International Federation of Poker Refutes IMSA Acceptance Reports

Early reports that the International Federation of Poker (IFP) would be accepted into the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) may have been misguided, according to the Poker Black Belt Blog (pokerblackbelt.co.uk). After reports circled last month that the IFP’s acceptance into the IMSA was only a month or so away, the IFP released a statement this week denying that the membership with the IMSA was finalized and that several steps still needed to be taken before a decision was made. This means that poker in the Olympics could be further away than we hoped.

The President of the IFP, Anthony Holden, issued a press release about the inaccurate reports on Monday: “I do not know how or where these rumors started, but I must make it clear that they are premature. IMSA membership is one of IFP’s publicly declared goals, and we have put in much work towards that end over the past year. Despite very encouraging signs, however, we are not there yet.”

According to Holden, the IFP is working ardently with SportAccord, formerly known as the General Association of International Sports Federations, to become a full member. SportAccord is an organization intended to unite the world of sport and is a loyal partner of the the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“In order for IFP to secure a ‘global’ membership and be recognized in as many countries as possible, IFP requires poker to be recognized as a game of skill – a ‘Mind Sport’ and is, therefore, planning to apply to become a member of both SportAccord and the International Mind Association,” said Holden.

The IFP’s goal was to be a full member of SportAccord and the IMSA before the 2010 SportAccord Congress in Dubai on April 30th. Holden says that the IFP will be an observer this year, but intends to have an application to be a full member ready for the 2011 Congress in London.

The IOC recognizes the IMSA, meaning that if poker were accepted into the IMSA, it could be considered an official game of skill by the IOC. Currently, the only card game to be accepted by the IMSA is Bridge. Other skill games recognized by the IMSA include Chess, Go, Draughts, and Xiangqi. The IMSA played a major role in the inaugural World Mind Sports Games, which were held in Beijing two months after the 2008 Summer Olympics.

The hope is for poker to join the IMSA and the World Mind Sports Games, gaining further ground in becoming a part of the Olympic Games. The IOC has outlined that a game or sport must be practiced by men in at least 75 countries on four continents and by women in at least 40 countries on three continents in order to be recognized. That shouldn’t be a problem considering the increasing popularity of poker over the past decade.

Poker News Daily will continue to update the IFP’s progress in the coming months.

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Poker talk:

POT ODDS - The amount of money in the pot divided by the amount of money you must bet in order to call. Often used to determine if a pot offers enough reward to play on the come.
PAY STATION - A player who rarely folds, thus who frequently calls better hands and loses. Almost as much fun as a LIVE ONE.
BIG BOBTAIL - An open-ended 4-card straight flush.
BLACK - When referring to chips, black usually stands for $100 casino chips. "This guy sits down with a stack of blacks and raises the first bet." Not ALL casinos use black for $100 but that is the common usage.
RIDER BACK (TM) - A brand of playing cards that feature a bicycle rider on the back of the cards. Often used in home games. Compare: BEE No. 92.
SUITED - Two or more cards all the same suit. Ant: OFF-SUIT.

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