The International Mind Sports Association has declared that poker is a mind game. That means poker will be played, along with other mind games including chess and bridge, in the World Mind Sports Games in London in 2012. I think that’s very cool and maybe it will help change the perception that poker is nothing but a form of gambling comparable to craps and roulette. Good poker players have to know expected value, pot odds, and implied odds. They have to be able to count cards that are “outs” toward winning a hand and convert the outs into percentages. They have to understand the importance of position at the table. They have to know how to project a table image that misleads the other players. Many of them master multiple games, including Hold’em, Omaha, Razz, Stud, Draw, and others. Poker is most definitely a mind sport and I’m glad to see it getting recognition.