Poker players spend hours in silence. But when the table cools off, the mind keeps playing — just in different arenas. And that’s where we enter fascinating territory: parallel sports.

It might sound unlikely, but the same person who spends 14 hours grinding online tournaments in isolation is also the one cheering for the NBA at 3 a.m., watching Roland Garros tennis during a BSOP break, or getting hyped over a UFC fight narrated in Russian — without understanding a single word, but rooting as if it were a World Cup final.

Poker players love sports. And it’s no coincidence.

Football (soccer) is the absolute classic. Nearly every player has a favorite team (or two, if we count one in Europe). It’s common to see a grinder pause their late reg just to catch Flamengo in the Libertadores, or a São Paulo local making a rebuy between two Palmeiras goals. Poker has even borrowed the logic of leagues: points, rankings, seasons. It’s like a mental Brazilian Championship — but with cards.

Then, there are the ones obsessed with chess. The silent strategists, who call others “aggressive” as if analyzing a position. They watch Magnus Carlsen and play blitz games like it’s a form of meditation. Deep down, they treat poker like a board — and every opponent, like a poorly placed pawn.

Others dive into Formula 1. They love speed, precision, and calculated risk. Not a coincidence. Poker is also about knowing when to accelerate, when to brake, when to just stay on track. These players tend to be cool-headed, methodical, fans of Hamilton or Senna, and their playlists often have names like “Sunday Grind Turbo.”

Then you’ve got the combat sports crew — jiu-jitsu, boxing, MMA. Players who believe the ultimate bluff is showing no pain. They watch UFC like a masterclass in reading body tells. Many of them train too. For them, poker is about control — of body, mind, and ego.

And yes, there are fans of sports no one else understands. Professional billiards. Curling. Darts. Virtual horse racing. They say it’s “for the study of probabilities,” but deep down, they enjoy the absurd. These are the dangerous ones — the ones who see EV in Mongolian archery tournaments.

At the end of the day, every poker player picks a sport like they pick a mirror. What they watch says a lot about how they play. The football fan is passionate. The chess one is methodical. The UFC one, resilient. The F1 one, disciplined. The curling fan… well, we just respect that.

The truth is: poker resembles every sport — and at the same time, none. It borrows bits from each — strategy, composure, quick reflexes, teamwork (when there is any). But it’s played with cards, in silence, often wearing slippers.

And still, when a Brazilian takes down a bracelet, the celebration feels like a goal in the World Cup final. Because in the end, poker is just another arena where modern gladiators push their limits.
And of course, once the game’s over… they turn on the TV and watch someone else sweat it out.