young players

I have an 8 year old boy who is interested in playing poker but I'm not too willing to teach him just yet.Anyone else out there have young ones who want to play??How do you guys feel about it?

my four year old loves to play cards, i bought him a small chip set that he plays with constantly. i have no problems with this. he's improved on his numbers by doing this. we obviously don't play poker, but we use the chips and a deck to play whatever game comes to his 4 year old mind.

Teach him young! Play with monopoly money.

Thats fun to play any game with your kids but he wants to play Hold em and get a set of chips out which I dont feel he needs to know anything about yet.I do play alot of games with him but I think through school poker has got his attention and he knows I play so he asks me alot to watch me and has good questions about the game for being brand new to it.I just dont want to raise a gambler

Actually, i think it would be a good thing to do with your son. The math skills you could teach him while playing a fun game may help him immensely in the future. I wouldn't worry to much about any negatives associated with poker or "gambling"...... for right now it's a game and could be a valuable learning tool. (ie. probabilites/odds/etc......)


I would not teach him online poker though..... I'm talking about sitting around the table with a deck of cards and some chips, having a family night....not sitting in front of a computer or with a laptop in his lap....

Online is gambling pure and simple but a home game can be just that..... a game.

kids are smart. it's only gambling if money is involved..there's no harm in using chips, it is a way to keep score

I dont think there is any problem with teaching young kids poker. I started playing online when i was just 14. I would play only freerolls and build my br up to about $50, the spend it on ebay about every month.

my boy is a bit young for the concept of poker, but when he is old enough, i fully intend to teach him. i will stress that while there is some gambling involved, poker is a skill game.

excellent post here... Getting out a set of chips and a deck of cards with your little one is no different then bringing out the cribbage board with them. Your helping them learn not only a new game, but also helping with theit mathmatical skills. Not to mention, Starting a new player off that early, letting him have fun while bonding with his parents, can be nothing but benificial.