Make your game face your poker face

September 16, 2005

Poker's more than a game...its a sport
By Joe O'Connell, Assistant News Editor

Yes, it's not a bad dream anymore, school really has begun and summer is now just a fading memory. But don't lose all hope; you can still find fun and exciting activities to do in between your stressful college schedule. This article, which will run biweekly, will give you various ideas for activities and sports to break up the monotony of the school year. The sport that will be covered in this first article is the poker game No Limit Texas Hold'em.

Now surely a great number of you are scoffing and asking "How in the heck is poker considered a sport?" Recently on a televised poker tournament a player who had been holding back his bowls for a long period of time, jumped from his seat mid hand and sprinted to the bathroom all the while hurdling over ropes and other barriers. The announcers had a good laugh and said "Maybe he's running to show the world that poker is a legitimate sport." Despite the humor from the advocates, poker is considered a sport, not a traditional physical sport like football, or baseball, it is a sport in the sense that it requires a great deal of stamina and mental fortitude to play for any extended period of time. In some big tournaments participants may have to play 12 hours a day for a solid week, which can be mentally and physically grueling.
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