Is Poker A Sport, eSport, Game or Pastime?

I play poker about once a month with some of my triathlon buddies, mostly for fun, meaning I lose more than I win.

Being a competitive, sporty type I still want to either do the best I can…or win. I’d apply that mantra to making an omelette, playing poker or running hard.

is poker a sport — I’ve had worse. Oh, wait a minute…

Some ask, “Is poker just a game of luck?”. I can assure such people that a high level of skill is involved. The two key elements, however, are: a good appreciation at any one time of the mathematical odds of your hand vs. those of your opponents; and a good read of the degree to which your opponents know how to bet and bluff. There is an element of luck, as if you are dealt two aces and the other two are showing, you will almost certainly win the hand, but poker is more than winning the hand; it’s winning as much money on the hand as you can. There is skill in betting. Yet there are elements of luck in all sports, and poker – take your own goals in soccer as an example of luck happening elsewhere.

Others assume that poker is always gambling. Indeed, the monetary element of the game adds a certain edge and interest. To a degree, money can focus the mind on the task. However, money is not necessary, if you want to win, you could quite easily play free poker with (poker-) chips or even match sticks. Sometimes I can make £20 last for a couple of hours at a friendly poker game on a Friday night – compare that to playing the lottery when you throw away £2.50 in about 30 seconds…even if I lost all my Friday night poker money it would represent better value per minute than the lottery and, let’s face it, many people do NOT think that the lottery is gambling. When it IS gambling, there is zero skill involved, and money changes hands.

I have a friend (acquaintance) who works in marketing for one of the larger UK betting companies; he is adamant that many people gamble for fun, and why shouldn’t they do that? Why is a £100 spent at a day out at a race course any less worthy than £100 spent at the opera or £100 doing a 5-hour Half Ironman triathlon to test out my latest Garmin Forerunner 935 functionalities? The problem with gambling is when the fun is lost, and it becomes a life-changing addiction. The specific problem is that gambling can change life for the worse, whereas my addiction to triathlon and getting better at it would generally be seen as a positive ‘fitness thing ‘, which changes my life for the better. (Let’s not talk about injuries or the amount of sugar and extra salt I have to consume)

Coming back to the title of this post. ‘PASTIME’ passes time, like a jigsaw or a game of patience with cards. Sure, there can be an element of competition in a pastime, but I think that, for most people, poker is a lot more than a pastime.

So. “Is poker a sport?” A definition of sport must involve “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” Poker does have these aspects, but it lacks in the physical aspect. A mammoth 4-hour-long poker game requires a mild degree of physical endurance but certainly a good deal of mental endurance. There IS a small physical element. Is darts a sport? Is snooker a sport? Is architecture a sport? Is archery a sport? Is painting a sport? You’d be surprised that the last three (yep) either ARE in the Olympics or USED TO BE in the Olympics (go and check Wikipedia 😉 ). Americans might be surprised to hear that in the 1970s, professional snooker players were taking performance-enhancing drugs – beta-blockers to calm the nerves and steady the hand. That’s a very sporty-like endeavour 🙁

Cutting to the chase: Being honest, I would say that poker is almost certainly not a sport.

However, in this technological age, the lines are further blurring as we now have the rise of eSports.

Q: Is American Football a sport?
A: Yes
Q: Is tennis a sport?
A: Yes
Q: Is soccer a sport?
A: Yes

Let’s try again

Q: Is American Football an eSport?
A: Yes
Q: Is tennis a eSport?
A: Yes
Q: Is soccer a eSport?
A: Yes
Q: Is poker an eSport
A: errrrrr

Poker probably is an eSport, as all those other eSports do NOT meet the definition of a real-world sport, as they involve little or no physical difficulty.

There you go. Poker is NOT a sport, but it IS an eSport. Ees,h even tiddlywinks could be an eSport.

With 20 years of testing Garmin wearables and competing in triathlons at an international age group level, I provide expert insights into fitness tech, helping athletes and casual users make informed choices.

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