Poker officially declared a sport

Search

Rx. Senior
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
17,238
Tokens
In Russia at least.

The Sports Ministry recently declared that the game is a contest of skill and not a game of chance. This could spark Russia into becoming one of Europe's poker hot spots.
 

RX Senior
Joined
Apr 20, 2002
Messages
47,431
Tokens
And in case you havent figured it out ladies and gentleman the word of the day is 'Hot spot'.

Actually, it would be kind of fun to play poker in Russia.
 

New member
Joined
Jan 1, 2001
Messages
4,517
Tokens
And in case you havent figured it out ladies and gentleman the word of the day is 'Hot spot'.

Actually, it would be kind of fun to play poker in Russia.


full tilt is having a Moscow Millions this year
 

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
971
Tokens
Actually, it would be kind of fun to play poker in Russia.

Right, and the best part would be winning. Imagine yourself with a pile of cash but being deaf, mute, alone in the projects at night. That would be a real adventure.
 

RX Senior
Joined
Apr 20, 2002
Messages
47,431
Tokens
Right, and the best part would be winning. Imagine yourself with a pile of cash but being deaf, mute, alone in the projects at night. That would be a real adventure.
You paint a very scary picture.

I guess it would be like Poker meets Hostel or something.
 

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
971
Tokens
You paint a very scary picture.

I guess it would be like Poker meets Hostel or something.

Throw in some Training Day too since you might meet a friendly police officer as well.
 

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2004
Messages
1,839
Tokens
In Russia at least.

The Sports Ministry recently declared that the game is a contest of skill and not a game of chance. This could spark Russia into becoming one of Europe's poker hot spots.

GD,
Did you hit your head when you fell off that barstool?

According to your own article, poker is a game; a contest of skill, and not a game of chance. Even though I might disagree with that, for the sake of this discussion, let's accept that. That does not make poker a sport. A sport is defined as...

sport definition

n. 1. a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

...Poker is a game, a contest of skill; it is not a sport!
 

Rx. Senior
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
17,238
Tokens
Doug,
Just summarizing what the Russian Sports Ministry was declaring. There are other implications to them declaring it a sport, such as tax issues, but I did not feel the need to comment on those.

Do I think poker is a sport? Hell no. But apparently the country of Russia does.
 

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2004
Messages
1,839
Tokens
Doug,
Just summarizing what the Russian Sports Ministry was declaring. There are other implications to them declaring it a sport, such as tax issues, but I did not feel the need to comment on those.

Do I think poker is a sport? Hell no. But apparently the country of Russia does.

Why is that apparent? The article said poker is a game, a contest of skill. Where do you find someone, anyone saying that poker is a sport?
 

Rx. Senior
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
17,238
Tokens
Aargh, Doug. Where is that hit yourself on the head icon when you need it.

I did not reprint the entire article. It was from a recent issue of IGWB magazine.

It states that Russia now considers poker a sport.
 

Rx. Senior
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
17,238
Tokens
4617c35ec631c.jpg
Many players of our game have long claimed poker is a sport. Now Russian players can officially be described as sports people as the Russian Sports Minister, Slava Fetisov, has labelled poker a sport.

Few British players will have made the trip out to Russia for a game of poker. However, do so from today and you'll be described as a sportsman or woman! Slava Fetisov, the Russian Sports Minister for the "Federal agency of physical culture and sport", agreed to the landmark decision to make poker a sport in mid March.

Russia's President Putin recently signed a bill to tighten the controls on gambling. The bill would eventually see the banning of casino gaming in Russia apart from in
ad3.gif
ad4.gif


four "special zones" in 2009. The decision to make poker a sport could leave poker players and event organisers free to play poker in Russia, without falling foul of any gambling laws.

With changes in national laws seemingly occurring on a weekly basis, the classification of poker as a sport in Russia could have huge ramifications for those trying to ban poker, both live and online, worldwide.

Observers on various poker forums are naturally comparing the Russian stance with the recent American legal disputes. One American player enquired, "Which country regulates and which is free?".

Dmitry Lesnoy President of the new public Russian Sport Poker Federation said, "It is so pleasant that with the general background of persecution from the government towards gambling, the state still revealed wisdom and agreed with a factor, that poker can not belong to the category of gambling. It is a sport!"

As poker and online gambling laws continue to be a confusing area for many players outside of the UK it is reassuring, as British residents, to have clear rules in our country. Allowing us to play poker freely, in licensed environments, without fear or risk of prosecution.
 

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2004
Messages
1,839
Tokens
In Russia at least.

The Sports Ministry recently declared that the game is a contest of skill and not a game of chance. This could spark Russia into becoming one of Europe's poker hot spots.

That's better, GD...and a lot different than what you posted initially. Now my disagreement is with the Russians, not you. The word "sport" in English still means...

sport definition

n. 1. a. Physical activity that is governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged in competitively.

...the Russians may call poker a "sport" but when translated to English, poker is a game. I don't know enough about the Russian language, (there's an understatement, I know NOTHING about the Russian language), but perhaps they only have one word to describe both games and sports? But we are using the English language to communicate with each other in this forum and so for our purposes, poker is a game, not a sport!
 

FreeRyanFerguson.com
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
13,308
Tokens
Doug, take the corn cob out of your ass and quit being so abrasive.
 

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2004
Messages
1,839
Tokens
Doug, take the corn cob out of your ass and quit being so abrasive.

No thanks!!!! I don't find the truth abrasive, do you? For instance, if I said that Las Vegas was officially declared a state, would that make it so? Same thing with saying poker is officially declared a sport. But GD's problem was that in his first post, he never quoted the article saying that poker was declared a sport, but rather he quoted the article saying that poker was declared a game, a contest of skill, which is quite different than saying poker is a sport.

ps. Please alert me, Illini, the next time you make a post with any substance, I'd hate to miss a first like that!
 

FreeRyanFerguson.com
Joined
Sep 21, 2004
Messages
13,308
Tokens
No thanks!!!! I don't find the truth abrasive, do you? For instance, if I said that Las Vegas was officially declared a state, would that make it so? Same thing with saying poker is officially declared a sport. But GD's problem was that in his first post, he never quoted the article saying that poker was declared a sport, but rather he quoted the article saying that poker was declared a game, a contest of skill, which is quite different than saying poker is a sport.

ps. Please alert me, Illini, the next time you make a post with any substance, I'd hate to miss a first like that!
Nevermind. People like you were correcting teachers for incorrect grammar as a 6th grade student. You take pleasure in being anal, therefore you will never stop. Carry on.
 

New member
Joined
Oct 15, 2004
Messages
1,839
Tokens
Nevermind. People like you were correcting teachers for incorrect grammar as a 6th grade student. You take pleasure in being anal, therefore you will never stop. Carry on.

That was third grade, you remember that one, you took it twice. I do take pleasure in being right, just like you obviously are envious of me. But boy oh boy, you really got me tonight...take the corn cob out of my ass and quit being so abrasive....wow, that really hurt. But thanks for allowing me to carry on...I didn't know I needed your permission.
 

Rx. Senior
Joined
Sep 20, 2003
Messages
17,238
Tokens
Doug,
I agree with your disagreement with Russia. There definition of sport and ours are quite different. Nevertheless, if you'll notice in the article Russia's Putin is planning to make gambling illegal, save for a few "zones". Therefore, the distinction of poker as a sport is particularly important since they do not define it as gambling (i.e. a game of chance).
The original article I referenced could not be found online, but it mentioned that those parlors or places providing poker would not be subject to taxes that casinos would be with this new definition.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,145
Messages
13,433,409
Members
99,281
Latest member
king88fans
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com