Adam Zobel

OK, I’ll concede to Doug’s point that poker is a fun and competitive activity. I have had some enjoyable hands of poker on occasion and I have found recent televised poker events to be fairly entertaining.

Yet, the argument that poker is a sport does not pass!

The first problem I have here is that poker is too random to be considered a est of skill.

If all players involved decided not to make a bluff, the outcome of a poker hand would be solely decided by sheer luck.

Some professional poker players end up being knocked out of major tournaments at the first table because of a faulty hand.

Allow me to demonstrate the injustice and unsportsmanlike manner of this dealing with chance with ; It would be like telling Doug’s beloved Jets that they might would automatically lose the game if they lost the pre-game coin flip.

My next gripe against the idea of poker being a sport is the manner in which poker players approach competition.

Sports, unlike poker, are typically about having pride in something greater than oneself, such as a team or country.

A poker player is not fighting for king or country; the player is just out for himself. That is why our society will forever remember the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and quickly forget last week’s big Celebrity Poker winner on Bravo.

Finally, poker cannot be a sport because it is not an athletic affair at all.

Sports are clearly meant to be endeavors of athleticism and competition. This concept dates back to the Olympics and has been used throughout history.

Serious participants in a true sport would not pass the competition away drinking beer and eating junk food.

Doug obviously think that poker is a sport. I can not, however abide by this idea. It brings the idea of sports and sportsmanship too low.

If he is right, everything from sleep to criminal activity could be considered a sport as long as there is some degree of competitiveness.

I think the SDSU Athletic department and Intramural Program would agree with me here. I am certain they won’t be adding poker to their list of sponsored sports anytime soon.