Where did you learn to play?

I learned to play in 2001 on a trip to las vegas. I was staying at the palms hotel and I started my career playing 2/4 and 4/8 limit. Pacific Poker was the first online poker website that played with. I lost quite a bit of money on that site when I played there.

@Pokerstars ;-)

I learned a hard way, drunk afterhours bar turned poker room. My very first game ever was No Limit Texas Holdem, ten man, $25.00 buy in, winner take all. Got my ass handed to me real quick the first time. But eventually did win.

The good ol days

I started playing with my grandfather and grandmother. My grandfather tought me how and then I just liked it and kept on playing. I sometimes play with friends but most online now a day. I'm not really good but i manage. I'm trying to lern my friends to play and who knows, maybe I learn something in the process.

Downloaded pokerstars a few years ago, and was very happy to find that I could play for play money. Man, I was so excited about my first double up there I immediately left the table like a fish. I won regularly at those aquariums and decided to deposit 50 bucks to see how I'd do. Won my first real money SnG and took it from there. Thank God for play money...

I don't know if there is any players from western South Dakota here but I learned at the Black Hills Poker Tour. BLACK HILLS POKER TOUR I showed up one night just for fun, even though I was there for 15 minutes before getting taken out, those 15 minutes were enough to make want to go back again and again. I've been playing for less than a year but I learn more and more about the game everyday. I play online at ultimate bet I've tried a little real money but am not real comfortable playing with real money so I do free rolls and the play money tournaments until I get more into the game and learn as many aspects of the game as I can.

I learned to play when i was about 14. I played all the time with neighborhood friends. And on the weekends when we had no school we held 10 - 20 man tournaments. I have basically been playing since then and only have gotten serious about poker since last year. A buddy of mine turned 18 and told me about the local casino that he was able to play at. Been playing at that casino and online ever since. I am not as good as i would like to be, however I'm working on getting better and hope to actually turn a profit playing poker, however mediocre it might be.

I learned to play just by playing online. I started with Party Poker and eventually wound up using Full Tilt. Experience is the best thing.

Fall of 2004 started Online. I'd leave a link to my poker story. But, a little birdie (wink wink) told me that it's just not right to post a link to another forum.

on a poker site called THE SCORE just played for play chips and points, no real money was involed then, but now i been playing real money for a couple years now. enjoy the tournaments more than the ring tables

i lerned to play on play money on pokerstars, but i realy lerend HOW to play with my friends..after they blufed me like a duck..

I learnt the rules of texas holdem by watching poker on t.v.
The one which is harder for me to play is 7Stud Hi/Lo, i still can't imagine what's the best starting hand for it.
Anyway, i learnt Razz, Omaha and 7Stud by playing online, and then discovered the tuff HORSE. I would say that i didn't understand yet some pokers like Badugi which keep on being a mystery for me.
I know there are some i didn't try yet, but as i mostly play online i wait for a room to offer new poker to play.

wow i remember like it was yesterday... my dad taught me how to play 5 card poker at a casino food court table in vegas when i was 5 years old.... and thats basically when it all started lol

My gosh it's been so many years ago I can hasrdly remember. I believe between my Dad and my Uncle John, those two taught me the most about the game. Now back when they taught me this game, there was no such thing as "hold-em poker" or stuff like that. Most of it was just straight poker or jacks or better and of course "21". That had to be back in the mid-50's to late 50's. Too many years ago to really remember.

I learned playing freerolls at UltimateBet.com and Poker Stars now I play the badbeat tables when the jackpots are right.

I know theres not an official CardsChat IRC but are there any big ones that you guys use? I think that would help my game alot having live discussions with people.

That's quite early. My neighbors don't play poker and my friends thinks I'm to good so they don't want to play with me netiher. So mostly know it's internet. Used to play with my grandparents but they're to old now so... I want to go to vegas but i think you got to be 21 years. That sucks...

