likewise
-
This site contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, Poker Chip Forum may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Who is responsible for you being a poker player? (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter amadeusstyle
- Start date
My dad
buzzmonkey
Flush
My earliest poker memory is playing 5 card draw with my dad as a little kid using toothpics or candy or something, with a deck of Scooby-Doo playing cards.
1AAACEHOLE
Pair
My brother got me started playing Texas Holdem. Daniel Negreanu was my favorite player. Always thought of myself as having the same ability to guess what people had. Lol
acezag
Pair
A rinky dink casino spread 3-6 limit in my college town. My first poker experience was winning a tournament there with my buddies. Followed by raking the giant stacks of $1 chips in a typical 3-6 game. Hooked after that.
One of the earliest stories I hear about myself is being driven to kindergarten by my mom, and I was playing on one of those handheld poker games when all of a sudden the game yells out “Ladies and gentlemen, a royal flush!” And my mom yells out “Are you kidding me?!? I’ve been playing that for so long and you get one?” And a few minutes later, the game plays that same sound bite and I start giggling.
Turns out I found the settings and that would play whenever you adjusted the volume.
Anyways, we would host a family hold’em tournament pretty frequently. My dad’s side of the family are big gamblers.
Turns out I found the settings and that would play whenever you adjusted the volume.
Anyways, we would host a family hold’em tournament pretty frequently. My dad’s side of the family are big gamblers.
wickedwonka121
Flush
Great grandparents. And subsequently grand parents. Playing different forms of poker was a regular pastime at family functions, dealer's choice. Everyone made sure to bring plenty of change for the card table. 
OP
OP
amadeusstyle
Sitting Out
Wow... its so interesting.
Perhaps its because I don´t live in the US or perhaps the poker players i had relationship with, came from somewhere else (mainly ex chess, magic, or other competitive game or sports players), or just because I haven't make this question frequently
. But it´s a surprise for me how diverse the life experiences, character narratives, games, movies or whatever moved you to play poker.
Perhaps its because I don´t live in the US or perhaps the poker players i had relationship with, came from somewhere else (mainly ex chess, magic, or other competitive game or sports players), or just because I haven't make this question frequently
. But it´s a surprise for me how diverse the life experiences, character narratives, games, movies or whatever moved you to play poker.
FordPickup92
Royal Flush
Poker was something important to somebody I cared greatly for, so they taught me. It was a big part of bringing family together, and it became a passion for both of us.
Now it's just a hobby and an occasional past time for me.
Now it's just a hobby and an occasional past time for me.
My grandfather that I've never met, by way of my father. He passed before I was born, but by the time I was playing around 16 or so, I would play with guys that knew and played cards with him, and they would tell me stories about him.
My maternal grands would also play penny poker with us when I was 6-10 years old as well.
My maternal grands would also play penny poker with us when I was 6-10 years old as well.
My friends and I were introduced to it from popularity of the Moneymaker boom. We started with $20 buyin tournaments for several years just playing for fun and for bragging rights because every knew the money was going directly into the next bar tab anyway. We did rebuys for the first few levels but after that if you were knocked out you were a spectator so we evolved into cash games. We started with $40 buy ins and back then, losing $100-$200 in a night was a lot of money lol. It just kept going from there and was strictly NLHE. When I started going to meetups when I became active here again I was introduced into mixed games which I slowly introduced to the crew and now we are primarily mixed games with ocassional NLHE with bomb pots games depending on who plays.
So I guess TV was responsible for me and my friends learning to play poker.
So I guess TV was responsible for me and my friends learning to play poker.
Ex girlfriend's parents taught us and laughed at us as we were learning, betting out of turn or saying the wrong thing. Gave me a complex and now I love teaching people how to play and being more welcoming.
Dodged a bullet, you marry the family too!
Dodged a bullet, you marry the family too!
bmacpoker
Pair
Moneymaker + televised poker overall. Started playing online and at the two 18+ casinos near me as soon as I was old enough.
That said, I had been playing forms of poker with my family since I was little. So I guess I wouldn't have learned or given a shit about HE when I saw it for the first time otherwise.
That said, I had been playing forms of poker with my family since I was little. So I guess I wouldn't have learned or given a shit about HE when I saw it for the first time otherwise.
I was just about to go searching for that!
Yes for me it was probably my mother who taught me to play, but I played with that intellivision dealer A LOT when I was young.
legend672
Full House
My dad. Poker was the first word I ever spoke. Crazy huh ? I started talking very early. Told the guy behind us on the plane to JFK’s funeral in DC that he smoked a big cigar like my uncle Chizz at 18 months. Conversely, my brother didn’t talk till he was 3
The homie Juan. He invited me to his weekly tournament, after our soccer game. I knew about poker but never actually played it till that day.
buffalojim
Royal Flush
This
A tv advertisement promoting the replay of WSOP's Main Event final 9 during the fall of 2007 sparked a conversation between my cousin and his friend Roddy who was home on leave from his third tour in Iraq.
Roddy went into detail on how popular a pasttime NLHE had become among his fellow servicemen, pushing my cousin to host a weekly game comprised of his friends and co-workers. In the beginning, twelve to thirteen of us would play NLHE in a $10, unlimited rebuys, winner take all tournament. That lasted about a month or two before we moved on to .25/.50, $20 buy-in NLHE.
Within a year he was hosting an 18 player NLHE game twice a week. After four to four and a half hours, as players cashed out or went bust, we would combine tables and play to 1:30AM or beyond.
