I started as soon as I was old enough to fan out the cards in my hand (it was mostly 5cd draw poker back then)... and even a bit prior to that as my older siblings would occassionally have to help me fan my cards out because my
hands weren't big enough yet. I guess that would've been around 4 yrs. old.
I played a lot as a kid & then into my early teens. My mom would hold games for the neighbours & my friends. She was probably my biggest influence & later my biggest fan! In my early teens we had a couple games going on every week and would typically go busto often.... but there were a few times where I walked away with a sizeable win for that age (I recall coming home late for dinner one evening (a huge no-no at our home!) and not caring about facing the wrath from my father as I had a pocket filled with rolled up bills! ($380 which was HUGE for a 10yr. old back then).
I continued to play thru my teens & into my early twenties. But honestly I really SUCKED (worse than now even) & ended up losing fairly HUGE a few times so I actually quit completely until I discovered
online poker where I made a point of staying committed to being a micro-donk for life!