There’s an ongoing debate about whether poker should be considered a sport. Unlike many other card games, it demands much more skill to win. On top of that, poker is the most popular card game in the world with big events, regularly attracting millions of viewers.

So, should poker be considered a sport? Let’s discuss it further in this article.

What Qualifies Poker to Be a Sport?

Card games, and gambling in general, are often associated with sheer luck. While that’s the case with some of them, poker is a bit different. The game requires a lot of skill and those who know what they’re doing are almost always going to end up winning the table.

You can test this yourself. If you consider yourself a good poker player, hit one of the slickest US mobile poker sites and test your skills against other players. You’ll quickly be able to separate seasoned players from those relying on luck by the type of moves they’re making.

Just like many official sports, poker is enjoyed by millions of players from all over the world. The emergence of online poker sites has allowed them to sit at a table with just a few taps on the screen. Even those who want to hide their identity can now visit an anonymous casino and play.

Another thing you can do is play a sports channel on your TV network and chances are you’ll see them broadcast poker games. You can also visit Twitch and you’ll see that some poker players have almost 200,000 viewer hours. This looks very similar to traditional sports and is practically inseparable from less traditional ones such as darts and snooker.

Definitions

Now, let’s look at the definition of sports and see how poker compares to it. A sport is defined as an activity that requires skill and sees participants compete against other players or teams. It’s played for entertainment and usually involves physical exertion.

Looking at this definition, poker passes all the checks. It’s a competitive game that requires skill rather than luck, which is often associated with card games. While it’s understandable that some sports enthusiasts reject card games branded as pure games of luck as sports, this can’t be said for poker due to its skill and tactical factor.

In addition, poker players have to follow strict rules and play for entertainment for millions of viewers across the world. Although the game doesn’t involve physical exertion, players often get fatigued from thinking over longer periods of time.

While a form of gambling, poker isn’t gambling in its purest form. Well, it is, if you’re playing without skill. For professional and seasoned players, the game is all about making the right moves at the right time. When you think about it, this qualifies it as a sport.

Mind Sports

While sports are usually associated with sweat and physical fatigue, this isn’t always the case. Some games fall under this category even though they don’t include either. Chess is the best example of this, having been recognized as a sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1999.

When we compare poker to other mind sports, it doesn’t lack anything. It takes skill, concentration, and mental effort, and requires players to follow a strict set of rules. Plus, big tournaments sometimes last for days and can be physically stressful. To prepare for these long events and avoid mental fatigue, players often exercise in gyms.

Even if we go back in time and look at the birth of the Olympics in Greece, we’ll see that categories that involve mental efforts were just as recognized as those that involve physical efforts. Some of the disciplines that often appeared in these competitions included music, theater, poetry, and more.

With so many mind sports being recognized in the past, poker passes all the checks for being viewed as a sport.

eSports

Perhaps one of the biggest changes in the world of sports we’ve seen in the past few decades was the introduction of eSports. This form of competing using video games has evolved so much that it almost blurred the lines between eSports and physical sports.

There were even discussions of introducing eSports into the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris to make them more relevant to younger generations. Although the organization committee viewed this decision as premature, chances are we’ll see eSports hit the Olympics soon.

Now, when you compare poker to eSports, there’s practically nothing that separates the two. Both belong to competitive gaming and are played at a professional level by people who’ve dedicated their lives to the activity.

Both eSports and poker are clearly mainstream versions of sports. In the future, we might just see their statuses as such improve. There are already discussions to include eSports in the 2026 London Olympics. Similarly, the International Federation of Match Poker (IFMP) is lobbying to include poker in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.