Non-Poker Games?

[xDiamond_CutteRx]

I'm curious, what led you guys to Poker? Did you play any other games extensively before turning to Poker or do you play any now?

Another question: do you think experience in other games has helped you at Poker?


Personally, I learned to play Chess at age 10 and won two local tournaments by the time I was 15. I learned solid analytical thought from Chess, as well as good strategic play. I would say it helped my future Poker game enormously, especially when it comes to tough tournament decision.

I also used to play Magic: The Gathering and Legend of the Five Rings quite extensively (much like David Williams and John Murphy). Most of the skills I used to play these games carried over well to Poker, especially when it came to analyzing and reading opponents. I was actually a few steps away from the National Championship, but too much time with my girlfriend at the time kept me from it (and she cheated on me, talk about regrets ).

When I was 18, I began learning Backgammon, and was getting rather good at it... I heard that there was decent money in tournaments, so I studied the game carefully (I actually first learned about guys like Paul Magriel before I switched to Poker). I became quite good at figuring odds, especially in marginal situations--little did I know that most top Backgammon players were already making the switch to Poker.

Also when I turned 18, I began learning how to count cards in Blackjack and began to make frequent trips to a local Indian casino. I never really had much chance to exploit the long odds, however, because it was about that time I learned about Poker.


I had learned the game of Poker (5 card draw, lowball, and 5 and 7 Card Stud) when I was about 11, but hadn't played it much, and certainly not seriously. Then I watched the 2003 WSOP, and my whole view changed. I saw all the strategy, excitement, and the big $$$ and was determined to learn the game, and I began running home games until my funds allowed me to move up to the Indian casino when I was 19. I'm now 21 and have been playing semi-seriously/seriously for almost two years. But I would say that all the other games I had learned and played extensively gave me great background to adapt to Poker quickly.

[supafrey]

As I taunted you a second ago in the other thread...

I played a bit of magic when I was a kid, but mainly for fun.

I played chess pretty seriously since I was about 7 years old though. I was Toronto champ the next year, and 4th in Ontario for a bunch of my childhood. I sorta stopped playing in high school, though, excluding a bit on school teams. I have a box full of medals + trophies downstairs.

On that note, I'll challenge anyone here to a chess match for 5-10 bucks?

[Johny]

As I taunted you a second ago in the other thread...

I played a bit of magic when I was a kid, but mainly for fun.

I played chess pretty seriously since I was about 7 years old though. I was Toronto champ the next year, and 4th in Ontario for a bunch of my childhood. I sorta stopped playing in high school, though, excluding a bit on school teams. I have a box full of medals + trophies downstairs.

On that note, I'll challenge anyone here to a chess match for 5-10 bucks?

I played chess seriously from grade 3-4, then l lost interest. Although 2 years didn't get me very far, won the regionals in grade 4 then did ok at provincials. Also, I can't remember what the rating system is called, but it was by points, do you know what I'm talking about? I think it was 2500 to become a grand master, and I only had around 1000.

[tame_deuces]

Can't say I have had much experience from other games. I never bothered to learn chess and there are few games I have taken seriously (as in learning them properly).

I like poker, I like the flow and the feel of it, and I like to riffle the cards and deal them across the table and I absolutely love the feel of picking up a poker hand and seeing what's in store this time. I like the fact that the money makes it more exciting than other card games and I like the fact that it is possible to win consistently over time.

Academics, sports&excercise, my service in the navy and later a brief period in the army have probably helped me though. I love to learn stuff, getting better, and just finding new ways to look at situations. I probably like learning poker better than playing it. Sports teaches you the love for winning, and excercise teaches discipline (which is not my greatest strength! ) and the service, well, it was just an important part of my life, good memories.

Late night post, so excuse cliche ramblings and a long post.

[finalhonor]

Learned Chess from my grandfather (who was an incredible player) when i was 4 and kept playing it till he about 15. That game taught me so much about strategy that I consider the main reason why I can play half-decent poker.

Also learned 2-7 triple draw and 5 card draw from my mom. I used to hustle the kids in high school who thought they knew how to play.

Then at 15 when moneymaker turned texas hold'em into a household name i studied that game. And fount many opportunities that 5 card and 2-7 did not offer.

Needless to say I made about 1500 dollars in high school thanks to 3 forms of poker. (It was my down payment on my car LOL).

[wEbMaStEr]

I come from a large family and as a child we all used to sit around playing cards, Uno, Rummy, not quite Gin rummy AFAIK but a variant, also that game where you have to turn the cards over and find pairs? I forget what thats called now But it's really good for developing memory skills at an early age.

Also board games like chess, draughts <checkers> backgammon, risk, monopoly etc. All this combined with a large family = a competitive nature.

In high school I represented my school in football, rugby, basketball and athletics, competing @ National level for 400m hurdles and Long Jump.

In my late teens through my twenties I played 3 card brag which is pretty much a poker variant mainly based on bluffing. I was a break even player.

About 2002ish I discoverd Late Night Poker by coming home from the pub and slouching drunk in front of TV. After a few shows I was hooked. I set up a play money account on stars and floundered around there for a while before finally depositing and the rest as they say.... is the present.

[TheSalche]

I learned how to play poker at some odd family reunion gatherings where we'd play mostly 5 card draw and 7 card stud variants (chicago, baseball, dimes store, etc). We also played some odd games such as 7/27 ... dealt 3 cards, 1 up 2 down, half pot goes to 7, half pot goes to 27, where face cards are 1/2, aces are 1 and 11, so the perfect hand is AA5 for a scooop.

I dabbled in MTG and a little chess too, but not much.

Once I saw the WSOP I enjoyed the game, played it a bit with friends and free money online, then two and a half years ago during winter break I deposited and lost $300 on .25/.50 limit hold em and 25NL

[crack]

I always liked card games and was taught 5 card draw at a young age, along with rummy, gin rummy and all those typical family card games.

I wasn't too keen on board games, except monopoly \o/ so didn't really get into Chess.

It's funny that I actually found some card games because of poker, whist, bridge etc which I play very rarely.

Just to add another spin to this, do you think knowing the other games has been detrimental to your poker game? The reason I say this is because a friend of mine did say that very few top bridge players can become top poker players.

[Felting]

Hearts. Use to play it a lot.

Fair warning, hearts will lead to ended friendships, disowning relations, and divorce. Basics of the game is each heart is worth a point and the Q of spades in worth 13. Points are bad and you try and stick other players with as many as possible while they try to do the same to you. Lowest score when a player goes over 100 wins.

Two best parts of hearts are shooting the moon and the 100 drop. Shooting the moon involves actually getting all 26 points in a given round. When you do this the other 3 players receive 26 points to there total instead of 26 added to yours. If you can get exactly 100 points at the end of a round you get dropped to the lowest score from 100.

We use to play in college like it was a sit-n-go. 5 bucks each winner take all.

[AHBrownell]

I played Magic off and on for about 8 years, ending about two years before I started playing poker.

During college I had a stint as a professional pc gamer, playing Warcraft III at a competitve level. I won about $10k in various tournaments over about 2 years of playing. The ability to keep my mind on many different things at once and making lots of commands in a quick period of time helped me to adjust to multitabling 8-12 online poker tables at a very quick rate. Most people are pretty blown away when they watch me play, because I have two large monitors decked out with 4-6 tables each. I've heard of many of my past rivals in the Warcraft III community have made the transition to multitabling online because it uses many of the same skills.