Where did you learn to play?

It all started for me when Mom taught me how to play Five Card Draw when I was around five or six years old. My first taste of playing for money was at around 22 years old at a .25/.50 Dealer's Choice game among my co-workers. I played some of the sickest games until I moved away at 25 where the only game in town was a $2 spread limit stud game. I lost interest for a few years until the World Poker Tour aired, which drove me to the internet freerolls. From that point, my interest in the game just snowballed to the point that I'm a regular at all of the local live games, which are mostly $60 or $120 buy-in tournaments and 1/2 NL cash games.

yeah i started at play chip tables on AOL WSOP probly bout a year or 2 ago... it was a bit of a joke how slow it was but i persevered and lightly learned the ins and outs.. then a friend intro me too Party i liked it used there poker school and became very attached to the game.. then our local pub started holding FREE buyin holdem games FROM THEN ON HOOKED...lol
internet searched and dowloaded just about EVERY site i could get my hands on... settled for PP PS and FTP (occ others) now i regulary play at the pub circuit and ventured into real money online and also our cities only casino they run $100 buy in 5 10 tables .. im not a pro but im always willing to learn.. lol GL all

I started at play chips on Party in about March last year. I seemed to be doing quite well but literally got fed up with people playing rubbish hands because no money was involved.

So, in September, when Betfair offered me £10 free for poker i leapt at the chance. In my first MTT, I finished 4th adding to the original money. I then decided to play small stakes STT and managed to keep about level whilst I worked out a strategy for playing them. After a month or so, I started to win consistently - see KRRifles in the database. But a big drawback for me was the rake compared with entrance fee. Then Party offered me some free money to play there.

At Party, I continued playing STTs but also added small stake ring games,being successful at both. I found out that I could get some free dollars my joining Bodog. There I played STTs, initially winning but then going into a tailspin caused by people winning against me with inferior hands or runner/runner draws and the like. I put this down to a) the looser players at Bodog, b) the different blind structure at Bodog (which they have or are about to change). I even wrote a megarant about it and posted it on the net. By now, I disliked Bodog but wanted to release the bonus so decided I wouldn't give them any more of my money, just simply play the freerolls to make enough points to withdraw my original money and bonus. Over time I became reasonable at these (Rifle35692 in the databases) and added to my BR.

I now play Party and Bodog freerolls and am building my BR (currently $600) whilst I try to gather as much info as possible about playing for higher stakes in on-line MTTs. I might give Bodog STTs another try following their recent changes.

(In case you are wondering, the names Rifle35692 and KRRifles are my tribute to two of my forebears who fought in the Great War for the King Royal Rifles Regiment.)

I learned to play on Full Tilt. Glad to see someone is offering tourneys there.

I learned to play regular card games when i was just a little kid but didnt learn how to play poker games til i was 15....i was taught by my older siblings as a kid...my friends aunt was a casino dealer so when we hit the age that we could play poker on our own she taught us a whole lot of poker games...we even made our own 8-man poker table to play on...so ive been playing a long time but didnt start playing online til 3 years ago

I learned 5 card draw as a kid and played games like Casino and other ones(great thoughts lets get kids hooked on gambling yea).Also learned roulette and baccarat off it too.Didnt get big into hold em until moneymaker and them started then got hooked off that.It was such perfect timing tho cuz I had just turned 18,legal age to gamble in minnesota,and they put in a card club there.How fun!

Played 5 card draw on Hoyle's card game(it's a computer game) or something few years back. prior to that, I played the occasional 5 card draw, never really good at it, always thought it was just gambling and never thought there's skill involved.

drafted into the Singapore armed forces(mandatory once you're 18), stationed outside of the country and to pass the boredom, I played Rummy, Big 2(an interesting game, much like rummy) with bunk mates. After I left the army, I didn't have time to play any card games, people here(chinese actually) are more interested in Mahjong, so there's not much interest in card games.

So, one night I was in the office feeling a little bored and decided to join the online poker world, to see what the fuss is all about(heard about it when betfair came to singapore, willie tann is a SINGAPOREAN??!!). That's how it all started. Learned on Party playing freerolls and 0.02/0.04 NL, 0.05/0.1 FL. Started to search the internet for more ways to improve my game and finally found cardschat.

i learned the old way. thru trial and errors. no one showed me how or told me ways to bet. i think i've done well.

David Sklansky, Mike Caro, and Doyle Brunson were my unofficial teachers.

My dad taught my two brothers and I to play poker when I was about 10. Our family would play games for fun at home. My dad learned in the navy and taught us nearly every version of the game, except Holdem. I learned Holdem from television.

national pub poker league in VA -- then casinos [the hard way unfortunately]. Honed my game on Bodog then Pokerstars after that =)

I learned on the play tables@ Bodog then started playing the 1500 freeroll nightly and got my butt kicked. So I researched online as much as I could learning techniques and strategy. I laugh at myself when I think back 6 months ago I thought I knew what was doing,turns out I was wrong. And thank you to all of you here at cardchat for your advice and wisdom. T

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"It's not paranioa if they're really after you!!!!"

