Insects are the king of mental sports Atomics

Millions of people around the world claim to follow a sport in their spare time. In this sense, it is sufficient to mention the total of 3,500, 2,500 and 2.2 billion fans of football, cricket and basketball respectively.

Apart from these, there are also those who prefer to do an exercise to stay in shape. This particular category is dominated by swimming, soccer and volleyball, with 1,500, 1,002 and 998 million people devoted respectively.

Regardless of the method they approach, these sports have in common the fact that they require some form of physical effort on the part of those who practice them in the first person. However, as will be seen below, besides these, there are others of a different class; These are the so-called mental games.

Among them, poker, the most widespread card game internationally, plays a prominent role. As a confirmation of this more than 100 million people who, every year, dedicate themselves to it by granting themselves a trial game in its online version only. Apart from this, it is also possible to participate in online and secure sites Poker tournament Most prestigious.

Mental Sports: What Are They?

As their name suggests, sports that do not require physical effort to practice but require the brain, can be called mental. Despite this, however, those who are dedicated to them will not be able to achieve lasting and level results without following a healthy lifestyle.

Aspiring to be part of this category, a discipline must have some additional characteristics. This includes the right to clear and well-defined rules and regulations and the need for training to continuously improve oneself, develop skills such as attention, making quick decisions, learning different strategies and predicting the movements of opponents.

But what specifically is mental sports? So far, poker, bridge, go, checkers, chessChinese Chess (Xiangqi), eSports and the Asian board game Mahjong.

International Association of Mental Sports: What is it?

The founding of this specialized organization – originally called the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) – was on April 19, 2005. The occasion chosen to create it was the annual conference of what is now called the Global Association of International Sports Federations. (GAISF), held in Berlin.

From the beginning, the common desire of loyal members was to gain the recognition they deserve for mental sports, also through their participation in international events that would see them as absolute heroes. Among these, for example, we cannot fail to mention the World Mind Sport Games in Beijing (China) in 2008, the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts-Games in Incheon (Korea) in 2013 and the IMSA Elite Mind Games in Huai’an. also in China) from 2016.

Focus on poker

Devoted to mental sports

Internationally, poker was recognized as a mental game in 2009. At that time, only Go, Bridge and Chess were part of this group.

However, not all countries agree with this decision and Argentina recently decided to adopt it. To be precise, it was on April 20, 2022 when the Argentine Sports Confederation succeeded in this purpose, becoming the second association of its kind in Latin America.

In the collective imagination, poker has been treated for centuries as nothing more than a simple game, a result that is incredible. In particular, in fact, it not only brought a large number of people closer to its exciting world, it also opened the door to participation in global events such as the Olympic Games.

Much more than a regular casino game

Of course, there is no denying the fact that poker belongs to the category of casino games. Allowing it to transform into a mental game, however, can establish a clear distinction between it and other prominent games such as roulette and blackjack.

One of the distinguishing elements of the latter is that whoever dedicates himself to them, in order to monopolize the prize, must face the bank. In contrast, in poker each player must test his skills against one or more opponents.

This game is also very different from slot machines, dominated exclusively by luck. In them, in fact, you only need to pull a lever or press a button in the hope that a favorable combination of symbols will appear on the monitor to win a good amount of money.

In poker, on the other hand, luck plays a minimal role and, even if you get help from it, this element will not be enough to enjoy a long and successful career. Any self-respecting professional will confirm that you can never leave beginner status without constant preparation and a huge amount of games behind you.

Poker, a brain game

At this point, we can highlight the mental abilities that each player must develop to be considered such. Among them, there is undoubtedly perseverance, that is, the ability to always focus on the ultimate goal – perhaps participation in an important tournament – without letting yourself be distracted by adversity, opponents, friends’ differing opinions. and general problems of family or daily life.

There are two strategies that can help achieve this particular goal. Specifically, it involves constant practice of a sport that helps release nerves and meditation techniques such as Mindfulness.

Second, the study of mathematics and the application of some of its key concepts to the green table can greatly help in increasing the chances of success. Among them, we cannot ignore, for example, mentioning the calculation of probability difference of opinionloss out and expected value.

Additionally, to reduce the risk of affecting savings, you must be able to plan your items in advance. In this sense, it is specifically mentioned for its definition and respect BankrollThat is, the maximum amount of money that can be allocated for gambling.

Apart from this, it will always be advisable to try to adapt your own playing style to the opponent you face. In order to always be alert in drama, it is advisable to be as unpredictable as possible – perhaps by perfecting the art of bluffing – so as not to give away hints that might help them.

Poker: From a Game of Chance to a Mental Game

With a century of history behind it, poker has been able to evolve greatly, even in the general sense it has always had at the international level. Long defined as nothing more than a simple game, it has recently been elevated to the status of a mind game alongside disciplines like bridge, go, checkers and chess.

As seen, all the previous ones have several elements in common. First, about the need to learn to use and develop one’s cerebral and strategic skills to try to gain an advantage over opponents sitting at the same gaming table.