http://digg.com/d31PqE2

I set up a digg for it.

In a landmark announcement for poker around the world, the International Mind sport Association officially recognized Poker as a mind sport, a game of skill, on a par with chess and bridge.

Speaking from Dubai,where the decision has been taken at the annual congress of the International Mind Sports Association, International Federation of Poker president Anthony Holden welcomed “a major milestone in our campaign to have poker accepted throughout the world as a game of strategic skill.

It comes exactly a year to the day that the International Federation of Poker was founded in Lausanne, Switzerland on 29 April 2009 with the primary objective of having poker officially accepted as a ‘Mind Sport’.

“Over time, this should help to free poker from much governmental interference and other such unnecessary restrictions all over the globe,” said Holden. “Equally exciting, poker will now form part of IMSA’s World Mind Sports Games, due to be held in the UK in 2012 alongside the London Olympics."

The announcement came after a busy year spent working towards membership of IMSA. A presentation to delegates yesterday at the IMSA general meeting in Dubai. After firther deliberations behind closed doors IMSA President Jose Damiani emerged to announce the acceptance of IFP as a member.

As well as poker, IMSA is also formed by federations of chess, bridge, draughts and Go who are also members of SportAccord, the global organization with some 150 member Sports Federations.

Anthony HoldenThe meetings in Dubai attended by IFP delegates were part of the SportAccord Congress and International Convention. The next step fo the IFP is to secure membership of SportAccord to maintain its IMSA status.

Holden will be attending the SportAccord Congress on Thursday as an observer where they will lodge a formal application for membership, something the IFP hopes to secure at SportAccord’s next annual meeting in London in 2011.

Speaking in Dubai, Holden said:

“Now it has secured IMSA membership, poker is officially designated a mind sport and IFP is eligible to become a member of SportAccord,” said Holden. “This will involve satisfying all the requirements to obtain formal membership at their 2011 Congress in London."

“Above all, we need to have a minimum of 40 member federations from at least three continents. We have already achieved more than 50 per cent of that target and, boosted by today’s decision, we anticipate little difficulty in meeting this and the other requirements over the coming 12 months."

“I know the whole poker world will now come behind our efforts, not least because it means that poker will be played in the World Mind Sports Games due to take place in the UK alongside the 2012 London Olympics.”

Doyle Brunson, poker’s elder statesman, and a member of IFP’s Advisory Board, warmly welcomed the news.

“The IFP deserves our thanks and congratulations," said Brunson. "I believe that history will show this was a key moment for poker. All over the world the game has been faced with governmental controls and other obstacles. Yet it is obvious it calls for qualities and skills that go far beyond a capacity just to take a chance.”

IMSA President Jose Damiani said:

“I am delighted to welcome the International Federation of Poker into membership of IMSA," said Damiani. "Poker’s participation alongside bridge, chess and other mind sports in the annual IMSA events will demonstrate to the world that poker is indeed a mind-sport of strategic skill.”

Next year IFP will be launching poker’s first annual world championships, both team and individual, as well as participation in regular IMSA events.

This is great. Hope it sends the legal dominoes tumbling.

great news imo

Nice!

Sweet

Quick straw poll: Who had previously heard of the IFP, which calls itself "the" "global governing body for poker"? Anyone?

I'd never heard of it or suspected that it existed; is this just my fault for being extremely ignorant and behind the times?

Seriously, I wish them well in their attempts to have poker legalised (in countries in which this is in doubt). But, looking over their web site, I couldn't help but be amused at the pretensions of this "world governing body".

They were mentioned in this or the PPA forum a few times in the past. All those times were specifically in relation to their quest to get poker accepted as a mind sport. I was under the impression that this was their initial major goal as an organization.

Regarding what I *think* is at the root of your question, "who died and made them the global governing body for poker," that's a fair question. Prior to their formation there was no one claiming that role. This is something that exists for most sports and "mind sports" already. It's a logical next step. If some other organization is formed or already exists then the two will battle it out. Eventually one of them will (maybe) be recognized by most world poker players as the "ultimate authority" on poker. Think about it. How else can an organization like this come into being?

Having a recognized governing body like that is a great idea for those wanting poker to be in the skill game category. I've never heard of it either, it appears to have been founded in 2009. If Holden partially put it together it makes up for the four hours of my life I wasted reading "Bigger Deal." Just a stroke of genius.

so does this mean i am a professional athlete now?

FYP, so I could say yes.

I prefer the term mathlete.

Best news all week!

I don't want to derail the thread, and again I emphasise that I'm pleased about the result, but ...

Arthur: I'm Arthur, King of the Britons.
Peasant: Who are they?
Arthur: We are. We all are.
Peasant: Well, I didn't vote for you.
(I quote from memory.)

Thanks for the tip. I haven't read the book, and I won't now.

I wouldn't mind so much about the IFP if it didn't lay claim to being "the global governing body for poker", when so far as I can tell it doesn't actually govern anything.

Two further proofs of disconnection from reality, gleaned from the IFP web site:

http://www.ifpoker.org/news/official...w-a-mind-sport
"Next year IFP will be launching poker’s first annual world championships, both team and individual, as well as participation in regular IMSA events."

Who do they think they're kidding?

http://www.ifpoker.org/about
"As well as organising major international tournaments, both team and individual, the IFP will be working to standardize tournament rules, as well as compiling international rankings alongside each member-nation’s own national rankings."

What national rankings? What the hell are they talking about?

Still, this comes from the horse's mouth; I can't deny that. They're officially the official world governing body for poker, what they say must be true.

Monty Python?