I learned to play about 5 years ago with some friends, they weren't very good, once i won a 20 person tournament, i got really into it and then i got good

At the beginning I played poker with my friends and now I like to play online too.Mainly I play at the micro-limit tables or Sit&Go´s.
Another very useful page is IntelliPoker where i learned a lot.
Sometimes I also play little tourneys.

Learned to play 7 stud in Boy Scouts, being playing ever since. Started playing holdem after watching it on TV

i learned to play on an online poker TV show called Poker Night Live in UK - was fantastic, had pro's presenting and special guests too- remember sitting in 0.50C/$1 with Dave 'Devilfish' Ulliot once upon a time- he didnt know how to use the bet bar to raise on the Microgaming Network and raised preflop for $96 with A3 by accident, eventually losing all of the show's Christmas party poker bankroll- funny times

My mate Mark plays at Stan James quite a lot. Haven't heard of Poker Night Live, is it still running, which channel is/was it on

PNL was on sky 843 in the UK, its not on anymore- went bust last year. bit of a shame. Think it had a lot to do with Rupert Murdoch who owns sky. and he launched his own poker channel- Sky poker on 846. and its absolutely crap if youve seen it lol

Oh yeah, bit of a coincidence that! Typical Murdoch.

For learning poker, freeroll tournaments has came out as very beneficial for me and I have learn from freeroll that how to play poker.

I think the best lessons are just the PLAYING ones, but the darrington's book is excelent.

Originally, some of the guys in highschool would have a weekly game, I was invited to play but found it all a bit too confusing with a different game being played every hand "dealers choice". 30 years later I found No Limit Texas Hold 'Em and fell in love with the game. Free League poker at local bars and pubs was how I have honed my game without the costs of casino buy-ins. I play with other washington poker players in a free poker league, the No Fee Texas Holdem Amateur Poker League in Washington State which is a Global Poker Federation sanctioned league. www.nofeetexasholdem.com

I learned to play in grad school (when I first started dating AG ). We played all sorts of games, and I think the ante was a nickel! I used the change to pay tolls for a year!
I started playing hold'em about a year ago, but I started seriously paying attention in the last 3-4 months.

Started on PartyPoker using playmoney in 2002 then signed up with FTP ,Absolute Poker,STARS and Ultimatebet.
Now I just play on Stars and FullTilt

I learned poker with my fam and friends, along with lots of other card games, mostly Pinochle, Euchre and 500. The main thing I learned is there's always more than just the obvious way to win. As far as poker, this usually serves me well, but sometimes gets me in trouble, too.

I started playing hold em at a friend's $25 buy in tourney 4 years ago. From there, played at some free tourneys. My first online venture was a few months later at a $5 MTT at PokerRoom. I won $160 and was pretty much hooked from there.

i decided to learn to play poker after robert varkoyni {spelling, yea i know it sucks} won the main event
i said to myself, if he could win 2 million playing poker, it must be easy {obv i have low respect for robert }
i was wrong btw

I learned to play in a buddies basement when i was in highschool with a bunch of old dirty men lol... they took so much money from me im surprised i could stll afford the gas to get there but man did i love it

I learned to play with friends initially, but then the whole poker storm took over online and i moved over to playing at pokerstars, watched tv poker a bit, but mostly played with the play money sit and go's. got rid of my rookie jitters while i was still playing for play money =) and now i have moved on to playing a lot of heads up sit and go's.

Allthough i do remember playing a lot of poker as a kid on the hand held video games while riding in the back seat of the car!

I learned Poker basics from my Dad when I was probably 7-8 years old. We played around the house (dealers choice) a lot. I progressed to playing penny ante, then nickel dime quarter with friends after work.

When the Texas Holdem' boom came along I watched some on TV and then got my first account at Mansion Poker.

Great Game!

Well I played with my dad as a kid, but it wasn't until I was grown that I learned texas hold em and razz, my two favorites. I've even started teaching my self omaha. I prefer hi/lo and I've actually placed itm in a couple of the sitngos I've played!