Poker is my favorite game. I have been playing a "home" game with the same crew for about 25 years, with fun being the main idea.

Two tears ago I started playing online, in a more "serious" vein and have found that to also be a great experience. Even though I have been playing poker all my life ( at least for the last 50 years or so) I never really approached the game as something to be learned. This was different.

I have been playing on FullTiltPoker, and more recently PokerStars and cannot believe how much my game has changed (and improved) over these two years.

Both of these sites start you out with $1000 in play money and if you lose it all you can get another 1000. They have many games you can play with that much money, and if you never go any farther you will have fun.

I started with something called "Sit 'n go" tournaments. The only difference betwenn these and regular tournaments is that these start as soon as there are enough players, rather than a date and time.

Sit 'n Go tourneys come in a variety of sizes and buyins:

Buy-in 250, 2000, 10000, 100000, 1000000 fake dollars
sizes - 2, 4, 6, 9, 18, 27, 45, and 90 players

They also come in a variety of games like limit holdem, limit omaha, no limt in both etc...

I have specialized in no limt holdem sit 'n gos. That dosn't mean i don't play other games, just that NL Holdem is mainstream for me.

So you start with your 1000 - the only sit n go you can play is a 250 buy in. Nubies should also stick with small games (9 players, for example). The idea is to build your 1000 stack into a bigger stack so you can play big buyin games. As you get better you can play 90 person games, and 2000 or 10000 buy in games etc.

The idea here is not to have a lot of play money (unless you are into that sort of thing) but rather to play with better and better players, so you can get better and better.

The amount there is to learn will amaze you over time (after 2 years of playing almost daily, i feel like i can hold my own - but i still have a lot to learn). There is so much more thasn just the cards you are dealt. Things like position, dealing with other playing styles, creating your own playing style etc, are also important to your success.

I highly recommend that, if you are at all interested, you try some of the online play. It is free, safe and, most of all, fun.

Tips:

1. If you don't want to play for money - go to the .net sites - not the .com
FullTiltPoker.net - Pokerstars.net

2. Take time to choose your handle - you can't change it.

3. Maybe start with a game you already know, just to get the feel - maybe stud poker or??

Good Luck - on ther felt and off - Look me up on FullTilt as CoffeShopPro or on Pokerstars as FingFreeFall