Is Poker a Sport?

There have been controversies as the whether poker is really a sport or not. I used to be very headstrong to the idea that poker is a sport, but recently the tide has been turning to the other side. I used to play poker all of the time and knew that it was very difficult and was a challenge, and that was why I argued with many of my friends about this subject.

So, poker is played on ESPN right? Isn't there even a "World Series of Poker" with payouts over 10 million dollars now? With thousands of competitors and tournaments being broadcasted on ESPN then poker should definitely be considered a sport. Right? I say no. People that participate in sports, and compete in them, are considered "athletes." Poker players do not partake in any form of exercise at all during a given tournament. A sport just simply cannot be considered a sport if the participants don't even break a sweat or use any amount of muscle to gain an advantage. So an argument to this could be that poker is played on ESPN regularly. My response to that would be - what does ESPN actually stand for? Entertainment Sports Programming Network (In this case one can put emphasis on the first word: entertainment). ESPN broadcasts both sports and entertainment, and poker can be catagorized into the latter.

Poker should be considered a game. There are constant odds, unlike baseball, and the competitors only use their brain to gain a distinct advantage from the rest of their opponents. That is why poker is much more of a game than it will ever be a sport. Games, such as chess, checkers, or any board game for that matter, also involve the excercising of the brain and not the body. Using the body to gain advantage would be a sport. There is no reason that poker should ever be considered a sport. If poker was a sport then many other games would claim to be a sport too. If chess was ever considered to be a sport that would just be silly. This game, much like poker, uses only the mind to gain an advantage on the opponent. I am not trying to disgrace the name of poker or insult current poker players, as I used to be a regular player. All that I am saying is that poker should never be considered a sport in any context. Ever.