Wanting some opinions

hfrog355 · #1 04-11-2005, 02:20 AM

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 · #2 04-11-2005, 02:31 AM

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 · #3 04-11-2005, 02:38 AM

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

PairTheBoard

PokerFink · #4 04-11-2005, 02:45 AM

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 · #5 04-11-2005, 02:46 AM

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 · #6 04-11-2005, 02:47 AM

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

[/ QUOTE ]

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

wdeadwyler · #7 04-11-2005, 04:01 AM

Poker is most definately not a sport.

Ianco15 · #8 04-11-2005, 04:03 AM

[ 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 · #9 04-11-2005, 10:07 AM

[img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

JKDStudent · #10 04-11-2005, 10:53 AM

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.