U.S. Declares Poker as a Sport
Before everybody starts freaking out...the headline is NOT true, but thats not to say it won't be a reality before long
Just another article about the controversy over poker being a sport or not? It won't be long before there is an x games poker and maybe even a poker gameday.....Are you listening ESPN?? With the popularity of poker at all time highs somebody better wake up and smell the coffee before it's too late. Every other country in the world is cashing in and most of the money is coming from us Americans....some figures say as much as 70% of online gambling comes from America. Kind of ironic that most view it as illegal in the USA. Deal me in....PLEASE
When it comes to poker, America is all in.
We're glued to it on television, where it's a ratings boon for ESPN and the Travel Channel. College kids are playing it in their dorms, sometimes gambling away their tuition money. Middle America is holding poker nights — and it's not just the guys who are playing.
Catalogs and mall department stores offer an array of poker-related merchandise.
But where the phenomenon has really taken off is on the Internet.
Online poker took in an estimated $1 billion in revenue last year, and that's expected to keep growing. Some Web sites offer poker strategy; others teach how to cheat and spot other cheaters.
Even the venerable New York Times has caught poker fever. It — and other newspapers — cover poker play in their sports sections.
That's not as odd as it seems at first blush. Poker has its own world series, which concluded last week in Las Vegas, with a grand prize of about $7.5 million going to the top Texas Hold ‘Em player.
Like sports stars, the best poker players are courted for endorsement deals.
Fans bug them for autographs.
They have their own Web sites and instructional videos.
They tout special diets and exercise regimens that keep them alert and physically able to tolerate long, grueling hours sitting at the poker table.
(Preparation H is missing a bet if it doesn't strike an endorsement deal.)
Further evidence suggesting that poker's a sport: Some players have admitted to using ‘‘performance-enhancing'' drugs such as speed to supposedly get an edge over their opponents.
But they probably don't have to worry about drug testing in Vegas.
For most fans, poker is something they play occasionally for fun.
But for a growing number of young people, it's a career choice.
They spend their days gambling online, their nights at high-stakes games. Once they might have dreamed of starting their own dot.coms — now they want to be poker pros.
In their defense, one might argue that the odds are better in poker than in startups.
And there's less cheating at the poker table than on Wall Street.
The difference between poker and other activities considered sports is the element of luck.
Some luck enters into every sporting event, to be sure.
Lance Armstrong might be the best cyclist in the world, but if he hits a rut, crashes and breaks a leg, he won't win his seventh Tour de France.
Generally, though, luck isn't as much of a factor in athletic sports as it is in poker; even the best players can't win if they keep getting bad cards.
So is poker a sport? It is if your idea of a training regimen is beer and pretzels. Deal us in.
Just another article about the controversy over poker being a sport or not? It won't be long before there is an x games poker and maybe even a poker gameday.....Are you listening ESPN?? With the popularity of poker at all time highs somebody better wake up and smell the coffee before it's too late. Every other country in the world is cashing in and most of the money is coming from us Americans....some figures say as much as 70% of online gambling comes from America. Kind of ironic that most view it as illegal in the USA. Deal me in....PLEASE
When it comes to poker, America is all in.
We're glued to it on television, where it's a ratings boon for ESPN and the Travel Channel. College kids are playing it in their dorms, sometimes gambling away their tuition money. Middle America is holding poker nights — and it's not just the guys who are playing.
Catalogs and mall department stores offer an array of poker-related merchandise.
But where the phenomenon has really taken off is on the Internet.
Online poker took in an estimated $1 billion in revenue last year, and that's expected to keep growing. Some Web sites offer poker strategy; others teach how to cheat and spot other cheaters.
Even the venerable New York Times has caught poker fever. It — and other newspapers — cover poker play in their sports sections.
That's not as odd as it seems at first blush. Poker has its own world series, which concluded last week in Las Vegas, with a grand prize of about $7.5 million going to the top Texas Hold ‘Em player.
Like sports stars, the best poker players are courted for endorsement deals.
Fans bug them for autographs.
They have their own Web sites and instructional videos.
They tout special diets and exercise regimens that keep them alert and physically able to tolerate long, grueling hours sitting at the poker table.
(Preparation H is missing a bet if it doesn't strike an endorsement deal.)
Further evidence suggesting that poker's a sport: Some players have admitted to using ‘‘performance-enhancing'' drugs such as speed to supposedly get an edge over their opponents.
But they probably don't have to worry about drug testing in Vegas.
For most fans, poker is something they play occasionally for fun.
But for a growing number of young people, it's a career choice.
They spend their days gambling online, their nights at high-stakes games. Once they might have dreamed of starting their own dot.coms — now they want to be poker pros.
In their defense, one might argue that the odds are better in poker than in startups.
And there's less cheating at the poker table than on Wall Street.
The difference between poker and other activities considered sports is the element of luck.
Some luck enters into every sporting event, to be sure.
Lance Armstrong might be the best cyclist in the world, but if he hits a rut, crashes and breaks a leg, he won't win his seventh Tour de France.
Generally, though, luck isn't as much of a factor in athletic sports as it is in poker; even the best players can't win if they keep getting bad cards.
So is poker a sport? It is if your idea of a training regimen is beer and pretzels. Deal us in.
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