Wanting some opinions

[hfrog355]

So the other night we had about 2 hours worth of conversation about whether or not poker is a sport, so I figured I'd throw it up here and see what happens.

What do you consider a sport?

Do you have a definition for it?

Is poker a sport?

[AdvancedPlaya]

You might as well ask if Tennis is a sport. OF COURSE NOT! Lol, just kidding all you Tennis players out there. Just kidding, although, no, I don't think POKER is anywhere NEAR a sport. Tic Tac Toe may be closer.

[PairTheBoard]

There is no gambling in Las Vegas you know. It's called Gaming. Therefore I must conclude that poker is a game.

PairTheBoard

[PokerFink]

Good definition of a sport my friend came up with:

1. There must be an area that is out of bounds.
2. There must be a scoring system that is NOT based on judges interpretation.
3. There must be some sort of defense.

Things that qualify:

Golf (the course acts as a defense, since it is not always set up the same)
Pool (safety shots)
Curling (yeah... sadly)

Things that do NOT qualify:

Track events (no defense)
Poker (no out of bounds)
Bowling (no defense)

The only things that end up in a grey area are some indoor sports, such as indoor soccer, that may not have an out of bounds area depending on the gym they are played in. But since indoor soccer has an out of bounds if played in a professional arena (the stands) it is a sport. Ditto hockey, indoor lacrosse, etc.

NASCAR is pretty grey too. There is some defense, but there isn't really an out of bounds in NASCAR unless the car ends up end the stand somehow. I would say no to nascar.

[comic2b]

Yes poker is a sport.

1) The basis of sports is competing, hopefully for a prize. Nothing better than competing for money

2) I would argue scrabble is a sport. The was a best selling book on the scrabble stuff.

3) It's on ESPN.. GAME OVER.

[PokerFink]

[ QUOTE ]
3) It's on ESPN.. GAME OVER.

[/ QUOTE ]

So is the spelling bee competition. Is that a sport?

[wdeadwyler]

Poker is most definately not a sport.

[Ianco15]

[ QUOTE ]
You might as well ask if Tennis is a sport. OF COURSE NOT!

[/ QUOTE ]
You jerk. Tennis is too a sport.


[ QUOTE ]
Lol, just kidding all you Tennis players out there.

[/ QUOTE ]
OMG!!! LOL!!! That was too funny. You really had me going there. I really thought that you believed tennis isn't a sport! LOL.


[ QUOTE ]
Just kidding, although, no, I don't think POKER is anywhere NEAR a sport. Tic Tac Toe may be closer.


[/ QUOTE ]
I don't really think Tic Tac Toe is a... oh wait, you were joking again I bet! LOL. That is too funny.

[popniklas]

/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

[JKDStudent]

From the Oxford English Dictionary:

sport

• noun 1 an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.

The key here is physical exertion. Now granted, for many poker players walking to the table would include physical exertion, but that's not quite what they're going for. Therefore, poker, pool, chess, etc. don't count.

[AlienCorpse]

[ QUOTE ]
From the Oxford English Dictionary:

sport

• noun 1 an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others.

The key here is physical exertion. Now granted, for many poker players walking to the table would include physical exertion, but that's not quite what they're going for. Therefore, poker, pool, chess, etc. don't count.

[/ QUOTE ]

and golf to.

[OrangeKing]

[ QUOTE ]


[/ QUOTE ]

and golf to.

[/ QUOTE ]

Golf requires some physical exertion to play, just not a lot. There's a lot of walking, and each shot takes a fair amount of physical effort, so I think that's enough to keep it in the sports category (especially for professionals who are, for the most part, in very good shape to deal with 4-day tournaments week after week).

[eleventy]

Bouncing my new baby in one arm while playing 4 tables online for 6 hours Friday night makes poker a sport.

[tek]

Bad news for Bridge players too /images/graemlins/frown.gif

[hfrog355]

Well sorted definition, I like it. I came up with this loose definition:
Anything that an 80 year old man could beat a 20 year old man at on the first try with no prior information or training is not a sport.

This takes care of things like poker and bowlng, but leaves things like golf somewhat in limbo (God knows an 80 year old would beat my ass). I definately think things like track and field type events count as sports. Ditto cycling.

[eniven]

[ QUOTE ]
Good definition of a sport my friend came up with:

1. There must be an area that is out of bounds.
2. There must be a scoring system that is NOT based on judges interpretation.
3. There must be some sort of defense.

Things that qualify:

Golf (the course acts as a defense, since it is not always set up the same)
Pool (safety shots)
Curling (yeah... sadly)

Things that do NOT qualify:

Track events (no defense)
Poker (no out of bounds)
Bowling (no defense)

The only things that end up in a grey area are some indoor sports, such as indoor soccer, that may not have an out of bounds area depending on the gym they are played in. But since indoor soccer has an out of bounds if played in a professional arena (the stands) it is a sport. Ditto hockey, indoor lacrosse, etc.

NASCAR is pretty grey too. There is some defense, but there isn't really an out of bounds in NASCAR unless the car ends up end the stand somehow. I would say no to nascar.

[/ QUOTE ]

Not considering track events a sport seems a little wrong to me. Plus, there are some methods of defense in track events such as boxing in opponents (in long distance track). Clearly track events are sports.

[Sykes]

[ QUOTE ]
Good definition of a sport my friend came up with:

1. There must be an area that is out of bounds.
2. There must be a scoring system that is NOT based on judges interpretation.
3. There must be some sort of defense.

Things that qualify:

Golf (the course acts as a defense, since it is not always set up the same)
Pool (safety shots)
Curling (yeah... sadly)

Things that do NOT qualify:

Track events (no defense)
Poker (no out of bounds)
Bowling (no defense)

The only things that end up in a grey area are some indoor sports, such as indoor soccer, that may not have an out of bounds area depending on the gym they are played in. But since indoor soccer has an out of bounds if played in a professional arena (the stands) it is a sport. Ditto hockey, indoor lacrosse, etc.

NASCAR is pretty grey too. There is some defense, but there isn't really an out of bounds in NASCAR unless the car ends up end the stand somehow. I would say no to nascar.

[/ QUOTE ]

This could possibly qualify as the dumbest post of the week.

Bowling is a sport.
Track and Field is a sport.
Nascar (:() is a sport.

The reason these are sports is because they require some physical fitness to compete in these events.

Pool is not a sport. It's a game. Just like poker. Poker is not and will never be a sport.

[hfrog355]

No.