Rank the following games in order of sport to non sport
- Thread starter bomber
- Start date
bomber said:
Nascar, sport only because of the significant physical endurance required.
Pool & darts tied, not very sport like, but at least aiming and some physical endurance involved.
Chess not sport, but does require strategy
Poker not even vaguely resembling sport.
pool
darts
nascar
poker
chess
darts
nascar
poker
chess
Ernest Hemingway said the only 3 real sports are bullfighting, boxing, and car racing because you can die everytime you step into the arena. I think he should have added pool (he obviously never hung out in some of the pool halls I've seen).
Nascar
Pool
Darts
Poker
Chess
To me, the difference between a game and a sport is the physical component, and I think Nascar is the most physically demanding of these 5 activities. The drivers' endurance is more taxed in a Nascar race than a pool player's body is taxed, even during a long set, in my opinion. The muscles that tire in pool are only the muscles that hold you in your stance; it's basically as physically taxing as standing in one position. Darts is even easier, with the standing being in a more natural position, and in poker and chess, you play seated.
Beyond endurance and muscular exertion, pool is more physical than darts because there's more movement in the game, and almost anything is more physical than cards/board games. Between chess and poker, poker is more physical, since posture and expression are physical attributes that can affect the game. Does anything physical affect the game of chess? Seems purely mental to me.
-Andrew
Pool
Darts
Poker
Chess
To me, the difference between a game and a sport is the physical component, and I think Nascar is the most physically demanding of these 5 activities. The drivers' endurance is more taxed in a Nascar race than a pool player's body is taxed, even during a long set, in my opinion. The muscles that tire in pool are only the muscles that hold you in your stance; it's basically as physically taxing as standing in one position. Darts is even easier, with the standing being in a more natural position, and in poker and chess, you play seated.
Beyond endurance and muscular exertion, pool is more physical than darts because there's more movement in the game, and almost anything is more physical than cards/board games. Between chess and poker, poker is more physical, since posture and expression are physical attributes that can affect the game. Does anything physical affect the game of chess? Seems purely mental to me.
-Andrew
Which requires the most practice or natural talent to master is what I would consider more sportsman like. My choices go like this...
Pool
Chess
Darts
Nascar
Poker
Pool
Chess
Darts
Nascar
Poker
Andrew Manning said:
I futher add to my definition that there is no such thing as style points. It's just who gets to the finish line first whether the finish line is an end point or a particular ball dropping in a pocket or getting the most goals in a certain period of time. Therefore, such things as gymnastics, synchronized swimming, and figure skating, though athletic, aren't sports because a judge decides who wins.
Just adding more fuel to the fire.
I consider them all to be sports. Only recently did Webster's put emphasis on "physical activity" in a sport, with its primary definition as "that which amuses, agame,diversion, or pastime. By that primary definition found in several older versions of various dictionaries (Webster's and Funk&Wagnall's), car racing (the most athletic of the group) would be the one that least fit the definition.bomber said:
Fred <~~~ not that it matters
I can't imagine putting poker above chess as a sport. Chess requires many years of learning and practice to play at the level of grand master. Poker, I have heard about people learning to play and winning a pro tournament a year or two later.
O
onepocketchump
Guest
How about this for a definition: Anything that can be done at a WORLD CLASS level by remote control is not a sport.
In other words, it would be practically impossible for anyone to take a novice and put a speaker in his ear and have him race like a pro, or have them play pool like a pro, or have them play poker like a pro. But any grandmaster can direct any person capable of following simple instructions to move chess pieces thus having the person at the board "playing" like a pro.
In pool you need all the brains of a chessmaster, all the balls of a Nascar driver, all the luck of a poker player, and all the accuracy of a dart champion.
My list:
Nascar
Pool
Darts
Poker
Chess
In other words, it would be practically impossible for anyone to take a novice and put a speaker in his ear and have him race like a pro, or have them play pool like a pro, or have them play poker like a pro. But any grandmaster can direct any person capable of following simple instructions to move chess pieces thus having the person at the board "playing" like a pro.
In pool you need all the brains of a chessmaster, all the balls of a Nascar driver, all the luck of a poker player, and all the accuracy of a dart champion.
My list:
Nascar
Pool
Darts
Poker
Chess
O
onepocketchump
Guest
telkwa said:
Anything that requires physical ability and is done competitvely is a sport. Even poker requires physical ability to keep oneself in check. Poker is tenous as a "sport" however since it is obviously played competitively without the need to be physically present.
Pool and Darts definitely are games which are also competitive sports. I don't think there are many sports superstars who could maintain the grueling pace of the IPT for a week and still function at a high level.
John
My list
NASCAR
Hotdog eating
Spelling Bee
Poker
Bowling
Darts
Chess
Pool
Fred...please change your avatar. The Yanks suck. Thanx.
NASCAR
Hotdog eating
Spelling Bee
Poker
Bowling
Darts
Chess
Pool
Fred...please change your avatar. The Yanks suck. Thanx.
O
onepocketchump
Guest
I just finished an entertaining autobiography about Cowboy Wolford. Cowboy was a champion calf roper and Texas poker rounder. He finished his book by making the distinction that calf roping was almost entirely skill and that poker was mostly luck, even for the best players. He made a point of pointing out that one of the best poker players in the world got beat by a rank amateur in the World Series in the late 70s but no world champion calf roper ever got beat by an amateur in world class competition.
And that's the distinction. A sport requires a tremendous amount of physical skill combined with fortune at the right times inorder to succeed.
Pool fits this description. Poker does not. I can play ten hands with Daniel Negraneau and have a better shot at beating him even if I never look at my cards than I ever will at beating Efren Reyes in ten racks and I have 20+ years of pool experience under my belt.
John
And that's the distinction. A sport requires a tremendous amount of physical skill combined with fortune at the right times inorder to succeed.
Pool fits this description. Poker does not. I can play ten hands with Daniel Negraneau and have a better shot at beating him even if I never look at my cards than I ever will at beating Efren Reyes in ten racks and I have 20+ years of pool experience under my belt.
John
pool being a sport is a huge debate among some people. There are usually 2 classes:
Sport has to be physically hard and very demanding: Boxing, Soccer, Football, etc so that excludes pool, darts, chess and the like
and the last class which I consider myself a believer of this one.
There are multiple TYPES of sports, you have the demanding and physically sports as I stated above. For pool, darts, chess, I consider them as FINESSE sports which are as demanding as any other sports...just not the same muscles.....pressure, strategies, shot making, speed control.
I think if you put a guy that just started playing basketball against Michael Jordan 1on1 or a beginner in pool against Efren Reyes....results are gonna be the same, disastrous for the newbies. Isn't sport supposed to be an art to be mastered which makes you better as long as you practice
my 2c
Sport has to be physically hard and very demanding: Boxing, Soccer, Football, etc so that excludes pool, darts, chess and the like
and the last class which I consider myself a believer of this one.
There are multiple TYPES of sports, you have the demanding and physically sports as I stated above. For pool, darts, chess, I consider them as FINESSE sports which are as demanding as any other sports...just not the same muscles.....pressure, strategies, shot making, speed control.
I think if you put a guy that just started playing basketball against Michael Jordan 1on1 or a beginner in pool against Efren Reyes....results are gonna be the same, disastrous for the newbies. Isn't sport supposed to be an art to be mastered which makes you better as long as you practice
my 2c
landshark77 said:....
Fred...please change your avatar. The Yanks suck. Thanx.
A girl after my own heart.
