Where did you learn to play?

[Kinkikos]

I "learned" online through trial and error. ("Learned" in quotation marks because I'm still a losing player.)

It helped to read some poker books, such as Carson's _Hold'em Poker_, Sklansky's _Theory of Poker_, and Roy West's _7-Card Stud_. Sklansky's book contains one sentence that finally helped me get clear on the concept of long-term expectation over immediate results.

 

[ellisman7]

lol, i first learned how to play from the hold em video game for the xbox 360. From there, i went to pokerstars.com and played with play chips, then found that they had freerolls, and have been playing with real money since.

 

[ihatetheriver]

playing poker

i watched lots of tv poker and started playing on full tilt for play chips and i now play low stakes real money and freeroles

 

[Pootz83]

I learned to play moving into a friends apartment, the year Varkonyi won, I believe 2002. We played nickle dime ante, no limit holdem. It was strange, but i just learned by watching tv and trying different things when i played. I usually did fairly well, only having to buy a couple rolls of change before i just had a huge coffee mug of change haha

 

[p0kertime]

i allway played 7 card stud or five card draw with friends you know follow the bitch..now i'm a horse addict so online i learn a how too lose the the donkeys-now i stay out of there all in ways cause my AA AK KK gets beat up so much but those are nice starting hands if it flops your way i'm not scared to play just sick they lose when i push um still looping till the end

 

[EdEPolo]

I thought I learned to play Poker while in the Military, almost all 7 card stud. Then in 2004 while recovering from shoulder surgery, I watched a Hold'em tournament on ESPN. Saying to myself "You can play better than that." After a few weeks I went to a Tunica Casino, entered a 4-8 Limit game with $200 and was out of money in less than 30 Min. I then began to study any and all I could about Hold'em, bought every book and just recently have tried online poker, and so far have found online Poker the best. I don't need to sit next to a smelly, nasty, arrogant player or put up with changing dealers every 20 minutes when I want to play.

Ed

 

[toxiktear]

My dad taught me which I'm sure he regrets now. We'd play amongst the family with no money involved but I couldn't really learn much. My friends and I started play 2 years back for money which I will admit I've won a pretty penny but that's only because I know their tells. We had a poker night with about 30 people and a $500 payout to first, $75 to second and $25 to third. I played amongst many people I didn't know and I quickly lost my $20 buy in. I wasn't upset though. It was an experience. I started watching tournaments and went to a local casino where I came out even. That was great to me. Playing for two hours and not losing a single dime. It's more of playing the game then winning but don't get me wrong, I still like money. Playing online hasn't really taught me much. Everyone always goes all in first hand in some of these tournaments and I just wait for the mayhem to settle before trying to catch up to the chip leader who got lucky going in with 5/2 and gets trip 2s first hand. That's my story, hopefully I see you all on the tables.

 

[111-THEMAD-111]

I started playing in the 70's and I'm still learning............

 

[ripclawph]

I also learned to play poker on online games... i heard a free tournament
over the radio saying theres a freeroll on pokerstars. so i checked it out, since
i was really curious about the game and started to study how to play it...
and now, eventually, became an addict since! it's been two months now
and i can't leave a day withuot playing one tourney... i just hope the poker
gods will bless me one day... lol!

 

[mat8]

i learned to play online. i had already played holdem before so that wasnt new to me but all the other games were. i just went to tables and started playing and the people there were nice enough to explain the rules to me.

 

[BOOGIEMAN]

First I watched for 6 months poker on TV (Eurosport & DSF)

Then I played 3 months more offline against computer
(Poker Superstars Invitational 2, DD Tournament Poker 1 & 2)

Then I played with Play money ONE day ... After seeing that everybody are willing to go all-in with every hand, I've decided I'm ready to try real money poker

 

[cartoon p]

i learned to play at poker fun club play money tables

 

[spals]

I learned odds from some website. Refined my play at railbirds.com, and hopefully will grow even more from this website. I play a weekly cash game and have came out on top 9 out of 10 so far.