I first learned to play at Betzip.com. I unfortunately could not sing up to play for money because of where I lived ,but it was a good start for me. I rarely play there anymore. I still do not play for money much because I am poor. As soon as I get on my feet financially I will most likely invest more ,and hopefully play online for good. My favorite site to date is Ultimate Bet they run some of the best freerolls. Bodog is pretty good too. Full Tilt is okay ,but there are alot of donkeys that can't play a lik there! Also when I have played for money there my whole cards have been far worse than normal. Even being pactient didn't help me ,but I do not believe it to be a rip-off. I think that when I played for money with my last deposit that I just had a bad run of cards. Which is going to happen when you play this game. I love it anyways and will never give up on my dream of playing ,and winning the W.S.O.P. Anyways my game has come a long way from my beginning days at Betzip ,and I know I have a long way to go. Playing at some real tables too will probably help me out too. My book of tells by Caro is in the mail now ,and will help prepare me for that! Good day to you ,and may you hit the cards you need!!!

i learned to play online aswell as playing with friends!! i started playing seriously about a year ago 4 years before that i was just messing around!! people tell me i am really good at playing a table and taking the prize! and it just spread throughout my friends and family!!! we all play all the time!! i usually spend about 8 to 10 hours a day playing poker online and making my live tournaments when i can!!! i am also an advid bowler! trying to take either poker or bowling professional! it takes alot of work and determination to achieve goals in these atmospheres!!!! but i never take a loss as a reason to stop playing!!!

I learned through my Dad, bad as he is, lol. He's 85 and still trying to play, but my fav memories are learning to fish (no real lake fishing with a rod and reel, lol) and playing poker into the wee hours of the morning. Best Father and Daughter times are playing poker, especially when I know there won't be many more.

I learned by playing online at BetZip.net, reading and doing lots of reading, I now play offline as much as online. world poker tour has lots of free games in several US states. just search for world tavern poker and join for free.

learned to play with friends, started with the cheapies that suck at $5 tourny's. Then i moved up to the $20 buy in ring-game. Now i play solely online free-rolls and sometimes micro limits.

Ive been playin poker for about 3 years and i basically just picked it up through playing a lot, and watching pros do their thing on tv

i learned on my own to start, played in a few home games, then read a book by schulman. i adjusted my game a bit and did well online at bodog then family and work obligations put a stop to that. i like bigger money games over freerolls and penny tables because i think people actually play poker when more money is involved.

I learned to play poker online. I started watching poker on tv also.

I learned play poker at pacific... there I lost the most of my money.... second place is noble... and third, cd...
Now I'm broke... and I'm trying to play some beautiful hands at bodog...)

I began just playing for free with friends. I think it's the best way to learn, because you can't lose any money playing for free-haha. I know a few people who try to learn playing online for money, but that's a risky way to learn since you can lose a bunch of money in the process.

I learnt to play at school.

6 of my freinds would always bring £3 and play poker, winner takes all.
They told me the rules and i started playin.
Lost 3 days in a row.
Then won 2 days in a row.
Started playng online for play money done quite well.
Then made a $100 deposit to full tilt and made about $350 of that.

Ive never played in brick and mortar, but soon the uk are getting a few super casinos, i cant wait ill be there all the time!

I have 3 brothers and 2 sisters. We all learned when we were young playing on summer vacation. We called it set up the dummies, playing for anything from seashells, pretzels to pennies.
It was really brutal, the loser mostly having to clean up the kitchen by them self.
Ya learned to win from a early age, as we didn't have running water in the cabin. There was a hand pump outside, and a stove to heat the water.

I started playing 3 years back with my friends playing small 2 dollar tournements. now me and my same friends play up to 50 dollar tournements. of course we also play with other ppl too because it would get too boring playing with always the same ppl.

A chat friend invited me to watch her on pokerstars (play money), I didn't even know the rules. I liked it and immediately downloaded the Sam Braid's book "Intelligent guide to Texas holdem". Read the book and started on play money tables...

I was raised playing. My family would always play at gatherings and stuff, that was never too competitive. Then in high school started holding events to take all my friends lunch money. now just mostly online. Always still learning tho.

i learned when i was about 6 yrs old,playing with my family and since have improved playing in weekly tourneys at a friends and twice a month trips to A.C. i just love to play and do it all i can except when i m here.
gl all and see you at the tables.

I guess I learned watching TV. My dad was always big into poker and gambling but I wasn't really interested.

Then I started watching the WSOP and WPT with him and loved it.

I was in Tenn. a few years ago at my mother in laws. She and a few of her friends played a few nights a week and i would sit and watch as they played. I sat there sometimes for up to 16 hours watching and i learned alot. My mother in law is pretty good. Since then i have played online and around the area

I got interested watching TV...the Moneymaker WSOP in particular. After that, I joined Party Poker and started playing in tourneys. I realized quickly that people playing for infinite play chips play stupid, so the tourneys were the way to go. I've recently moved to Full Tilt, since there are actual freerolls and the opportunity to win actual cash and seats into other tourneys. Makes things a lot more interesting. My hope is that I'll be able to deposit soon (yes, I'm an unlucky American resident) and start playing the little bitty cash tables.
If anyone has any advice, feel free to give it.

ilearned to play online at pokerstars and then live with my son

I have played a little bit from the time I can remember. Although early on, I really didn't like Poker. I took a liking to it and got serious about learning to play at my parents house about 4 years ago.

Every New Years Eve, to welcome in the NY, the family gets together a 5-10-25cent game. Beginners luck the first year with a lot of good cards left me up about $8.00.

Nobody at the table gets hurt too bad keeping it at such low bids. I got serious about learning to play about 9 months ago when a friend turned me onto the freerolls at Bodog. So I guess in total poker playing time, I'm a real noob. But, I come from a strong math background, with a passion for statistics, which helps.

tv for me too !!

late night poker on ch4

TV! i have started to play in 2004, when ESPN had started to make poker broadcasts.