Why/how did we start playing poker?

I'm curious why and how everyone started playing poker or why you funded your real money account? The reason I started playing poker was that I was trading stocks with play money and doing quite well over about 2 years. I made a few real money trades but I didn't have enough money to really do anything. I felt that playing poker might give me more insight into speculation. So, I started playing with play money on Bodog. I almost only played sit-n-gos. Eventually I started to win them at a good rate.

Well, I had an account on pokerstars and got a $5 free. I won my first sit-n-go on stars. But, I learned I couldn't read the board because over 100k hands I had used bodogs helper ability to tell me what I had. I blew it out pretty quick in ring games though.

So, I was telling people I knew that I could win at this and they were like what are you winning? Play money?

So I felt I had enough evidence from my winning sit-n-go track record to fund my account with $25. My purpose was not to make money but just to prove I was a better player.

The problem was that I didn't feel confident enough to enter the sit-n-gos and trying to beat out all those players with only $25. So I started playing in ring games.

So then I reloaded with $25 and stayed about break even or a little less. I felt just by playing good my bankroll would grow but I was always varying my stakes. What eventually did me in was a bad run of luck combined with testing out some new strategies..

Now my goal is not to prove I'm a better player but to grow my bankroll!

I was 15 and saw a commercial for Paradise Poker on tv. I thought it looked cool so I started playing, and really got into it.

I saw commercials for an upcoming series called "The World Poker Tour" and openly mocked the absurd concept of televised poker to my wife.

Then I watched it to see how stupid I was.

Then I got hooked and watched every episode I could.

Then I wanted to do what I saw them do on TV.

The commercials there got me playing for play money online.

I did well with play money, so I deposited. I blew my first $25, but deposited $50 and have been playing with that ever since, moving from $2NL to $50NL.

I was 17, and bored at uni (i got moved up a year as a child so i was in uni 4-months before my 18th, didnt stop me going out though as theyre shit on ID up in Newcastle). Anyway i stumbled upone Pokertube and started watching some videos. I got really into it. I deposited my first $50, blew that over 3 months on FT. Actually bought some books, learnt something about poker, joined CC, then deposited another $50 on PS. Since then ive made about $100 ontop of my deposit, played live games at a casino and much more. Still loving it, hooked.

I made my first online deposit on FullRigged for $100. I wanted to learn and practice poker, but play money players suck so bad you can't learn anything with them. So the $100 was meant to be lost as I learned....I did lose it, at about the same rate my FullRigged bonus kicked in, so at the end of a few weeks, my bonus was done and I still had about $100 in my account, which meant I technically lost the first $100.

Then I slowly made money playing low stakes rig-n-goes until I was able to make a couple of withdrawals. I also got an account at Jokerstars.


I think the difference between online and real life poker is huge. Online I am a break even player that took two years to make $800. In real life, I make $800 in a decent session at the casino.

I'm not sure what it takes to prove you are a better player online. I can't do it. But I do know what it takes to make money in real life play. And the qualities that make a winning live game player do not always lead to winning online.

Winning online players also tend to make terrible live game players. Not sure why exactly, but everytime I play with some guy wearing a Jokerstars jacket and bragging about making some obscene ammount of money in some online MTT, he always sucks at the live cash game table and stacks off with KJ every chance he gets.

So take heart. Maybe you're better than you think. Lots of break even online players are really good live players.

Played all kinds of poker for fun with family, 5 card draw, stud games, when grandparents would come they'd play too. Anyway, one day my parents decided to get a chip set and try out hold 'em. We learned the rules, played, all sucked, but at least I learned the rules of the game.

Fast forward a few years, 45 minute bus ride to school every morning, one kid who played online poker tried to convince us to play. So we played low stakes with no chips, just a calculator to keep track of who was up/down. I won, thought I must be good, one other kid as well as myself tried online, deposited $50, which was a lot to me, lost it. Repeated this another 2-3 times over like 2 years, realized I sucked, stopped. Played a little more one summer with some better friends, got slightly better. Gave online a shot again, broke even over a period of like 6 months (meaning I was beating the rake). Then I finally built it up a bit, then started to lose it, tilted, lost it all. Deposited one more time, found CC, slowly got better and better, learned about proper BRM (playing 50nl with the $50 deposits, wasn't smart), worked up through 10nl, 25nl, 50nl, and I'm now at 100nl.

Watched 2003 WSOP, started with play money on Pacific Poker. Pretty much screwed around and had fun with it. Last year(right before I turned 18 and could play live) started play chips on FT.

Starting playing live last year(limit, all that was available at the time) and did ok. Last summer, did well for a couple of months playing $2 limit then hit a downswing. Started my freshman year in college, realized I hated where I was at, and played a lot more online(play chips). Won $62 in a freeroll on FT, played SNGs and went down to $20(realized its a lot diff than play chips). Played good and got lucky, ran it up to $250 from SNGs in a month. Kept taking beats and tilting back down to under $50, where I'm at now.

Been playing live 100 NL this summer, started off good making money off idiots. Past month dropped a lot of money on bad beats, bulls***, car tickets, and mistakingly calling some as****** my friends. Now just trying to be able to get rolled enough to play 100 NL, I can beat the game as long as an 80-20 advantage holds up.

well heres my story

one day i was at a friends house and he was playing poker online and had to go use the bathroom and told me to play for him and so i did

i didnt do anything special that day but it attracted me and eventually i started playing online (and through the same friend) found CC and continue to study and learn to avoid sucking so bad

great OP bud.
before I answer, aj, u went to uni in newcastle? know 'buffalo joes' ar, next to the brdige, oposite baja bikinis or something? what a bar that is! I used to work in Newcastle for 3 weeks every year as part of my job, hotel overlooking the bridge, drinks and food expenses, every night in the Bigg Market then down to buffalos, then the tuxedo princess! fun times!
Sorry, back to question: I played cards with friends at youth club from age of 13, 3 card brag and 7 card brag, never poker. Played occaisionly in my 20's then 4 years ago someone said they played online poker, and gave me the link. I signed up to vcpoker first, won a couple of freerolls, realised I liked it, deposited $50, took it up to $700+(took out £300) and kept the rest online. Last year I got a neteller account and just move my money around. If i dip ever on my BR, I force myself to play freerolls as a punishment, that keeps my game at it's best!

The night b4 best friend's wedding, he asked me to put $5 into NLHE tourney, and play w/ him. I had never played one hand of poker, but somehow found my ass sitting on a chair, getting it kicked, and busting out 2nd hand...

Hey, how was I supposed to know I needed 5 of the same suit to make a flush?!

Instantly hooked, spent 7 hrs. online at a different forum reading every thread. Started live $2/4 limit, and w/in first 3 wks, won bad beat jackpot ($5000)... hello BR!

Got out of 2/4 immediately, and cut my teeth on the local $6/12 and 200 max NL. Grinded, moved to 10/20, 20/40, now spending most of my time playing 40/80 and 60/120 live. When I play online, 6max, up to 30.

This freakin game has consumed me! My wife and I are expecting our 1st child in January... looking forward to teaching him/her NOT to push with only 4-to-flush!

Yep, just finished my first year of a 4-year degree there. And ive been to buffalo joes quite a numbe of times on a friaday night en-route to baja. Good times!

I saw it on TV, then I played for fun with some of my friends, then next thing you know I'm playing online on Full Tilt.

and finish it off on the tuxedo princess?
they still got the mechanical bull in joes? and the girls in cowboy outfits dancing on the bar?
whenevr I see the film, coyote ugly I think of joes in newcastle, and of good times.