First hold em

[Tuff Luck]

When was the first time you played hold em and was that the time you realized you liked it so much? Was it a home game with family/friends? Give the info.

As for me I played it with my family a few times just playing with fake money when I was a lot younger, but as I got older, I started playing with friends for only $5 buy-ins, and I started playng every week. Then I experienced online poker playing, and I've been playing with friends/online ever since.

edit: I shouldn't have just said hold em, but it's basically the game that got me into the poker world.

[Defendant]

I used to play Magic the Gathering competitively (kinda like Dave Williams, yay). So one night we get tired of tossing around goblins and stuff so we pick up some chips and play NL HE for fake money for a while. Was a lot of fun, and thats how I got started. After that, occasional homegames, then online play.

Defendant

[robert2504]

I used to play draw poker with family and friends. But it just seemed that there was no strategy. Luck seem to fall on each person every week. So after a year of playing, maybe one or two persons were up about $5. There was maily talking and drinking and since everyone knew it was mainly luck they would all stay in and chat. Once I saw WPT on TV, I decided to switch and now they are paying attention and those that are not, are going home with less money.

[omahilo]

I was watching the 2002 WSOP back in 02 and it looked really sweet, and they did this piece on Rounders... then I watched Rounders, ever since then NL HE has been one of my favorite things to do with friends/online.

[Frontin]

Great thread here... first poker experience was in grade school playing 5 card stud with monopoly money... then as I got older played weekly $5 buy-in dealer's choice, but we've been moving towards NL Hold'em only with Rounders and the WSOP and all that..

Funny thing though, when we play with each other it's $5 buy-in with nickel SB and dime BB, but we don't mind going to the B&M for some 2/4.

[Tuff Luck]

Oh man, up until this summer I played Magic ever weekend. I kind of slowed down, though. Maybe I'll get back into it. Heh.

[johnbaker]

The first time i played holdem was in my junior year of highschool in the back of the orchestra room... we played every day for a looooong time

-jB

[2Tone]

I'm a relative newbie

I'd played silly home games over the years, but it wasn't until I read Positively Fifth Street in the summer of 2001 that I got serious about poker. Halfway through the book I realized I would enjoy it more if I learned a little bit more about poker. Begin slippery slope ...

[Charlie Frank]

My uncle was a professional gambler for a number of years.

He would never teach me anything about sports betting or the ponies, but one day when I was 14, he showed me how to play limit HE. I have been playing for 9 years now.

CF

[PShabi]

I started exactly like you. 5 buy in home game at the start of 2004. Now, I'm making $700 a month. Go figure!

[parskynhutch]

I Just started playing 1 month ago... My buddies invited me to a weekly poker game, $20 buy-in, I learned the basics 20 minutes before the game started. I got rocked for a bit, and eventually I was the fourth guy out. I won a couple hands though, even won a pot going all in with 4 4's on the flop! I'm addicted now...and now that I've significantly improved I realized all those guys are a joke...last week I went and won my $20 back plus much more! Hahaha....Anyways ya I'm a little fishy still and I'd like to know as much as possible, any advice you guys have is greatly appreciated.

[bigjohnstud2o]

about 2 years ago i was a big time pool player. Nothing to play a race to 5 for 500-750$. Then some of my pool buds starting playing poker. It was ok. 20 buyin dealers choice. So much follow the bitch, 55 low black/red is wild draw 2 after the flop(55 omaha 5 in hand 5 on board...took 5 of a kind to win 95% of the time) and all wild card games(dr pepper, baseball)and 7stud. I liked stud bc more skill was involved. Went from friendly game to playing 3 card guts. Watched one of my best buds lose his truck. NO LIE. Went from that to a 200 buyin with some 40-50 year old guys. That was a reality check. Granted i was prepared to play holdem 5/10. When i arrived i found out it was O8B. NEVER PLAYED ONE HAND OF THIS WO WILD CARDS. I got took for 400ish in 45 minutes. Kepy playing low only and got crushed. then i wised up and losing that money, of all things, is what hooked me. Playing ever since.

[SirFWALGMan]

I am one of the WSOP retards that have actually decided to dedicate myself to the game. I was watching Moneymaker win and decided what the hell, I might as well give it a shot. Bought a Hold em book, played some play money tourneys, and did well. Busted out of my initial buyin eventually. Bought in again. Busted out again. Bought some more books and finally it has taken hold to the point where I consider myself a "decent" player.

[hime]

Hmm. Watched some of the 03 WSOP. Played a bit online on pokerroom.com because a cigar group was doing it (I guess they stopped - I don't get the emails anymore). Really didn't have any idea what I was doing, even when I downloaded an odds calculator and started doing that. And it was limit. (ick!)

Walked away from it for a while until I caught the 04 WSOP on ESPN, then came back and played a bit more. Still didn't like pokerroom much. Then I read that Mattias Anderson learned how to play on pokerpages.com, so I started checking that site out and playing on there.

I'm much better now. Now I'm playing National Pub Poker League ( ) and Amateur Poker League ( ) events to build up my skill playing live and also just to see more hands. I play a few little money tourneys here and there at people's houses, but I'm kinda poor. Maybe after my roomie moves in, I'll start up a bankroll with one of the fish-heavy websites.

[jimmytheg]

After Rounders came out, poker took my high school by storm. The first game we played we used chips...literally, doritos to be exact. That was about 6 years ago, and while we dont have 3 tables going at once like the old days, a core group of us have never stopped, have studied the game, and moved on from playing home games against each other to trying to take other people's money instead of our own

[Kidd7138]

Same story as jimmy, except substitute 6 years with a little over 6 months. The rest of it basically exactly matches my story. Did you guys hit the mark where you all went out and bought a case of a few hundred clay chips?

[hime]

Not yet, unfortunately. But then, I'm about to be getting a roommate, so I will be able to afford to.

[Tilter]

I remember when me and my friend first started. It started with 4 of us total. We had a cardboard box on which we played, and we played with nickels. It was a limit games, 10c/20c stakes.

[GeoffM]

I too use to play Magic competitively. Use to love using mono-blue filled with counterspells. My buddies use to get mighty pissed when my 3/3 artifact crature/land would kill them slowly. Come to think of it, I think that is how I got into poker as well.

[BrianSwa]

geee you used a mono-blue control deck......WHO DIDNT have a mono blue deck hehe just kidding damn top decker. I also used to play magic but it got a little to childish for me.

[hackers238]

Haha, yes an old magic player as well. I had a blue counter/merfolk deck, which was my pride and joy. Used to go down to this club, the magic guild, and play for hours. Got a little childish though, and all my friends dropped out so I did too.

As for poker, always played 5-card draw as a kid, with grandparents and friends for pennies. Then I wen't on a christian summer trip to virginia to help repair homes for people, and some kid brought 500 silver and gold poker chips. The trip had said that kids should bring about $100 in spending money, so all of our parents had filled our pockets before we left; in reality, we really didn't need to spend a cent!

So everyone bought in to this kids chips at the beginning of the week, silver were 50 cents, and gold were a dollar. We played every night, and by the end we all cashed out and went home. Ever since then poker has been in the back of my mind as one of the best times I ever had, but not until the beginning of this past summer did I realize you could play online! That and some friendly home games are where I'm at right now.

[stussy2k]

a friend of mine invited me to playin a home game around this summer, and i had no idea to how to play. they took me for easy money until i learned the rules, and been workin on the table ever since.

[jillaj]

I have played poker most of my life with cousins. Started to play hold em a few years ago. Didn't really play all that much at first but have started to play consistently and am getting much better.