Is it too late to start playing? Is age relevant?

Hello everyone. I started playing last year and since i believe i have grown much. I am no longer a fish , I've become a smaller fish .
Honestly a like playing so much that i would put in the hours to make an additional income from poker. The problem is that all the information is scattered and it's difficult to put everything into a proper order. The problems is: is it too late to try to become a serious player? How long does it usually take to become a profitable player?
Thanks in advance for your replies and advises.

I don't think there's an age where you can no longer learn the game. I have the same discussion about languages all the time with people - I believe you can become fluent (maybe with an accent) even at a high age and I've kept on learning languages just to prove a point.

And same with piano playing and other things - where there's a will there's a way.

One thing that I do find hard (compared to when I was young) is multi-tabling. I think that may become harder at a more advanced ago.

I started poker around 10 years ago close to becoming 40 and took about a year or two to become a winning player. Now I've stopped for about 5 years and recently started again - only to discover that I'm a losing player again and that multi-tabling is not advisable for me right now. So I would need to practice again hard to get back to where I was.

I also notice that there's a distinct increase in the level that the game is played out now as compared to 10 years ago....

Good luck at the tables!

Definately it's not too late to become a serious poker player, but you should not only play because you wanna earn extra income. Play because you like the game. I used to play only for extra income, but seems like it got me bad luck and these days i only play because i like it. Have to manage your bankroll properly tho. And yeah, if you are starting player or havent played for a while just stick with 1 table, because multitasking is hard tho, have to focus everything. But yeah, never too late to do what you like and good luck at the tables.

I don't think age is relevant unless you are starting to have health issues that could affect your playing. There isn't a clear answer about how long it will take to be profitable. There are too many factors to consider. I think as long as you learn from your experiences and you have passion for the game, you should play at stakes that aren't a threat to your finances. As for putting things in "a proper order", you should get a group of friends who are also interested in playing and try to play consistently. After each hand, talk about the details of the hands. This is what helped me become a better player. Then, when you aren't playing, you can read and/or watch videos. Just be careful with videos because a lot of times they will show only "interesting" hands and that can distort reality. You need to watch videos that show all of the hands played during a specific time frame.

I don't think there is an age limit when it comes to playing or learning poker:0) I do think the older the better well not to old:0) but with age comes knowledge:0) good luck out there

Danu88 said:

Hello everyone. I started playing last year and since i believe i have grown much. I am no longer a fish , I've become a smaller fish .
Honestly a like playing so much that i would put in the hours to make an additional income from poker. The problem is that all the information is scattered and it's difficult to put everything into a proper order. The problems is: is it too late to try to become a serious player? How long does it usually take to become a profitable player?
Thanks in advance for your replies and advises.

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The best thing about poker is that you can start at any age and if you are serious about it, you can also make some cash along the way.

I would recommend you to to download some Poker Training Apps such as "Poker Fighter" (for cash games). It's fun and will also help you improve your game :icon_king

Most people covered the topics I was thinking about as I read the post, and I agree with most of the ideas expressed; not least that age needn't be a limiting factors in itself.

Like yourself, I'm getting on in years and I only restarted playing poker again in the last 3 months. Tbh, I don't have the energy that I did 10 years ago when I quit. But I bring different things to my game today. Patience, discipline and not least a notion that a bad beat today or a losing session is just another day, and nor do I get too carried away when I beat a big field in an MTT (but I do so enjoy the victory). It's just another day 5 minutes later.

As for organising your learning process, you probably already have a good outline of the issue regarding the game of poker such as hand strength, position, flop texture, pot odd, EV and so on. Every time I play, I concentrate on one issue. Then I find interesting hands and analyse the at a latter date. I keep a journal.

I also find forums, twitch and other poker resources a great learning source and just plain enjoyable. As someone mentioned, poker can be enjoyed just as a game in itself.

In short, yes age affects your game but like all situations work on your weaknesses and play to your strengths. Whatever one's age, you have to be able to reflect on your skills and probably develop new skills. Age is not a barrier to developing skills. It might take more time to learn new skills but use your life experiences and turn the situation to your favour. Poker is so enjoyable because the game evolves and new variants are always emerging.

Life affects your poker, poker affects your life.

How old are you?

Danu88 said:

Hello everyone. I started playing last year and since i believe i have grown much. I am no longer a fish , I've become a smaller fish .
Honestly a like playing so much that i would put in the hours to make an additional income from poker. The problem is that all the information is scattered and it's difficult to put everything into a proper order. The problems is: is it too late to try to become a serious player? How long does it usually take to become a profitable player?
Thanks in advance for your replies and advises.

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Good for you! Picking up poker is good at any age. You play live or online? You'll get tons of respect playing live if you just nit it up for the first few levels, then open your range and bet big when you connect. Players will fold top pair when the 3 flush or straight comes in. If the board is high, bet it! No matter what you're holding, you'll have equity based on your reputation. Go out and play!!!

