What to Teach My 14 y/o Son

I would start with responsible gaming, because we all know that if not kept in check, we can blow a lot of money playing this game and that can and does become a problem very fast.

BR management with patience.

AshK44 said:

I would say teaching him from your own experience would be a good start. Playing the free rolls and with play money but having you spend some time beside him explaining things, pointing out things and answering any questions he may have while playing. This would allow you to observe his strengths and weaknesses all while getting some quality father son time. I wish him good luck [emoji6]

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Great feedback! I'll make it a priority to sit with him and talk through hands/scenarios with him, both in real time and review. Thanks!

Fastone2 said:

Make sure he learns other marketing skills, too...

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Marketing skills?

The suggestions below serve to start or guide your study, but they are not a complete list of the instructions the children need in my opinion

Respect authority. Learning to respect the Lord's absolute authority is of paramount importance for the eternal salvation of children (Matthew 28: 18-20; 2 Thessalonians 1: 7-9). But this lesson begins before the child develops the capacity to understand the idea of a spiritual and invisible Being. When the child learns to respect the authority of the mother and the earthly father, it takes an important step toward submission to God. If you do not respect the visible father, how will the heavenly Father obey? The principle of respect must encompass other authority figures - teachers at school, supervisors in the service, government officials, and spiritual guides (see Romans 13: 1-7, 1 Peter 2: 13,18, 3: 1, Hebrews 13: 17).

gogadgetdx said:

He has shown an interest in playing poker (whether by observing me or his high school buddies I don't know), and I figure I may as well give him a head start - no doubt some or many of these kids he'll play with are basically dead money.

The question is: what should I teach him first? Where should I start?

Obviously, assume that the moral implications of whether I should encourage him or not in the first place are non-starters. If you really can't overcome the moral dilemma of the question, please share when and how you first learned to play.

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The first thing you should do is see if there are live poker leagues in your area and take him there to get his feet wet. He needs to learn how to read people. This is crucial. A LOT of people in my poker league have brought their kids to play. Before you do that, make sure you teach him what the good, trash, and trouble hands are. Teach him what cards to play in what position.

Also teach you're son about bankroll management. If he can understand this, he will understand how to run a business as for as managing capital.

Teach him to use his poker winnings to become an entrepreneur (starting a business) and invest in something (real estate, stocks, etc) that is going to bring in income. Teach him about taxes on gambling. The U.S. Federal takes 42% of gambling winnings. Vegas doesn't have income tax.

Also teach him that aside from blackjack and Poker, playing any other type of casino game is a suckers bet. Make sure he understands the discipline.

I'm currently teaching my 15 year old cousin how to play. I want to make sure that she can make her own money, without having to depend on someone. I'm teaching her bankroll management, when she should pay herself, how much to save and spend after paying herself. All the stuff I've mentioned above is what I'm doing.

keokeokk said:

The suggestions below serve to start or guide your study, but they are not a complete list of the instructions the children need in my opinion

Respect authority. Learning to respect the Lord's absolute authority is of paramount importance for the eternal salvation of children (Matthew 28: 18-20; 2 Thessalonians 1: 7-9). But this lesson begins before the child develops the capacity to understand the idea of a spiritual and invisible Being. When the child learns to respect the authority of the mother and the earthly father, it takes an important step toward submission to God. If you do not respect the visible father, how will the heavenly Father obey? The principle of respect must encompass other authority figures - teachers at school, supervisors in the service, government officials, and spiritual guides (see Romans 13: 1-7, 1 Peter 2: 13,18, 3: 1, Hebrews 13: 17).

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LOL - gtfoh, you crazy wackadoo:aetsch:

Pharaoh39 said:

The first thing you should do is see if there are live poker leagues in your area and take him there to get his feet wet. He needs to learn how to read people. This is crucial. A LOT of people in my poker league have brought their kids to play. Before you do that, make sure you teach him what the good, trash, and trouble hands are. Teach him what cards to play in what position.

Also teach you're son about bankroll management. If he can understand this, he will understand how to run a business as for as managing capital.

Also teach him that aside from Blackjack and Poker, playing any other type of casino game is a suckers bet. Make sure he understands the discipline.

I'm currently teaching my 15 year old cousin how to play. I want to make sure that she can make her own money, without having to depend on someone. I'm teaching her bankroll management, when she should pay herself, how much to save and spend after paying herself.

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Great ideas! Thanks for sharing! Good luck on teaching your cousin, too!

Smokewood said:

Screw that...

Teach him how to nail the hottest chick in school.

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If his son is successful making money, he won't have to chase at all. The women will chase him.


I'll leave you this quote. Some game was dropped.

gogadgetdx said:

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing! Good luck on teaching your cousin, too!

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Appreciate it man. Glad I could help.

