Feeling Poker Sporty
I love poker, and I’m glad about the widespread mainstream popularity it has gained over the last five years or so.
I’ve been playing since I was about 6, when my grandfather taught me how to play stud, and I remember during the 80’s and 90’s the only time it was on TV was at 3 a.m., when Gabe Kaplan of Welcome Back Kotter fame seemed to always be announcing.
However, now that poker has skyrocketed in popularity, I often hear many of my fellow players take umbrage when people say “why is poker on ESPN, it’s not a sport!” and try and refute the assertion. Well, I’ve got some bad new for my fellow online poker players who think poker’s a sport: it isn’t.
Poker is a game of chance and skill, and a very fun one at that, one I could play for 8-10 hours consecutively and not get bored. But it’s not a sport.
Certainly, no activity where you can eat while performing can be called a sport (and I am one of those people that eats burgers at the poker table in the casino). Also, no activity you can drink or smoke while doing, and still be able to do it at a high level, qualifies as a sport.
But really, who cares if its a sport or not? I like the fact it’s not a sport. There are no steroids or other performance enhancing drugs around, and poker players aren’t represented by greedy labor unions, any money they make is based solely on their own skill(and luck)
So, if you’re someone who gets offended when someone claims poker isn’t a sport, don’t be. It’s still one of the finest games around.
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