Poker: a real sport or just another chess match?
By: Darren Zancan
Posted: 4/1/10
 
 
The adrenaline was pumping. The sweat was pouring down my face, each particle racing the other until one beat the other to the floor. My palms began to sweat, as I shifted the weight from one foot to the other.
 
Competition continued to get fierce. No one could ignore the stakes. Who would win? Who would lose? Who would win and then hope for more?
 
I could feel the intensity build with each second. Yet each second felt like a minute. Each minute became an hour.
 
It was a game that dragged me in and never let me go. The crowd would come and go. But I would stay.
 
At times it was so intense, I had to look away, only looking over my shoulder slightly to see the reaction of others.
 
Double zero. Then another double zero. Two losses in a row. What should I do, walk away or face the challenge one more time? I took on the challenge and won, four times.
 
I checked my watch to find five hours has gone by without an intermission, no time-outs taken and no technical issued.
 
Welcome to the world of poker, roulette and some card game I never learned the name of.
 
Why write about it in the sports section? Ask ESPN. They carry more poker than soccer, ping pong and water polo. But seriously, I turn on the television everyday to see the "game of poker" on several stations.
 
Reality has set in and apparently gambling is the new sport. Millions of dollars are at stake. People wrap themselves in the game, learning every move, how to outsmart their opponent and how to win.
 
It's addictive. It becomes some people's obsession. Even Lexington was in deep talks of putting a casino in.
 
But is it a sport or just another chess match? Some argue yes. Others say blank blank blank no.
 
I experienced just a small amount of what "professional gamblers" experience this past Thursday night. I sat at the roulette table and placed some high bets. I won big. I lost big. I figured out a few strategies that went my way, only to be fooled later.
 
If you do not know what Roulette is let me explain. The game is stands for "little wheel." Players choose an assortment of bets. You can bet on the color red and if it lands on red you double your money. You can bet on a number. The dealer spins a wheel in one direction and the ball in the opposite direction around a tilted circular track running around the circumference of the wheel. The ball will stop and land on a number.
 
You win or lose.
 
Roulette is just one of the many games you can play at the casino.
 
ESPN has a poker club. ESPN has a poker section on its page.
 
Baseball and poker now have a World Series.
 
So you sit here arguing poker, roulette and gambling have no legs and should not be a sport. I can see that argument and I will raise you one. Bad joke. Here is the definition of a sport.
 
One is an active pastime, a diversion or recreation.
 
Another definition involves physical exercise and has a set form and body of rules; a game.
 
It is a game.
 
Poker has become a weird game that millions of people have gotten fascinated with. The similarity between baseball and poker or football and poker is people watch it to see who wins. They want to see someone win the ultimate prize. Both feature a sole survivor or a person that has the most skill or a team with the most skill.
 
My opinion is not that important. My job is to get you to start debating, and then I can walk away and watch you fight it out until there is one sole survivor.
 
I may even place a bet on who wins…
 
Things I thought I was thinking about in the sports (and un-sports world):
 
Facebook experiment number one. I decided to make up a fake story. I met a girl at an improv show, fell head over heels, got engaged and then married all in one weekend. Hey, it happens in real life. Maybe I wanted to be spontaneous. I ran with it. People told people who told other people and by the end of the day, my Facebook was on fire wondering who she was. Chinese telephone. You're it! Point: Facebook is too addictive and we all rely on it too much.
 
This might be the best Final Four I have witnessed. Butler plays in its backyard and has a shot at a national title. Michigan State pulls it together and wins by a point. West Virginia knocks off the mighty Kentucky. And then there's Duke. Some people have too much time on their hands.
 
Two researchers have analyzed 52 of the most famous The Last Supper paintings and found that portions increases in the painting over the past millennium. I wish I could sit at home and come up with this stuff.
 
Ben Roethlisberger is at it again. The Pittsburgh Steelers' quarterback is dealing with another sex scandal. Two in three years. I should be talking about Super Bowl titles, but instead we get to hear about passes thrown to his girls, instead of his receivers.