 

[slowpoke]

Learnt watching my uncle play heads up for some serious money, and I had to drive him home cause there would be drinking invloved....He played with a deck from 7 and up...and sort of 5 card draw...started playing with my friends and then entered my first tourney at a local casino and came 3rd and entered again the following week and came second...

Joined Ladbrokes.com and came 3rd in a graduation freeroll winning $125...My best win after that was a $3.00 tourney on poker stars where I came 24th winning $137.62 the other night...

 

[Texsturg]

Learned to play some with my dad. Graduated to .05/.10 limit, 7 card stud, low spade etc. Nothing ever wild. I hated those games. Also baseball. LOL Took 1st real thumping at a $100 buy in $5 limit game. Thought I knew what I was doing but got beat on pretty bad. Needless to say very loose in those days. Picked up online poker on UB a few years ago and been there since. This is my best year so far. I don't play a lot of high stakes but enjoy learning

 

[SPANKYSN]

I learned how to play with my cousins, my aunt, and my grandpa when I was 10.

 

[acesinhole7]

College... and the Police Academy movies.

 

[riverboatrat]

played some form of poker most of my life, video poker, 5 card draw, razz (although I knew it as lowball)
but never played seriously, then one day I got a call from my brother in law, he invited me over for a game with his mates, I had seen holdem on TV but never tried it.

Tried it that night, played like a donk but liked it, a few weekends later we went away to a lodge in the bush, didnt see any animals cause we were stuck inside playing holdem the entire weekend.

After that I came home and signed up with Full tilt.
Been online almost every day since.

Started also playing offline, won the 1st offline tourney I played in, was a small 30 player affair, came 2nd in my 2nd one and just generally been playing ok since.

I get invites almost every weekend to come play, and I have found that I have to turn down games where I know the level of donkness is absurd.

Playing with my family worstens my game because I have to play at a different level AND I get sucked out on time and time again.

I tend to now stick to games where the players understand the game, understand odds and know when to fold.

Playing with weaker players weakens you, playing with better players teaches you.

 

[elfmanvt07]

I find this thread really interesting. Although I knew that most people who play poker anymore are what I call "Chris's Kids". I'm only 22, but I've been playing some form of poker for about 17 or 18 years. I learned from this old man (who's 90 now) who babysat me as a child during the day when I was a baby and after school when I was of age. I started with 5 card draw, but when I was about 8 we started playing Razz, and it remains my favorite game to this day, although I like stud and a little bit of hold 'em, but Razz is my best game. All my friends think that's really weird.

 

[mattybslick]

I started playing online

I also started playing play money also after watching a lot of tournies on tv. I always wanted to play and now i play a lot of sit n goes, i have gotten pretty good at them and want to start playing bigger multi-table tournies.

 

[sjtexas]

I learned to play on Full Tilt and Ultimate Bet after buying several books and studying. I still buy books and study and watch TV and play an obsessively large amount of freerolls since the UIEGA thing and still play some money tourneys but not cash games.

 

[Sephiroth]

Good idea

I won 1.75 my past two free rolls at Noble Poker and now I'm up to around 30 bucks playing in .2/.4 NL games. I just go to the table with only a dollar and try to play carefully and work up from there. Playing with play money is nothing like real money though. Play money users tend to go all in with anything. Real money users are way more conservative and more competitive. If you want to learn but have no money, just play the freerolls.

Thats the best way 2 play . If u go in with a bunch of chips u will get screwed over fast. Go in with the minimum and try and make somthing of it!

 

[HSJBASH]

to be honest i learned to play when i was little. the whole family would get together and play for hours. i really playing cards of any typpe. you can take a deck anywhere and play any time. my family got me playing on fulltilt and ive been checking out other sites as well . gl to all

 

[bearseternity]

I played with my dad and brothers and like everything in life I learned by trial and error..

 

[willie beaman]

How I learned the game

I taught myself how to play stud when I was 3. When my dad found out, he threw away every deck of cards in the house. I always had a spare to fall back on (thanks mom). It wasn't until my freshman year of college when I found out about hold em omaha and the other variatios of poker. After watching a few tourneys, I took to the felt and have faired okay since. Now I see why my dad threw the cards away 20+ years later, they can be a B at times.