Is poker a sport? Vietnam has decided

Sport or not, the debate around poker is eternal. If some castigate the chess games that are them, considered a sporting activity, poker always has trouble finding its place between thinking games, gambling and chance and sports. The fact remains that in Vietnam, the subject is closed since poker has officially become a full-fledged sports activity. Besides, the country is embarking on the training of poker players.

Vietnam wishes to train poker players

At first, you should know that the Socialist People's Republic of Vietnam has always prohibited money -related games of chance, such as a good number of states in Asia. However, it seems that poker has a special place in the hearts of Vietnamese. Indeed, the card game was introduced as a sport in 2014.

Despite this surprising and ambitious decision, the poker has not yet found its great champions in Vietnam. This is why the municipal team of Ho Chi Minh Ville, the capital, decided to open training workshops to train the winners of tomorrow. In addition to the 2,000 players who found themselves for a tournament and the training sessions, the objective of this training is to show the benefits of poker. If we do not doubt the sporting values of poker, the national selection of Vietnam is always looking for a team ready to triumph on the international scene. Will these workouts be effective?

Can poker be considered a sport?

If for taxation reasons, the question of poker often returns to sports debates, we prefer to be interested in other aspects. While some poker followers denounce the situation of failures which have been presented as a sport since the decision of the Olympic International Committee in 1999, others consider that a poker player has the same mental and psychological attributes as other sportsmen.

Indeed, when we look at all the work of poker players in terms of their concentration, their motivation, as well as in the analysis of the opponent and their own game, it would seem that poker is easily like a sports practice.

Only here, poker has a sometimes controversial image that does not necessarily refer to "the sporting spirit". In addition, the relationship between the card game and the money seems to be a considerable disadvantage, especially for the games in cash-game. If we add these arguments to the fact that chance plays an important role in a game and poker is a game present in casinos, we are still far from a favorable IOC decision.

Poker can be used for all athletes

In any case, if one thing is certain, it is that poker can serve as a complement to sport. An athlete can, for example, forge his competitor's mind by participating in poker tournaments. Indeed, the psychological aspect of an athlete must work on a daily basis.

It will therefore be possible to develop certain capacities such as motivation, reading events, vigilance, as well as stress management.