on the matter.
The classic definition of sport is that of an activity that involves physical exertion, requires skill, and involves teams or individuals competing against other individuals.
Sports can generally be divided into team sports, such as football, rugby, or hockey, and individual sports, such as tennis or snooker.
Typically speaking, the games that are a part of the Summer or Winter Olympic Games are considered sports. Although some sports aren’t yet a part of the Olympic roster, they definitely fit all the criteria.
While we can definitely see how most traditional sports fit into the criteria to be called sports, the question remains wh
ether poker fits the criteria enough to be considered one.
One of the first things you think about when someone mentions sports is the physical element of it and the exertion required to compete.
Traditional sports like tennis or soccer definitely require a lot of physical exertion, and the top players in these games are physically as fit as anyone else in the world.
If you talk to professional poker players, you will quickly realize that playing the game of poker at a high level for many hours at a time, which is what’s required to compete, requires a certain degree of physical energy as well.
While you can technically play poker while being very unhealthy and unfit, being fit definitely helps you perform better, stay focused longer, and maintain the sharpness required to win.
What’s even more, many other sports, such as snooker or bocce, don’t require the active expenditure of massive amounts of energy but are still indisputably considered to be sports.
It could also be argued that the amount of mental energy required to perform well in poker is incredibly high. Top players must remain focused for up to 12 hours a day playing in the big tournaments, ensuring they don’t make any significant mistakes along the way.
Surely, from the point of exertion, a 12-hour poker game drains a person as much as a sporting event might do in its one or two hours of play.
The next part of the definition of sport defines it as an activity that requires skill to compete in, and poker certainly falls into this criterion.
The skill element in poker cannot be disputed, and anyone who has played the game at a competitive level understands just how hard it is to play the game well and gain an edge over the opposition.
In fact, there is a wide range of skills needed to be a good poker player, ranging from mathematical and analytical skills to mental composure, patience, and bankroll management.
Poker is a game that requires the best players to juggle tens of different skills within their skill set at the same time to be able to win, and this is something many poker fans don’t even understand enough to be able to appreciate.
Yet, those who actually compete understand that the skills required to be a long-term winner in poker are hard to acquire and maintain, which is also why some of them believe poker should be considered a sport.
The final element in the definition of a sport is that it needs to be an activity in which individuals or teams compete against each other for some sort of reward.
Poker fits this category even better than it does into the other two, as tournament poker is clearly a competition between individuals with a promise of a reward for the best.
Time and again, poker professionals show up for major poker competitions such as the WSOP, WPT, PGT, or WCOOP and compete against other top-level players for prize money, titles, and a place in poker history.
The competitive nature of poker is self-evident, with the only difference being that most poker events are open to anyone who wishes to enter.
Still, just because anyone is allowed to compete does not mean that anyone can really win, as only the top players are able to consistently beat the game and win in the long run.
There are plenty of arguments for poker being considered a sport, but there are also some against it that are worth considering.
The biggest one is probably the short-term impact of luck in poker, which is much higher than in most recognized sports.
After all, a top-level tennis player like Novak Djokovic will hardly ever lose a game against an amateur, while a top-level poker player like Phil Ivey will often get busted from a poker tournament by a complete novice.
The element of luck in poker cannot be disputed, and there is no question that, in the short run, luck prevails over skill very often.
Yet, poker is a game where results are not tracked in the short run. Just like NBA teams need to win multiple games to win the finals, poker players need to play multiple events and perform well to be considered winners.
Variance in poker can last a long time, and good players can keep on losing for extended periods, which is one of the main arguments that opponents of poker use against it being called a sport.
Poker is also a relatively stationary activity, and if you don’t fully understand the nature of the game, you could think that the players playing it exert absolutely no energy doing so, which would be another argument against it falling into the category of sports.
However, the truth is that poker is quite a difficult game that requires both mental energy and physical stamina to perform well, which might make this argument a void one.
Walking onto a live casino floor as a complete lackey, it might be hard to see the difference between the players playing at the poker tables and those playing roulette or blackjack.
In fact, until you delve into the rules and nature of these games more deeply, there seems to be very little difference between them.
Once you do, you will realize that poker has very little semblance with classic gambling games, with the only real similarity being that it is played with cards and chips.
Unlike gambling games, poker is not played against the house. There is no inherent house advantage in it, and the competition is exclusively between players themselves.
While there is an element of luck in poker, the skill element always wins over luck in the long run, and players who play strategically better come out on top.
This is not the case in any gambling games, as there is no real way to win in a game like baccarat or blackjack without cheating or taking advantage of flaws in game design at the venue you play.
So, if you compare poker to gambling games, you will see that they have very little in common despite being very similar at first sight.
Poker also does not exactly fit in with traditional sports. For one, it is always played for money, with players forced to pay their buyin each time.
While other sports like tennis might also require a buyin of sorts at the lower levels, top-level professionals get paid to play instead of paying to play.
This is a major difference that cannot go unnoticed and one that partially disqualifies poker from being considered a sport.
Until poker organizations can find enough interest and sponsorships to ensure prizes without the buyin requirements, it may be difficult to prove to the general public that poker belongs in the conversation.
In order to be considered an official sport, poker would also need to be played in categories, with top professionals only competing against other top professionals for prizes that are not coming out of their own pockets.
As long as poker is played between pros and amateurs alike and everyone is paying their buyin, the general public will probably continue to consider it as just another gambling game.
One final thing to consider in the debate on poker being called a sport is the public's interest in watching poker on TV and streaming services.
The one thing all major sports have in common is that millions of people are willing to spend their time watching the pros compete in the hopes of seeing special feats of physical exertion or skills.
In more recent years, poker has become quite a spectator sport as well, with tens of thousands tuning in to watch players play the game at the highest level.
Whether we are talking about poker tournaments like the WSOP and WPT or major cash game shows like High Stakes Poker and Hustler Casino Live, an audience clearly exists that considers watching the competition entertaining.
As poker's audience continues to expand, an argument could be made that it should be called a sport, as it is interesting enough as a spectator sport for so many people around the world to tune in and watch it in real-time.
We have looked at quite a few arguments for and against poker being called a sport, and it is time to draw some final conclusions.
By the letter of the law in most modern countries of the world, poker is currently not a sport, but rather a game that falls under the scope of casino games or skill games.
The arguments for poker being a sport are strong, but the fact that all prize money comes out of the pockets of the players competing for it is probably one of the biggest reasons it does not meet the criteria.
As poker continues to evolve and grow, organizations may arise that can overcome this obstacle and offer compensation to players simply for playing the game.
Of course, playing poker without a stake might mean players start to play worse, even if a prize is waiting at the top. After all, they would be freerolling.
It may be some time before there are enough players at the top level who are willing to play their best game without having a monetary stake in the matter and enough sponsors willing to pay the money for marketing purposes.
Whether this time will come or not remains to be seen, but poker will remain just a game for now as we await further developments and the possible transformation of poker into a competitive sport in the future.
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