Are Poker Players Athletes ?

[Gutshot Gus]

We have this Olympic competition going on in conjunction with the Olympics in Paris and it got me to wondering if poker players are athletes.
I can remember when it used to be said that automobile racers were not athletes--all they did was drive a car. They are some of the most fit athletes on the planet now.
I know that there is probably the same said about poker players---all they do is sit at a table and play cards.
Now most if not all of the top rated poker players have fitness programs and dietitian plans.
I am a poker player and my dietitian plan revolves around a steady stream of Diet Mt Dews and Oreos, but I am by a long shot not an athlete or a top player.
I will say that the top players that are really in it to win it are athletes and one day poker should be recognized as such and be in the Olympics.

So what do you think? Are poker players at the top levels Athletes?

 

[seiya1989]

No, poker players are not high-performance athletes. It's ridiculous to believe otherwise.

 

[Ogma]

We need you here, Gus!

Should poker be an Olympic sport?

Why not? Involves skill, stamina, concentration, strategy..

www.cardschat.com

 

[Propane Goat]

I would say no - poker is very sedentary and involves sitting for long hours so it's completely opposed to what I would consider an athletic sport.

 

[Ruslan L]

We have this Olympic competition going on in conjunction with the Olympics in Paris and it got me to wondering if poker players are athletes.
I can remember when it used to be said that automobile racers were not athletes--all they did was drive a car. They are some of the most fit athletes on the planet now.
I know that there is probably the same said about poker players---all they do is sit at a table and play cards.
Now most if not all of the top rated poker players have fitness programs and dietitian plans.
I am a poker player and my dietitian plan revolves around a steady stream of Diet Mt Dews and Oreos, but I am by a long shot not an athlete or a top player.
I will say that the top players that are really in it to win it are athletes and one day poker should be recognized as such and be in the Olympics.

So what do you think? Are poker players at the top levels Athletes?

I definitely think that professional poker players are athletes. And in general, I consider poker to be a sport, just like football, tennis, or basketball. Most of us have played tennis, football, or basketball at some point in our lives, and although it was a game for fun, it was still a sport, but despite this, few of us became real professional athletes. The situation with poker is similar. Millions of people play poker, and we cannot say that all these millions of people are athletes, but among these millions, there are professionals, professional players for whom poker is their craft, their main activity, and these players are professional athletes.

 

[MK_]

ath·lete
/ˈaTH(ə)ˌlēt/
noun

1. a person who is proficient in sports and other forms of physical exercise.

 

[greenlarrow]

You need to take care of your health. Moreover, in my opinion, exercise improves brain function and concentration while playing poker

 

[mclay]

Chess players were not athletes at one time, but now they are, and poker is already recognized as a sport in some countries.

 

[userX]

We have this Olympic competition going on in conjunction with the Olympics in Paris and it got me to wondering if poker players are athletes.
I can remember when it used to be said that automobile racers were not athletes--all they did was drive a car. They are some of the most fit athletes on the planet now.
I know that there is probably the same said about poker players---all they do is sit at a table and play cards.
Now most if not all of the top rated poker players have fitness programs and dietitian plans.
I am a poker player and my dietitian plan revolves around a steady stream of Diet Mt Dews and Oreos, but I am by a long shot not an athlete or a top player.
I will say that the top players that are really in it to win it are athletes and one day poker should be recognized as such and be in the Olympics.

So what do you think? Are poker players at the top levels Athletes?

I don't consider poker to be a sport, and I certainly don't consider even professional players to be athletes. Poker is an intellectual game, and I consider professional players to be intellectuals. In my opinion, an athlete and an intellectual are two completely different concepts

 

[VVi10]

Of course. If we understand that poker is a type of sport, poker players can certainly be considered athletes. Even more knowing that the games are long and time-consuming, which requires a lot of the physical and mental part.

 

[Iryna Stryzheuskaya]

Poker is a mental game. Not sports.

 

[Ogma]

Poker is a mental game. Not sports.

Mental and physical health are intrinsically linked.

