‘Match’ Poker Among Newly Recognized Sports on Path to Olympics
Poker may become one of the Olympic disciplines in 2020 at Tokyo.
Poker may be added to Olympic games alongside kicker football and pylon.
Many countries are trying to legalize poker lately. This would be really comfortable for poker players. As when poker is “illegal”, poker players have to explain everyone that they are not gamblers (well, they are, but there are some legit ways to gamble). Many poker players have to quit their jobs and to become professional poker players. They have to justify it with statements like: “Mom” i will make my living doing this, don’t you worry”.
There are people who are fighting for poker legalisation, there are enthusiasts who want to see poker as a discipline at the Olympics.
Global Association of International Sports Federations published an important announcement that arm wrestling, kicker football and dodgeball alongside with poker got pending” status from Olympic committee
What does it mean? – Ha! In a couple of years these games would be a kind of sport that is included. This list may be added with karate, surfing, mountain climbing and skateboarding. The chances are we will see all these competitions in this disciplines at Olympics 2020.
What kind of poker would take place at Olympics?
It should be team piker with random elements excluded. There is an option of Match Poker. It was offered by International Poker Federation (with support of AliExpress) so they have developed an app for this game.
- Action takes place in a mobile app
- Several teams
- Equal starting stacks
- Team players seat at different tables and different boxes
- Every first box/second box/etc/gets equal cards, board will be also identical at all the tables – this should exclude randomness in card dealing.
- Discipline – Texas Hold’em, pot-limit preflop, no limit postflop
- Winner team has the bigger stack after N hands.
Many people criticises such “non-real” poker with no luck, gambling, money involved. These elements are crucial for our favorite game alongside with math, psychology and skill. Nethertheless, to attend Olympics 2020 poker has to change its core principles.