As I said, or at least implied, we (the collective poker playing public) will have to agree to be governed by them or it won't be reality. It isn't now, but it could be if they convince enough people. Your quote above really is appropriate.

This is how these things come about. It isn't like they are going to swoop down on home games, my guess is that eventually they will have an international set of tournament rules, with tournaments living up to standards being "IFP approved" to count for the world/national rankings.

Time will tell whether the idea sticks, or whether the whole concept goes pffffft like the original TOC concept.

Whether lame or not, it is huge to point at an independent federation seen on par with with the International Chess Foundation when arguing skill.

I might even buy Holden's next self-indulgent poker diary for this...

Erm, no, that's not how these things come about. You don't just turn up out of nowhere pretending to be the governing body of poker "for the world". It's not a prize that belongs to the first person who claims it. There are proper ways of forming such an organisation through a gradual process of acknowledgement and consensus -- this applies even more so to poker, which tends to be anarchic by nature, than to other, more tightly organised "sports". The IFP doesn't currently govern anything and shouldn't be claiming to.

It's a pity, as I think a little less anarchy in professional poker wouldn't be a bad thing.

I disagree. How they are doing it is exactly how an organization like what they claim to be comes about. Or at least one of the ways it can happen. They're saying "we're it." Now the "gradual process of acknowledgement and consensus" has to happen.

More typically you might see national or regional bodies form first (through the same "we're it" process) and then 2 or more of them band together to form an international body. That is still the same process although slightly more gradual and starting off with a minor headstart in the area of acknowldegement and consensus.

To be clear, that they claim to be the governing body doesn't make it so. They are the governing body for whichever people or smaller organizations decide to acknowledge them. It is possible to have multiple governing organizations (federations, associations, or whatever term is used) for the same sport. Boxing, Pool, Motocross, and many others I can think of have or have had multiple ruling bodies at the national or international level. Maybe it would be easier if you substituted the word sanctioned for govern or rule.

That's nonsense. I wasn't going to reply, but this is now irritating me more and more.

Obviously I didn't make it clear. I'm not saying that an arbitrary group of people can't form an organisation like this whenever the fancy takes them. I'm saying that then to claim that it's the global governing body -- as the IFP does, loudly, all over its web site -- is a deliberate deception, or, in fewer words: a lie.

What does the IFP govern? In what disputes is it the final arbiter? None. It's not any kind of "governing body", and what disturbs me is that this "acknowledgement" of poker as a "mind sport" is now tainted with this deception. But a glance at the IMSA web site (http://www.imsaworld.com/), which hasn't been updated all year, suggests that this "acknowledgement" may itself be worthless.

As for the IFP, it would have some meaning if it were accepted as an arbiter of disputes by, say, at least two out of the WSOP, the EPT and the WPT -- or by existing tournaments or organisations of similar standing. It's not. There aren't even any arbiters of disputes about rules, etc. at the national level.

Most amusing of all is the list of IFP member organisations: it doesn't have any representation in the US!

What annoys me is the politically naive reaction to this of people like Doyle Brunson, who's quoted as saying: "The IFP deserves our thanks and congratulations.... I believe that history will show this was a key moment for poker."

He means well. I support his objectives. But before jumping in and declaring that history is being made, shouldn't one stop to think whether the organisation behind it is genuinely what it says it is, and not a mere façade?

Hardly naive. Quite utilitarian.

Lets be real. Like everything else in poker, this is a hustle. Poker is, in the long run, a skill game. In the short run, it is a gamble. In reality it is about money.

Deep down inside I could give a flying crap about a few euros deciding that they want to start the FIFA of poker and put up some rankings and a unified set of international rules and such. I do like that they've already created a ton of value by giving everyone a ready made argument to use against those that want to lump us in with all other gambling, something that might impress a judge if this skill game issue comes to a head.

The IFP is sort of semibluffing at being a governing body. I can't come up with any practical reason for not letting them. I don't see them having any effect outside of tournaments, and I can see that bringing in some recreational players if it turns out by playing the weekly 60+10 at the local cardroom can result in some sort of national / world ranking....

Well played, IFP.... I for one welcome our new tournament poker overlords, and look forward to the day I am in a cash game and a fish brags about his poker ranking or his equivalent to his FIDE rating.

http://www.pokernewsteam.com/poker-n...ind-sport/1108 IMSD is based in Dubai?? Dont they ban gambling there lol

Like lots of words, the word "anarchy" has two meanings. One is simply "chaos". The other is an economic and anti-political philosophy and movement. By the second definition, this is what anarchists do in theory and practice...

The game of Poker is chaotic by nature, we call it variance. Almost everyone can agree that we need less chaos outside of the game itself in the poker room. But we really could use a whole lot more anarchy (second definition) in the poker rooms. Rules, Rake, and dealer compensation set by consensus of the dealers and players should be what we are working towards. And the casino owners can... get jobs as dealers.

If IMSA wants to truly be a the world wide poker authority, they need to call a congress of dealer and player organizations. Just a though here on May Day!

this is bull****, so many ppl play poker BECAUSE ITS GAMBLE(yes all the fish play because they GAMBLE) and not skill...

[ ] Because of a lot of players play without skill, poker is not a game of skill.

[x] Poker is a game of skill which a lot of unskilled players choose to play, hoping to get lucky.

It's nice and all that this organization has recognized that poker is a mind sport, but I just do not see this being persuasive at all with the asshats in D.C.

none of the 2 is my opinion ...

i just want to say that the more you state that poker is game of skill and u actually can get better at it with practice, coaching, etc., the less the fish will be tempted to play..

i mean tell me any other game of skill where you play for money and the only thing you know are the rules of the game(some of the fish without even knowing the rules...)