I've been wondering this for a while. Maybe I just don't get it because the most I've ever played was minigolf, but it seems like just about every notable poker book I read has a handful of golf metaphors and references. Damn near every notable poker player from Negreanu to Brunson seems to be into it as well.

What's the connection?

Gambling.

"What is rich peoples fascination with golf?" should be name of the thread...

yeah but in what way is Golf relatable to poker?

And hustling.

Gambling and hustling.

this. shout out to serbia

I don't see the connection though like what about golf correlates with gambling or hustling? You could say that for pretty much any sport lol

Like I can see why a football player might be fascinated with sprinters, or even why a hockey player might be fascinated with boxers... But what about hitting a ball with a club got to do with betting on hands lol


Or am I just looking into this too deep lol

That would be my guess. Until I read this thread Ive never made any correlation between golf and poker in my life nor have I heard anyone else do so FWIW.

Not while participating yourself. You don't actually think that people out on the golf course are playing for the love of the sport, do you? Doyle Brunson wrote that in the 1960s he was playing a round of golf gambling more than what Arnold Palmer made in a year playing professionally.

You see a lot of rich guys who overestimate their own abilities and/or getting bird dogged by hustlers playing stick ball in the yard?

There is correlation between poker, golf, pool, sports betting and general prop betting. Finding favorable spots and particularly whales in all these games is the same set of skills (and keeping the games alive).

That and gamblers like to gamble.

There aren't a lot of other activities with significant exploitable gambling action. There's basketball (see: "White Men Can't Jump") but that's too physical - we're talking about poker players here. There are niche sports like bowling or darts. But there's not enough money and the communities are too small. There's probably a significant UK cross over between darts and poker though.

There's always chess but you're either talking $5 a game against semi-homeless guys in the park or everyone knows your rating and you're never going to get any significant action from weaker players.

So what else do you think there is?

Its a game played throughout the world and like poker anyone can play it from the young to the very old. Also different abilities can play against each other and on your day anyone can win.

And like poker to improve your game it requires work away from the course.

I love the game and the competition, like I said its real leveller, I bet on it regularly with my mates but I'll bet on anything from Word with Friends to a game of footy.

That's not too unusual though as many Australians play golf and love to gamble.

Oh ok lol i get it now

I was definitely looking into it too deeply. For some reason I always thought there was some kind of technical or mental aspect to Golf I was unaware of that drew the two together. Kind of like how dancing and martial arts can be drawn together for example (If you're coordinated enough to dance on a high level you would actually be expected to punch/kick harder & faster than someone coming from any other sport if u can call it one, including football)

golf is not only a waste of time it's also a waste of land

Well I definitely need to work on my swing - my downswing is outrageous.

In poker and golf you can (when gambling) put your opponent into 'stressful' situations. In both sports you get a 'rush' of emotion whenever the hand/match/hole is complete and someone has won or lost.

Try hitting those 4-footers on the warm up green and then stand over one with $xxx on the line with a partner and opponents staring you down!!

Can you make the 'big' call when an opponent shoves into you in poker?
Can you make the 'big' putt/shot when you need to at the golf course?

I would think golf a bit more 'problematic' since in general it's handicapped and that is established before the match (and possibly with limited information). If you put chips on a poker table, they are up for grabs. I can see much more opportunity for 'fixing' a golf spot than a poker spot. GL

both also have a certain degree of variance. I love nothing more than a day when I get a round in and then go play poker