Decades of training, coaching and practice, all culminating in one moment, where peak performance is required to beat an opponent with millions of dollars on the line. Sound a lot like football? This is what professional poker players experience, and there’s a strong argument to be made for the fact that poker is a sport. In fact, poker players share a surprising amount of similarities with athletes.
Is Poker a Sport?
Before looking at the similarities between poker players and athletes, the elephant in the room should be addressed. Is poker a sport or not?
Sport is officially defined as, “a game, competition or activity needing physical effort and skill that is played or done according to rules, for enjoyment and/or as a job.” Clearly, poker ticks many of these boxes straight away.
The bone of contention is physical effort. Some say that poker is played sitting in a chair, so there’s no way it could meet this requirement. However, anyone that has played poker for 16 hours straight in a tournament, maintaining disciplined body language so as not to give away any clues to their opponents, while also constantly observing the behaviour of other players, will know that the game is physically tiring.
Bottom line is, that it’s up to interpretation whether poker is a sport or not—though it does the screen on ESPN, which indicates how America’s largest sports broadcaster has interpreted the matter.
The Similarities Between Poker Players and Athletes
Regardless of whether poker is seen as a sport, there’s no denying that professional poker players bear many similarities to athletes.
Firstly, the requirement of training is just as high. Just like athletes, professional poker players will train day in, and day out. Often this looks like putting countless hours in a online casino operators in Ireland such as casino.com/ie/, where poker players fine-tune their decision-making and situational skills.
Secondly, the need to perform under pressure is the same for poker players and athletes. In football, 90 minutes of strategy and effort often comes down to one moment of execution under pressure, where a kick is either made or missed. It’s the same with poker—players might spend five days working their way through a tournament, yet it all comes down to successfully executing a bluff at the final table.
Finally, poker players need to be masters of their trade. All athletes have a particular skill set that has elevated them to the big stage, and it’s the same with poker players. Whether it’s consistency, bluffing, reading other players, or some combination of all, poker players need to be as skilful as athletes.
Why Professional Athletes Often Make Great Poker Players
Because of the similarities between the two, many athletes often transition into being great poker players.
Ultimately, athletes already have many of the mental and psychological requirements to make it at the poker table. The discipline required to train, the patience to master a skill, and the ability to perform under pressure are all attributes of any good athlete, making a move into poker after retirement seamless.
In fact, right now, UFC star Colby Covington is having an incredible year at the poker table, having won several large events in
