I already posted above about 'how I learned'... but how I got started is a bit different from that (after reading alot of responses about how members first got started).
I began playing poker at ~ 4 or 5yrs. of age. I was the youngest of 5, & had a natural gift for Math & stuff like 'chess'. My entire family would play poker fairly often, ie. always after Sunday dinners, while visiting my great grandmother (yah, she'd play too,.. right up til 90+yrs. of age), etc. I was also very competitive (partially due to being the youngest of 5).
By the age of 10 a group of friends were playing regularly. We'd play mostly Stud (& variations of it) but also stuff like stooker & guts, etc. Age 12-15 we'd often play alot (at least a couple/few times per week).
I quit playing by around age 21 -22, took a fair-sized loss late on a NewYear's Eve, losing ~$5,000 in about 20mins. hu stud.
I didn't play again until just a few years ago (20+ yrs. later).
I got started up again one night when watching my partner play 'Pogo'. She said I might want to check out some of the games on there. I didn't think I'd be interested because I don't play or like video games. She said, "Well, there's 'hearts', 'chess', & other card games on here too." I asked, "What about poker? Do they have poker?" She said, "Yes, but what a dumb game, who'd ever want to play that?"
I gave it a shot and won a ton of tokens for her, more than she'd ever won in the games she'd been playing on there. As I racked up more & more tokens, it sparked her interest.. "you mean there's more than just dumb luck to this game?"
That was the start of it, lol.
Watching a bit of poker on tv, seeing ALOT of ads. for a few of the sites... I decided I'd make a couple of deposits & check it out but promised myself I'd never play anything above $1.
First game I played was at 10:30pm PT, $1 mtt, 'The Ferguson'. There were around 900 entrants in it. Around 5 1/2 hrs. later I was headsup on the final table, got it in with AJ < KT, took 2nd and was a bit bummed because I thought I won nothing... that was until the little window popped up and said I'd just won $114.00... too ez. I'm in!!!
Woke the girlfriend up, (actually had woken her up on the couch at every break, telling her, "Im still in this!".. not sure if she heard me or not, lol), and told her, "Hey, I took 2nd place & just won $114.00!!". She was playing the very next day, lol.
Started playing micros, but mixed it up a bunch, playing all sorts of different stuff (not what I'd recommed doing at all btw). Then discovered some private
freerolls/forums and on some days/weeks I'd go into freeroll mania and just play a TON of them.. other days/weeks it'd be the micros, $1 sng, $2 18plyr. $3 tourney, $10 tourney, etc. I did a TON of reading and managed to stay as a marginally winning player. After a bit I was a marginally 'losing' player.. but with the freeroll cashes thrown in my banrkoll always stayed ahead of how much I'd deposited.
My freeroll mania pretty much shut down after taking 1st place in two railnerd freerolls on the very same day (June'08), one on Fulltilt & the other on Stars.
After that... more reading, more books, poker training vids., etc. I got more hooked on reading up on & studying the game then actually playing it... probably spending 60%+ of my time on studying/reviewing, railing & talking to others and 40%- playing poker.
THen (yah.... this story is getting long.. but honestly this is the short version of it, lol)... I got into playing one format at a time... ie. I'd decided it'd be Fullring Cash tables for awhile & played a bunch on Doyles (also throwing in the odd tourney... & occassionally some freeroll mania). Then it was 6max... read more about that, read/study Ryan Fees 6max Strategy Guide, etc. Didn't get into that for too long as I still preferred MTT's.
Then it was 9plyr. SNG, studied that a bunch, more reading, joined forums where sng players hung out, study, study, study, play a bunch & study some more.
Got bored with that so it was back to MTT's.... 'wash, rinse, repeat'.
That kinda sums it up (in the short version form, lol).