The IMSA (International Mind sport Association) recently announced that poker has been publicly recognized as a mind sport and also referred to as a game of skill. Poker is now considered to be at par with other card games such as Bridge and Chess. The President of the International Federation of Poker (IFP) also confirmed that poker is one of the widely played games in the world and hence quite a few countries have now considered it as a ‘game of skill’. He also added that poker has found a place in the World Mind Sports Games of IMSA, which would be held in 2012, simultaneously with the Olympic Games in London.
According to the IFP, the next best step for poker would be to secure its membership in the GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federations), which is now known as the ‘SportAccord’. In such a way, poker as a game would be able to maintain its ‘IMSA’ status. There are plans to have it attested in the SportsAccord conference of 2011. It is considered to be a positive step for all the poker players around the world. With the ever-escalating popularity of the game, loads of new players are joining the game every passing day.
SportsAccord is an esteemed organization that is responsible for managing and uniting all recognized sports on a worldwide level. The manage associations such as IGF (Go), FIFA (soccer), FIDE (Chess), and many more. There are several resources on the internet which would give you more information on the workings of SportsAccord.
This means a lot of achievement for poker. As per professional poker player Doyle Brunson, IFP deserves the gratitude of all poker players around the world. He also mentioned that poker requires specific skills and qualities, which are much more than simple guesswork (which is different from casino online). IFP may launch the first annual world championship of poker, inviting participation for individual and team tournaments, along with participation in the IMSA games. This may affect the existing poker tournaments. Will the World Series of Poker (WSOP) continue to be the best poker tournament in the world?