Poker is not a sport, it's a game. That is a fact. There is zero athletic ability required to play cards, but they put it on ESPN so I'm going to talk about as if it were a sport. I'd like to honestly change the category of our blog from professional sports to professional sports and games.
I'm not sure why Texas Hold 'Em blew up in this country and became one of the biggest addictions around for alot of people, right up there with cigarettes and alcohol. Poker is a game that involves some skill, and a little bit of luck. You have no way to know what cards everyone at the table holds. You can't count cards in poker, like you can in Blackjack. However, you can count on the tendencies that certain players make at certain times in the game. That's where the skill comes into play.
Most professional poker players aren't even playing the cards they have in their hands. They're literally playing the other players at the table. Playing head games is they key to Texas Hold 'Em and any poker game. A lot of professional poker players cant play Texas Hold 'Em because of the pressure. There's a lot of tension and some times a lot of money thrown around depending on the game type.
I personally used to play cards quite a bit, but found that the more you play the less money you have. That became an issue for me, but I can honestly appreciate what the professionals do day in and day out.
-Adam