Roddy went into detail on how popular a pasttime NLHE had become among his fellow servicemen, pushing my cousin to host a weekly game comprised of his friends and co-workers. In the beginning, twelve to thirteen of us would play NLHE in a $10, unlimited rebuys, winner take all tournament. That lasted about a month or two before we moved on to .25/.50, $20 buy-in NLHE.
Within a year he was hosting an 18 player NLHE game twice a week. After four to four and a half hours, as players cashed out or went bust, we would combine tables and play to 1:30AM or beyond.
Last edited:
Jeevansluck
Royal Flush
Somehow stumbled upon SCORE poker on the web, back in 2002.
I’d never heard of Moneymaker or anything poker related before that. I was quickly hooked. A whole bunch of us would play at work. We’d take extraordinarily long breaks at the same time, sit down on the computers, and play. It was ALL free roll, and only a few of us went on to join a site called “Absolute Poker” and also pokerstars. I’m still perusing Pokerstars and 888poker these days.
There was also 2 of us, who started hosting for the all the interested players. I loaded up on dice chips and ran many small cash games. I never ran tournaments before PCF. Never even really discovered the tournament side of things for some weird reason. I was only into cash games.
Since 2002, I’ve played a fair bit. I’ve taken breaks along the way, and it’s not always easy to succeed. I’ve had stints of rolling into casinos and playing. For 1 year, I quit working and tried to bankroll myself to just play poker for a living. I got by for a year, actually did okay, but didn’t get rich. It was just like a day job, I didn’t get anywhere with it. I then met my now wife, and gave up that type of gambol! Too crazy! Went back to my trade (chemical manufacturing)
Last year though, I took a break from poker. Had a mental breakdown and cold turkey stopped all poker activities, but did not stop online play.
That said, I am playing, hosting, and still losing. However, it’s been fun and I have always been a controlled gambler.
Gotta get my wife to play…..
I’d never heard of Moneymaker or anything poker related before that. I was quickly hooked. A whole bunch of us would play at work. We’d take extraordinarily long breaks at the same time, sit down on the computers, and play. It was ALL free roll, and only a few of us went on to join a site called “Absolute Poker” and also pokerstars. I’m still perusing Pokerstars and 888poker these days.
There was also 2 of us, who started hosting for the all the interested players. I loaded up on dice chips and ran many small cash games. I never ran tournaments before PCF. Never even really discovered the tournament side of things for some weird reason. I was only into cash games.
Since 2002, I’ve played a fair bit. I’ve taken breaks along the way, and it’s not always easy to succeed. I’ve had stints of rolling into casinos and playing. For 1 year, I quit working and tried to bankroll myself to just play poker for a living. I got by for a year, actually did okay, but didn’t get rich. It was just like a day job, I didn’t get anywhere with it. I then met my now wife, and gave up that type of gambol! Too crazy! Went back to my trade (chemical manufacturing)
Last year though, I took a break from poker. Had a mental breakdown and cold turkey stopped all poker activities, but did not stop online play.
That said, I am playing, hosting, and still losing. However, it’s been fun and I have always been a controlled gambler.
Gotta get my wife to play…..
PokerSTLplayer
Pair
ESPN television coverage of the WSOP and the hole card cameras.
Funny enough I didn’t really know how to play poker 2 years ago at all, started as a random home game of .25/.5 with everyone having to look up hand rankings and to know which blind comes first. The end of the night was a mess trying to figure out how much each person owed. I fell in love with the game and now I host weekly games with the same group.
doctorchips
Pair
Poker after dark and then the older WSOP coverage on ESPN 2003 -> 2010.
And I grew up down the street from where Daniel Negreanu lived, so most people knew about him in my social circle.
And I grew up down the street from where Daniel Negreanu lived, so most people knew about him in my social circle.
mburnznj
3 of a Kind
My dad, tons of memories during my elementary and middle school years of my dad telling me to round up some change then dealing cards in the living room on any weekend with me and him.
Back then it was draw poker. He taught me how to play, how to shuffle cards, the works. As a kid I thought he was the greatest (I suppose we all would). He'd tell me stories of his time in the army and cleaning house whenever they played cards etc etc. Some fun memories of those times, of course he never took it easy on me but I suppose it helped me in the long run.
It's funny how when I transitioned over the hold em and NLH I became the teacher and he the student as NLH grew in popularity. Of course I didn't go easy on him......
Back then it was draw poker. He taught me how to play, how to shuffle cards, the works. As a kid I thought he was the greatest (I suppose we all would). He'd tell me stories of his time in the army and cleaning house whenever they played cards etc etc. Some fun memories of those times, of course he never took it easy on me but I suppose it helped me in the long run.
It's funny how when I transitioned over the hold em and NLH I became the teacher and he the student as NLH grew in popularity. Of course I didn't go easy on him......
Munchies11
Pair
I was in high school for the poker boom. That is def when it started. We would sneak games in the cafeteria . The good ole days!!
Munchies11
Pair
Yes this was a classic show I watched religiously
The premiere of the WPT on Travel Channel in March of 2003 and then closely followed up a few months later with the 2003 WSOP on ESPN really blew it open for me. First real "hero' I liked watching was Gus Hansen on the WPT.
In recent years when studying became more prevalent I've really liked Jonathan Little's coaching style and courses on his website and YouTube channel.
In recent years when studying became more prevalent I've really liked Jonathan Little's coaching style and courses on his website and YouTube channel.
Create an account or login to comment
You must be a member in order to leave a comment
Create account
Create an account and join our community. It's easy!
Log in
Already have an account? Log in here.
Similar threads
