How did you get into to poker?

[ovitoo]

Was wondering what a "chop" meant and that you said you made the right decision even though everyone else went the other way. Good for you. Were the others upset about you not joining in with everyone else to chop or not chop?

A chop usually happens in large tournaments. It's just when the remaining players agree to divide the remaining prize pool evenly (for the most part) and end the tournament. It's never wise to do this when you have a healthy stack. And yes, I would say most were upset but if you aren't making ppl upset than you aren't winning.

 

[Bowman]

Agreed

Totally agree, I would not want to divide the chips up either. It probably got started because a few players wanted to leave. So they figure if everyone agrees to split up the prizepool, they will lose nothing and gain even though they had to leave.
I definitely would have made the same decision as you. If they wish to leave, they can. Otherwise be prepared to sit there for hours and hours trying to outplay at the poker table.
Thanks for quick reply and clarification.

 

[4thandinches]

A chop usually happens in large tournaments. It's just when the remaining players agree to divide the remaining prize pool evenly (for the most part) and end the tournament. It's never wise to do this when you have a healthy stack. And yes, I would say most were upset but if you aren't making ppl upset than you aren't winning.

Exactly. The people most often begging for a chop are the ones that are short-stacked. I am all for giving the last guy to miss the bubble his money back with a group donation. And I will gladly chop based on chip stack if we are down to 3 or 4 players. But don't let short-stack whiners con you into giving them more than morsels if you do chop. I assure you that very few of those same people would not chop for you if they were the chip leader and you were short-stacked.

 

[NeverEnough]

My gf's uncle actually got me hooked. Started playing home games @ his house & I've been hooked since.

 

[moemtg]

Basically, Television commercials and what not... since then I have been hooked!

 

[doomasiggy]

Started playing with some people at secondary school for chips. Went to uni and joined the club. Lost. A lot. Still enjoyed it. Wanted to get better so signed up to stars and joined the forum.

 

[JDAWG5]

A friend called me up at like 9 or 10 at night. I had just gotten home from a baseball game, and had taken a shower, and was getting ready to fall asleep. He asked me if I wanted to come play poker. I said yes, one of the best decisions I have ever made. Since then I have taken control of the group, organizing the days we play, etc. Then I joined CC about a year ago, and I learned so much about the game.

 

[Dreams of Tragedy]

lunch table in 5th grade, very sad to see my table playing 5 card draw at lunch time

 

[c double]

16 years old, high on drugs, I decided to quit tripping acid and join a local teenage sobriety group. Cigarettes were allowed, even encouraged. So was staying up all night drinking coffee. We played Smoker Poker all hours of the night, it sucked because the biggest fish smoked Camel Wides. We played all kinds of different games, no Holdem or Omaha though. Those werent popular then. We played 3-2 wild, everyone gets 3, and the 2 community cards were wild. Full house would rarely win. There was a game called Hemmorhoido Flare-o. Baseball, a nine card version of 7 card no-peek with wilds. 7-stud, 5-draw. Jacks and after (another wilds game).
We liked wilds. Holdem would have been too boring. Omaha would have got some play though. Eventually we switched to quarters from cigarettes.

Ten years later poker popped up all over the TV. I started playing games with people who worked at a bar I worked at. Played partypoker and bodog and cleaned up pretty well. Cashed out 300-800 a month, then the Partypoker thing happened. Things dried up a lot. A lot of the profit never came back. After a couple years of breaking even I took a long break.

 

[peedee91]

obviously im a moneymaker baby!!

 

[otari]

I started playing in middle school, and ever since i have been HOOKED!!

 

[Hatchy]

I had a nice long post for this but the 10 post limit decided to get me.

I got started thanks to my grandpa teaching me how to play before I was even 7.

 

[Bowman]

Yes I have done that so many times, well use to. Once you hit so many in quality posts you will not have the worries of this anymore as I have found out. So now any new members I tell them to copy their work first then come in here and write away so that way they have a backup in case they reach their limit and they are on an important task.

 

[davem86]

oh gosh I been playing variations of poker games since i was about 8 or 9 with my brother in law and bestfriend. Games like midnight baseball-7 stud-5 card draw and double draw-follow the Queen-and the list can go on and on. Didnt really get introduced to texas holdem til about 2003. been playing ever since. Home/Cash games here and there not too much live play but i am still young and have many hands to bet raise fold or call as the days go on.

 

[solid4]

I been playing poker since birth just about. I was raised in a poker lovers house hold. My father would have poker games every weekend at our house grown ups played for money and all of us kids played for now or later candies..

 

[pokeyourface]

I started playing poker on worldwinner when i was like 8, it was a fun client for play chips, they had lots of poker games. pass the trash and cincinatti n other, u could maje wild card n such. They also had fun sounds like merge has smileys.

 

[wagon596]

I was raised by my Great Grandmother and Great Uncle in the late 1950's. We were poor and didn't have a TV and so my uncle and I would play every Saturday night for toothpicks. Can't say I learned much, other than what beat what. But that was how I started. Not sure how much more I know about the game now. LOL

 

[98Ls1]

I was part of the poker boom. In high school saw it on tv and started playing home games on the weekend.

 

[Raymund2468]

My brother friends regularly played a local card game named (tongits), and my brother friend (harvey) introduced to us no limit texas hold`em in our backyard, and it's history after that. playing every weekends evening after that, until they got married lol.

 

[moemtg]

Basically, Television commercials and what not... since then I have been hooked!

I should also mention unemployment and A LOT of time on my hands... mainly played on Full Tilt since depositing on Stars was a pain in the you know what!

 

[fletchdad]

16 years old, high on drugs, I decided to quit tripping acid and join a local teenage sobriety group. Cigarettes were allowed, even encouraged. So was staying up all night drinking coffee. We played Smoker Poker all hours of the night, it sucked because the biggest fish smoked Camel Wides.
.

My poker story is different. I was sick with a heavy virus that attacked my body pretty heavy, and I was on antibiotics for 3 weeks, and needed another week to get on my feet. So out of boredom and inability to really do much else but watch TV, read or use the internet, I played play money at FT and PKR. (fuked up my chance at RB too,,:-( )
It went from there.

But to you, I was also in a Teen sobriety program, a 12 step program with everything from pot smokers whose parents made them come to heavy addicts. Mine was in Houston Texas, and called PDAP. Did you ever hear of it? It made 60 Minutes and 20/20 in the 80's for fraud from the founder, but was otherwise a great thing for a lot of people.

 

[MadMaddie]

I got started from watching my Mom & Dad playing poker online. I thought it looked dumb until I began playing poker with them on the kitchen table (we mostly played for 'chores' and I ended up cleaning up quite often. No not the game more like the bathroom & kitchen). Now I have just started playing online.

 

[hawkcarter]

I got started about three years ago. My wife was at bingo so i went online to pokerstars and have been hooked ever since. I think it is the best competitive game i have ever played.

 

[offrdmom]

After I retired and moved within 12 miles of 5 casinos with awesome reward system... where points can be used on tons of free offers.. that include tables game free bets or drawing tickets...it was at one of these drawings some of my friends decided... if we had to wait around we had enough to cover a table.. so no outsiders could sit in....it was great we had the best time played for over 3 hr two of my friends were called in the drawing and that just added to the fun... we started doing it pretty much daily didn't take long before we all were hook on the live game action.. Sadly I moved again to a state with no casinos and went from a casino junkies to a online freeroll Ho.....hahahahaha