Is poker a sport?

Yes I believe that Poker is a sport. Or more specifically tournament Poker. When a person enters Tournament poker it takes stamina, endurance, strong mental aptitude. So many of the very things we all proclaim we are looking for in our professional athletes.

And like other sports, there are those who stand out in their field. If you were to watch The World Series of Poker you would hear about the Poker World’s best players and how so many of them are consistently in the money in the series.

Professional athlete’s make a living off of their sport. And professional poker players are no different. And like other sports, they get endorsements and fall into and out of favor with their public.

To be really good you have to be able to hide your body language. Like other sports, you can not let others know you are feeling beat. You also have to be able to rise to the occasion. If you lack endurance, you can not rise up to the challenge when you feel the time is right. You have to be able to stay awake and perceptive for extremely long periods of time.

And you can do what all sports do, play a sporting hand and show the new guys why you are so good at what it is you do.

So yes I do believe that Poker can be and should be considered a sport.