Debi said:

How old are you?

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I am 31 yrs old.

rocketbox said:

Good for you! Picking up poker is good at any age. You play live or online? You'll get tons of respect playing live if you just nit it up for the first few levels, then open your range and bet big when you connect. Players will fold top pair when the 3 flush or straight comes in. If the board is high, bet it! No matter what you're holding, you'll have equity based on your reputation. Go out and play!!!

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I am an online poker player. Besides the casual meet up with friends, I never played live poker. I get way to nervous. I would be an open book even to the unexperienced players. I play because i enjoy this game very much but my emotions seem to be sometimes a setback.

I don't feel age matters. I know a 14 year old that plays in our home game and he has several 1st place finishes! He hasn't got to the point of being consistent but he is getting there quick. We also have a couple of people in their late 50's that just started and I must say they are quick learners!

I don't think age is important either. I used to run a home game with age ranged from 20 to 80. Both of those players were always were among the top 5 players by the end of the league year.

As far as learning and becoming good at the game, it is far more important to put in the disciplined effort to improve, and open minded approach to fixing leaks in your game.

Danu88 said:

I am 31 yrs old.

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31 you've got loads of years of playing in you. As to how long to become profitable that's down to how much you put into developing your game. At the other end of the scale my kids are learning to play obviously not for money or online. They are 10 and 8 and wanted to learn to play meat home. My 10 year old is currently reading Harrington on hold'em if they keep picking things up at the rate their going they'll be beating me in the blink of an eye. God help the poker world when they turn 18 lol.

Danu88 said:

I am 31 yrs old.

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Unfortunately, it's too late for you.

You must start by the age of five by learning all starting hands by position along with out's percentages for every possible combination. As the child learns the basics of addition and subtraction, pre-flop raising and bet sizing for all blind levels should be memorized with the winning percentages for every pocket pair and non-suited hole cards. Once a proficiency in these areas is demonstrated, he will then be taught positional strategy, continuation betting, bluffing, semi-bluffing, heads-up strategy, bankroll management and table image.

Sorry that someone was not there during the critical moments of your youth to teach you these valuable skills to become a winning poker player.

haha hope we're talking about poker here... if so its never too late...

haha i love this Question i could be so naughty with replying to stuff like this but i value eventually getting to play the password tournaments... Tammy am i close?

Danu88 said:

I am 31 yrs old.

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lol,,,you have plenty of time.Poker is easy,,,,it's people that make is difficult. Play,learn,read,watch,,,play more,learn.

Age really isn't a factor in becoming good at poker. It's more about how much time and effort you're willing to commit to get better at it. It's a mental game as well as a strategy game so you have to learn to play the game, learn to take care of your mental game, and then you might become profitable.

Hello it is never too late if you are passionate about poker and you dedicate yourself to study and learn every day the results came .... Go ahead

Never too late

That was funny, now a smaller fish.

I think the same for me

I started at 50.

It's never too late.

I like the challenge in the game and the opportunity to try and learn and master a new game.

Keeps the mind young

Best to you

Age is not a factor/problem in poker
Just try to read books watch video's to improve your game
use bankroll BRM aswell and try to grind it up
Never to old to learn and to play poker
GL in your grind

Danu88 said:

Hello everyone. I started playing last year and since i believe i have grown much. I am no longer a fish , I've become a smaller fish .
Honestly a like playing so much that i would put in the hours to make an additional income from poker. The problem is that all the information is scattered and it's difficult to put everything into a proper order. The problems is: is it too late to try to become a serious player? How long does it usually take to become a profitable player?
Thanks in advance for your replies and advises.

Click to expand...

Short answer is no it's never to late to learn and grow in any endeavor. As long as you can retain information well and have the time to study you can up your game in not a lot of time. Especially with the tons and tons of training sites, tutorials, videos, the list goes on and on of places to gather poker knowledge. If you have the money i'd invest in a good poker training website that puts all the information right there for you to learn. Some good players that have sites are Doug Polk, Alec Torelli, and Daniel Negreanu, And believe me there are a lot more. My advice go for it!! you only have one life so chase your dreams.

I do not think age should matter. Many people are not in a financial position to give poker a serious try at a young age due to responsibilities.

I would say i would not risk my life savings. If a 20 yr old risked their life savings, they have plenty of years to make it up. At an advanced age, if you buzz through all your retirement money, you may be looking at a bleak retirement.

at 31: enjoy! and make as much $ from poker as you want
at 81: doubtful if you stil have the capacity to learn

poker player

ofcourse you can play poker at any age you just need a lot of practice and experience with the proper information. Read over the forum and you can find great tips here on how to start your bankroll and how to learn poker from the basics.

In my opinion, first you should focus on learning which hands are more powerfull than other preflop and then start playing with the probabilities you have of obtaining the hand you want.

After you know the basics give it a try at some of the freerolls offered where you wont spend your money and get a chance to play real poker and see how you are doing.