Tennis - the sport most similar to (Tournament) Poker?

[FoldALot.]

I play tennis so I might be biased.

- There are different playing styles in both games: aggressive/attacking, conservative/defending.
- Both games require lots of patience and discipline.
- Crazy winners/bluffs usually won't work, you need to set your opponent up for the winning move.
- One game/hand is not important in the run of a match/tournament. One tournament is not important in the run of a season/year.
- You can tank a match/go on tilt either because of bad luck or because you made a terrible play.
- Both are mentally demanding games. You need to be focused all the time to be successful.
- You need to vary your game sometimes so that your opponent can't figure you out too easily.
- One crucial moment can change the course of a match/game.
- In both games, it's never over until it's over. In tennis, you can be down 0-6 0-5 and 0-40 and it is still possible to come back. At the same time, you can have a huge lead and be close to victory and just a few moments later the match can be even again which is very frustrating and can put you on tilt.

While many of these elements are present in other sports as well, I think this combination is pretty unique. Especially being able to come back from a huge deficit and the significance of the mental aspects are what makes both games so fascinating.

[Scary_Tiger]

One huge difference, the better tennis player is a much bigger favorite than the better poker player.

[btmagnetw]

i applied this to basketball and only had to change like 5 words. seriously tell me which one of these is false.

- There are different playing styles in both games: aggressive/attacking, conservative/defending.
- Both games require lots of patience and discipline.
- Crazy fancy plays and alley oops/bluffs usually won't work, you need to set your opponent up for the winning move.
- One basket/hand is not important in the run of a game/tournament. One game is not important in the run of a season/year.
- You can tank a game/go on tilt either because of bad luck or because you made a terrible play.
- Both are mentally demanding games. You need to be focused all the time to be successful.
- You need to vary your game sometimes so that your opponent can't figure you out too easily.
- One crucial moment can change the course of a game.
- In both games, it's never over until it's over. In basketball, you can be down 90-70 and it is still possible to come back. At the same time, you can have a huge lead and be close to victory and just a few moments later the match can be even again which is very frustrating and can put you on tilt.

[Los Feliz Slim]

I've always thought that poker and baseball were very similar. Long periods of relative inaction followed by moments of excitement, lots of stuff going on that's not immediately obvious to the casual observer, a marathon rather than a sprint, etc. And the hats.

[btmagnetw]

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I've always thought that poker and baseball were very similar. Long periods of relative inaction followed by moments of excitement, lots of stuff going on that's not immediately obvious to the casual observer, a marathon rather than a sprint, etc. And the hats. Not to mention the sunglasses. LDO.

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[Cortz]

baseball= 4 hours of boredom, 5 minutes of brillance

[sylar]

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baseball= 4 hours of boredom, 5 minutes of brillance

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compared to some other sporting events, this is a pretty good ratio.

[RacersEdge]

Any comparison of poker to a sport breaks down because of the huge luck factor involved in poker.

[PITTM]

the best tennis player usually wins a tournament.

the same is not true for poker.

[Pudge714]

FWIW I think Golf is a better analogy because there is more variance and it isn't head to head.