Oh! Almost forgot. Not sure if you done it already, but set your son up with his own savings/checking account. Of course legally he can't play on sites until he is 21, but since they don't ask for ID when he signs up it's cool. This way when he's of age, he can withdraw what he made over the years.

gogadgetdx said:

Great feedback! I'll make it a priority to sit with him and talk through hands/scenarios with him, both in real time and review. Thanks!

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No problem. Glad you found it useful I think it’s very nice that you want to do that for him. I wish both of you lots of luck and him some beginners luck [emoji4]

if a young person expressed a desire at such a young age to poker then I think he should start with literature and movies and just watching a lot of videos about poker and he to 25 years will become a Pro in this business

Pharaoh39 said:

Appreciate it man. Glad I could help.

Oh! Almost forgot. Not sure if you done it already, but set your son up with his own savings/checking account. Of course legally he can't play on sites until he is 21, but since they don't ask for ID when he signs up it's cool. This way when he's of age, he can withdraw what he made over the years.

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The accounts advice is good but not the poker site.
When you sign up to any poker site, you have to be legal age or 21, that is also stated in the TOS(terms of service) you agree to when signing up.
If he went to withdraw funds for the first time, they would ask him to verify his account, find out when he signed up and immediately freeze the account and funds.

Just start watching together the pokerstars school! . I loved watching those clips on Youtube. When you are done with that, just play with play money and let him get experience!

If possible I would recommend to hold off on the gamble aspect side of the game until your son reaches the age of 18. I used to have home games and would not let him play until he turned 18. He had a passion for poker and all other card games. He drove me crazy wanting to play heads up holdem for fun against me. When he turned 18 we started going to the Indian Casino together to play poker. It was about an hour drive and on the way home we would talk about the hands. He had to bring earned money if he lost he was on the rail until I was ready to go home. If he went broke that session, I would not loan him any money to gamble. The biggest thing I taught him was to only bring to the game what you can afford to lose and set a max lose limit for the session. I also taught him how and when to get up from a game winners.

shinedown.45 said:

The accounts advice is good but not the poker site.
When you sign up to any poker site, you have to be legal age or 21, that is also stated in the TOS(terms of service) you agree to when signing up.
If he went to withdraw funds for the first time, they would ask him to verify his account, find out when he signed up and immediately freeze the account and funds.

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You're right. Maybe his dad can open another account and then give it to his son.

Slider23 said:

If possible I would recommend to hold off on the gamble aspect side of the game until your son reaches the age of 18. I used to have home games and would not let him play until he turned 18. He had a passion for poker and all other card games. He drove me crazy wanting to play heads up holdem for fun against me. When he turned 18 we started going to the Indian Casino together to play poker. It was about an hour drive and on the way home we would talk about the hands. He had to bring earned money if he lost he was on the rail until I was ready to go home. If he went broke that session, I would not loan him any money to gamble. The biggest thing I taught him was to only bring to the game what you can afford to lose and set a max lose limit for the session. I also taught him how and when to get up from a game winners.

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How was your son gambling in a Casino at 18?

In California the age limit at the Indian Reservation Casino was 18.

Pharaoh39 said:

How was your son gambling in a Casino at 18?

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Most Indian casinos are 18 and up. Winstar in about an hour from me and it is 18+ as well.

When my 2 sons took an interest in poker,i let them first watch me play beside me online and i would explain each move i made and why i made it,,,then we played for pennies at the dinner table at times.Some of the best bonding moments between my sons and i.:damnmate:

Smokewood said:

Most Indian Casinos are 18 and up. Winstar in about an hour from me and it is 18+ as well.

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Slider23 said:

In California the age limit at the Indian Reservation Casino was 18.

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Well I might have to take my cousin to these when she turns 18.

Great Bonding!

Slider23 said:

If possible I would recommend to hold off on the gamble aspect side of the game until your son reaches the age of 18. I used to have home games and would not let him play until he turned 18. He had a passion for poker and all other card games. He drove me crazy wanting to play heads up holdem for fun against me. When he turned 18 we started going to the Indian Casino together to play poker. It was about an hour drive and on the way home we would talk about the hands. He had to bring earned money if he lost he was on the rail until I was ready to go home. If he went broke that session, I would not loan him any money to gamble. The biggest thing I taught him was to only bring to the game what you can afford to lose and set a max lose limit for the session. I also taught him how and when to get up from a game winners.

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This sounds like a great bonding time, full of lessons (both poker and life); well done, sir! :-D

Wouldn't teaching a 13/14 year old 5 card stud FIRST be the way to go, rather than jumping straight into Texas Hold'em?

.. gotta son myself so might have this issue too in 6 years or so haha

Fundamentals

Just like teaching physical sports you want to begin with the fundamentals of poker. His best opportunity to learn is to ask questions. Watch hands being played and explaining to him the play. There are some great vloggers who actually talk their play out. Good Luck.

So which path have you chosen to teach your son?