 

[Gutshot Gus]

I have watched baseball games that lasted for 3 to 4 hours and 90 to 95% of the time the players are just standing around spitting whatever is in their mouth or making adjustments to their jock straps. When the time comes to react they do it at a fraction of a second and are in go mode, Click just like a light switch.
I have played poker games and sit there for an hour and watched paint dry and all of a sudden there I am bungie jumping. Click just like a light switch.
Now for that to be effective in both examples you have to be fit and ready to go. Mental fitness may weigh as more important in the poker game than physical fitness. You are not running the bases or catching a fly ball, but mental and physical fitness are combined for the total body fitness package. I will go as far to say that without one you probably don't have the other.
You try sitting in a chair that is not very comfortable to start with for 10 to 12 hours and be mentally alert and ready to bungie jump like flipping a switch and if you do this and come out on top of 8 other people that are trying to take your money then I say you have got to be an athlete of some sort.

 

[MK_]

I don't understand this need to pretend poker is a sport or players athletes...,

anything I can play sitting on my ass drinking the beverage of my choice isn't a sport,

being able to stay awake isn't a skill, it's ok not to be an athlete, it really is,

it's totally fine to be a math nerd, a chess player, a poker player,

there's nothing wrong with using more brain than brawn👍

 

[rachelle2291]

Some athletes do play poker but most are not athletes and some are a long long ways from being athletes

 

[Colbefc]

Of course poker players are not athletes, they need stamina true but everyone can play poker
not everyone can run in the Olympics or run a marathon.

 

[maronza1]

Poker players aren't athletes because poker is a game of chance, skill and luck. A game which requires luck cannot be considered sport

 

[hilary antonik filho]

Mental athlete, with patience and concentration

 

[10gerka]

Being a poker player involves playing for several hours but sitting down, the work is not physical but mental, a great discipline that is difficult to face.

 

[Gutshot Gus]

I don't consider poker to be a sport, and I certainly don't consider even professional players to be athletes. Poker is an intellectual game, and I consider professional players to be intellectuals. In my opinion, an athlete and an intellectual are two completely different concepts

I like your comments and I wonder if I can handle bring an intellectual or not.
If you can be an intellectual and still have a steady stream of Diet Mt Dews and Oreos then count me in.
I think that most people when they think of an athlete have visions of The Rock or Tom Brady in their mind and don't consider us lesser subjects to fit the bill.
My question is then are there different levels of intellectuals like there are different levels of athletes, because I don't consider myself very high on the intellectual scale.

 

[Kenzie 96]

LOL, have you ever looked at the folks sitting at a poker table during a professional event? I've seen beer league slow pitch softball teams with more athletes.

 

[seiya1989]

He visto partidos de béisbol que duraban entre 3 y 4 horas y en el 90 y 95 % del tiempo los jugadores estaban parados escupiendo lo que tenían en la boca o ajustándose los suspensorios. Cuando llega el momento de reaccionar, lo hacen en una fracción de segundo y están en modo de acción, como si fueran un interruptor de luz.
He jugado partidas de póquer y me he sentado allí durante una hora mirando cómo se secaba la pintura y, de repente, allí estaba yo, haciendo puenting. Hacía clic como un interruptor de luz.
Ahora bien, para que esto sea efectivo en ambos ejemplos, hay que estar en forma y listo para jugar. La aptitud mental puede ser más importante en el juego de póquer que la aptitud física. No se trata de correr las bases ni de atrapar una pelota, sino que la aptitud mental y física se combinan para lograr un paquete de aptitud física integral. Me atrevería a decir que sin una, probablemente no se tenga la otra.
Intenta sentarte en una silla que no sea muy cómoda para empezar durante 10 a 12 horas y mantente mentalmente alerta y listo para hacer puenting como si accionaras un interruptor y si haces esto y sales por encima de otras 8 personas que están tratando de quitarte tu dinero, entonces digo que tienes que ser un atleta de algún tipo.

Good friend, if you want to feel like an athlete because you play poker, good for you.

 

[Gutshot Gus]

LOL, have you ever looked at the folks sitting at a poker table during a professional event? I've seen beer league slow pitch softball teams with more athletes.

Yea I know, just stirring the pot here.

 

[black and]

For me, poker is first and foremost a game of chance. But both in sports and in poker, a lot depends on our patience, discipline and skill, and this fact makes poker similar to a sport. I don't think that poker will ever be recognised as an Olympic sport and I don't consider professional players to be athletes, I consider them professional gamblers.

 

[G0930]

No, poker players are not high-performance athletes. It's ridiculous to believe otherwise.

Well the word athlete orginates from the Greek
άθλητὴς, athlētēs = one who participates in a contest; from ἄθλος
áthlos or ἄθλον, áthlon = a contest or feat.

So strictly speaking ...yes they are
But we associate athletes with sportsman participating in physically challenging competitions which pokerplayers are certainly not