Poker vs. golf

Do you think in the near future poker has the ability to grow as big as golf,it's both a contest of skills right?

Poker is definitely a skill game, but many people still see it as gambling (https://www.casino.us/).

I don't think it will become as popular as sports like golf, baseball, tennis... many people still see it as betting.

I think it’s still fairly large now. In Vegas at the wsop (https://www.casino.us/poker/tournaments/wsop/) they have 100 bracelet events taking place. The Main Event attracted 9,200 entries, 4th biggest field in WSOP history. Coverage of the Main is presently on ESPN + and the final table will air on ESPN in August, so yes I consider that quite significant. It’s positive for poker that it’s back on ESPN — more viewers means more people may want to play.

I think it certainly has potential to expand, but turning into as massive as golf will be difficult. Poker rewards skill over the long term, yet the stigma of gambling still limits it. With streaming, online sites, and younger entrants joining, I can imagine it moving far more into the mainstream in the coming years.

Being optimistic, yes—but only if several changes take place: more favorable regulation, more engaging broadcasts, the use of AI to explain hands (https://www.casino.us/poker/strategy/poker-hands/) to audiences in real time, faster and easier-to-follow formats, and expansion into markets such as India, Brazil, Latin America, and Africa.

I think it has a potential to grow. Especially now that it's back on ESPN. As more people are exposed to it, more people will become interested and start playing.

It's important to compare prize pools. The WSOP Main Event alone offers a prize pool comparable to or exceeding the richest golf event (the Tour Championship). Top poker tournaments (especially the WSOP and Triton) regularly surpass golf in prize pool size. If you compare top events, poker wins. If you compare sports as a whole, golf is also very rich, but individual poker tournaments outperform individual players in terms of payouts.

You'd have to be very skilled and wager quite a lot for golf to even enter the discussion. Otherwise, poker gives you a lot more action for your money.

Poker is definitely a skill game, but many people still see it as gambling.

They see it that way because that is what it is. Same as the stock market and commodities exchanges are basically highfalutin casinos (https://www.casino.us/) where people gamble. The difference is that those things are something the Puritans and other busybodies approve of. There is nothing wrong with gambling so it is nothing to be ashamed of for anyone who likes doing it. 🙂

I believe so!!!

This comparison doesn't make any sense at all, you can't compare mental games with physical games, Poker will never be taken seriously as a sport precisely because it depends on Casinos for it to happen, it's not like Chess. Besides, sport varies from country to country, in some countries Baseball is the most popular sport, in others football, and so on.

Yes, I play both, and I think poker will expand more quickly than golf — it just needs to be more accessible.

I think poker can certainly continue to expand, but matching golf’s worldwide status as would be challenging. Golf appeals to a much wider mainstream audience and is simpler for casual spectators to understand.

Still, poker benefits greatly from online platforms and streaming. If the scene continues to make the game more approachable for newcomers and viewers, I believe there remains significant potential for growth.

Interesting one, the problem/stigma with poker is that a lot of people see it as pure gambling. That's the downside, while golf is a sport

golf then poker in the same day

golf followed by poker on the same day

This is the right answer 👍

I don't notice it. Golf is basically a "major" sport.

I don't expect anyone to use golf clubs to play poker. However, using a golf cart to move between tables will be entirely feasible.

Poker definitely has the potential to keep growing, but I don't think it'll become as big as golf anytime soon. Both involve skill, strategy, and mental discipline, but golf has broader mainstream appeal and a much larger global infrastructure

I don't think so — golf is far bigger worldwide compared to poker.

Poker definitely requires a lot of skill, just like golf, but at the end of the day, it’s still gambling. You can be the better player and still lose because of variance, so that will probably always limit how mainstream it can become compared to golf.

Golf will never provide the feeling that poker gives you.