Where / How did you learn to play Poker?

[Full House]

I learnt to play Poker from a mixture of eBooks and Online tutorials.

I find the best way to learn something new is to actually get playing it - even if it only for Fun Money.

You can be the best hand player in the world, but you also need a bit of courage to Bluff those tricky hands.

[enigma]

I first learned how to play poker after trying to understand how the hell the people on tv make hands using the flop, turn, and river cards...

it was only until I learned how it works with my friends did I truly understand texas hold'em...

other poker games are still a bit blurred to me...

[Velvet Umbrella]

My family plays a lot of poker, so every time Thanksgiving comes around or any holiday or family get together there is sure to be a poker game going on. So I just grew up with it.

[Pimpin]

I learned to play poker seriously through a friend of mine who was a dealer at a Casino. When his shift ended @ 4:00 AM, him and his co-workers would start a game that usually lasted until about noon. I first played poker with my cousin as a child, but this is where i really learned the intracacies and the art of Texas Holdem.

[Full House]

It is always interesting to see how people were introduced to the art of Poker, as it appears to be so popular nowadays.

I was introduced to Poker through a work colleague, and it has been an education reading various eBooks and Online tutorials.

It is amazing to see the variety of strategies which people use, some work better than others!!!

[Avian]

I think that the best way to learn is to just play. You can get some good strategies from television and eBooks, but the only way to understand your own weaknesses is to just go out and play a few hands.

[impy3]

I learned from my family also. Every one in my family that I can think of does know how to play cards. I started playing poker before I was ten years old. My grandma got me to loving cards around the age of five, yep thats a bit young.

[queenofthetables]

I learned how to play 5 card draw and 7 card stud from my father as he really like to play both games. I learned how to play holdem when my husband and my brother started to play so that I could prove to them that I was just as good at the game if not better then them and without all the math skills.

[metalmaiden55]

I learned to play poker from my father who is a big poker junkie and also from online tutorials and whatnot. When I was younger my dad always told me that if I learned how to beat him in a game he would give me 20 bucks. (haha) which is what motivated me to learn how to play.

[SmokeyFlush]

I learned from my friends and my brother. He is older than me and when I was in middle school he and all his buddies would come over and play at night in our room. After a while of nagging he finally started to show me how to play and eventually I was playing with him and his friends. They never played for money but now I do and Most of my friends are the little brothers of my brothers friends. So we all play poker together now.

[pokerwhiz]

I think that the best way to learn is to just play. You can get some good strategies from television and eBooks, but the only way to understand your own weaknesses is to just go out and play a few hands.

The best answer is yours. Since I'm an "old fart", there was no internet, basically no books on poker to speak of. I started playing at about 13 when friends invited me over for "pennies". I quickly saw (being a math nut)(second only to girls at that age), that this was a game of odds and percentages.

I was hosting my own "home game" in my garage by 14, till I got busted by the other kid's moms for taking all their allowance.

There is no amount of reading or online experience that can prepare you, or teach you, how better to play poker than to get in there and do it. You will make mistakes. Remember them. Don't blame losses on bad luck. While that plays a part of it, 75% of most losses are bad play and mistakes of some kind, also known as "chasing".

I have "propped" in casinos over the years and still learn something every time I play. I started in '59 and still read poker books, and play nearly every day. That is one of the reasons I rarely watch t.v., or listen to music (headsets), or anything else that can distract from me watching players, or a hand unfold.

You have to learn to see EVERYTHING that is going on. You will build a database in your mind of players, their habits in each scenario. Online is great in that it allows notetaking, DO IT!!

A friend of mind never takes notes. Says it's a waste of time. But you should hear how many times he says, "That damn player beats me everytime. I always remember he never bluffs after I've lost the pot...."

Good luck all.

p.s. I think poker on t.v. is entertaining and love to watch it. It is NOTHING like real world poker. What you are seeing is the exciting, drawing out on the river, plays. You are also only seeing final tables in most cases. Don't try and emmulate final table strategy you see on tv in a real game. Enjoy it for what it is.... entertainment

[blf2much]

Oh I learned from my friends, I guess they taught me because they can take my money, haha!
I learn something new every day so I'll never refer to myself as a master.

[kelkat]

My father taught me when I was seven. It was all about the math for him, atleast I think it was. Although "the Gambler" was always his favorite song, so maybe there was more to it than I knew.

Anyway, he use to play with me and my brothers, but never for money (or any other stakes). He just wanted us to determine which was the best hand statistically to go for and why.

[ItsComeToThis]

I learned to play mostly with hands-on experience, but started with just 'fun' games, no money or stakes involved, except title of, 'winner'. I fell on my face many, many times and I still do sometimes. Experience is the best teacher, IMO, but I also read whatever I can and take the information with a grain of salt.