Most professional players tend to think that poker is a kind of sport. Indeed, poker has every reason to cater to sport: tournament structure, rivalrous aspect and variety of games.

So, first off, as tempting as it might be to do so, this is not an invitation to wax poetic on poker. I actually don't play it, but I know how it works. The question really is one of etymology. Poker is often referred to as a sport nowadays. A quick google search will reveal over 87 million hits to the query 'poker as a sport'. Over the weekend, The Bleacher Report, an online publication with an alternative reporting view of the sporting world, published an op-ed piece from author Todd Pheifer, titled Poker Is Not a Sport Even If It Is Broadcast on a Sports Network.

Those, who aren’t closely familiar with the game, suppose that poker should be considered a gambling game, i.e. a game which success is defined by pure luck. And this is not surprising, as most of beginners attribute their pitfalls to bad luck, however, not to the lack of professionalism. Of course, there’s a strain of luck in poker, but on closer inspection only. In the long run, only the professionalism of the player holds cards in poker.

Why Is Poker Not Considered A Sport

The strain of luck is the very thing that attracts recreational players, as everybody believes that learning all rules of poker enables you to join tables and play as an equal against professional players, who have previously spent hundreds of hours studying different aspect of the game.

Many classify poker as a gambling game simply for the fact that this is a money oriented game. Yet still take tennis tournaments for example - the overwhelming majority of such tournaments require admission fees and the strongest players usually become winners. How come “usually”? Because the strain of luck cannot be ignored either.

Poker and the Olympic games

So what is poker nowadays: a kind of sport of a gambling game? At some point, the editorial director of Poker Player magazine - Dave Woods - was trying to see into the matter in one of his publications.

It turned out that in 2005 several poker promoters in the UK along with a sports manager Barry Hirn were getting their teeth into including poker into the Olympic Games program when in London 2012.

“Right now poker is one of the most popular kinds of sport in the world and that’s why it deserves to be included in the Olympic Games program”, - insisted Hirn. Barry also compared poker to synchronized swimming adding that poker can suggest much more to the public.

The fact that poker wasn’t eventually included in the Olympic Games program is no way a sign for poker not to be classified as a sport. Wood takes karate, squash, golf, roller sports, rugby for example which were at their time rejected by the Olympic committee while being professional and amateur kinds of sport at the same time.

According to Collins English Dictionary sport is a group or individual activity in a form of exercises of as entertainment which involves physical training and competitive game.

'Poker answers this description as much as the 'Monopoly' game does'- suggests Woods. Poker doesn't involve physical training; however, no one will argue billiards or dart to be kinds of sport.

The fact that poker will finally be considered a sport will facilitate those who wish to legalize it worldwide. According to Alex Dreifus, the head of Global Poker Index, this is the only way to legalize it in all countries. It’s also expected that television companies will benefit greatly as WSOP broadcasts on ESPN channel draw very big audience.

Reddit website took up an opinion poll to reveal that 460 people considered poker the 56^th out of 56 activities which can be considered a sport. With 10% only it was outperformed by chess and checks.

Poker in Russia

Poker has cause mixed feeling in Russia as well. Thus, on March 16, 2007 Vyacheslav Fetisov endorsed a law acknowledging poker as a kind of sport in Russia. Sport Poker Federation was strongly promoting this decision. Nevertheless, poker didn’t enjoy this status for long in Russia: as in two years Russian minister of sport and tourism, Vitaliy Mutko, signed an executive order to deprive poker of this status.

And what’s the net result? The administration is tough to disclaim poker’s sport status with poker organizations at the same time doing their best to change it.

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Over the weekend, The Bleacher Report, an online publication with an alternative reporting view of the sporting world, published an op-ed piece from author Todd Pheifer, titled Poker Is Not a Sport… Even If It Is Broadcast on a Sports Network.

Why Poker Is Not A Sport

The story focuses on the most recent broadcast of the 2012 World Series of Poker main event final table, which according to Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times, makes for better entertainment than baseball’s World Series.

The author points out that even though it is broadcast on ESPN, poker falls more into the entertainment aspect of the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. In the past, ESPN has broadcast chess, darts, Scrabble and even the National Spelling Bee.

Pheifer goes on to concede that poker requires a great deal of intelligence and emotional control, and recognizes that quality in other sports, stating that “there are clearly mental aspects to sports, and some of the biggest stars have been people who are cerebral thinkers as well as physically gifted.”

However, he also believes that “sport should at least require a minimum amount of physical talent or skill” and that “poker is not exactly a grueling physical activity.”

The topic of whether poker qualifies as a sport or not has been debated by those in the poker community for decades and even in the mainstream media in the years following the Moneymaker Boom of 2003.

Publications such as the USA Today, Page 2, Yahoo, and even ESPN have tackled the subject without a clear answer. There has even been a push for poker to be accepted as an medal event by the International Olympic Committee.

So far, the Bleacher Report’s online poll question has roughly 62 percent of voters agreeing with the author that poker is not a sport. What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.