Comments on: Poker for Kids

By: Jorge M

Jorge M — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 02:44:01 +0000

My niece is the only child in the house with 8 yers old. She is interested to be included in our poker sessions with “chips” for fun, no money or prizes . sometimes we play with money. sometimes we have “private sessions” with friends with more money to bet. Reading the comments I see is not bad or wrong a kid start play poker but that’s a process: for a kid must be for fun, even Bingo is played for fun and for money! then poker could be played for fun too BUT in the process the kid could learn strategy, obtain skills counting or making calculations and so administration of chips and so… how react when your chips are less or more so in the process the kid could learn a lot of things including chips – money – behaviors administration . (I imagine.. it was my opinion just)

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:46:44 +0000

I have 3 kids (9,6,4) and we play a poker variation – deal one card and high card wins. We play with poker chips or pretzels. Faced with a 4 pretzel raise, better lay down that king.

It all boils down to having fun together as a family. As a kid I often played gin rummy with my Mom and her friends around the kitchen table. Good times.

By: DanM

DanM — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:22:34 +0000

***One of my kids took each hand too seriously and would cry after losing a hand or two. She just wasn’t equipped to lose lots of little pots and win a few big pots.***

Ahh, but isn’t that interesting … because as a parent, that gives you a little insight about something you will have to teach your daughter, whether you do it with poker or not!

By: BJ Nemeth

BJ Nemeth — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:22:08 +0000

I think a lot of us in poker got our start in the game as children, learning from our families. It’s an entirely appropriate game for kids of any age. (As long as they can grasp the basic concepts.)

Because kids don’t have a normal appreciation for money, there is absolutely no reason for pre-teens to play for monetary stakes. Small prizes (not cash) for the winners and nothing for the losers would be more than enough for a sit-n-go format, and M&Ms or something similar would work fine in a “cash game.”

I’d also suggest teaching kids a variety of card games, including some that are more social than monetary in nature (spades, pinochle, etc.). Do *not* teach your kids Solitaire, because if they end up using Windows ‘19 someday, they may waste their future careers playing that game rather than getting work done.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:53:47 +0000

I have two daughters and we play every so often, but just for fun. One of my kids took each hand too seriously and would cry after losing a hand or two. She just wasn’t equipped to lose lots of little pots and win a few big pots.

By: cougar

cougar — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:20:24 +0000

I think kids learning poker is completely pointless if they haven’t learned money management. That being said, heads up poker with a parent could be a valuable education in money management.

By: DanM

DanM — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:57:26 +0000

I actually hosted (and got paid to do so) a couple tourneys at a family-ish birthday party function in Dallas a few years back. We had an adults table and a kids table, playing for prizes.

It really was fun … and while the adults got all serious competing for gift certificates to a really nice hotel, the kids game was a lot more exciting when 6-year-old Sara trapped 8-year-old Mason — who had been bullying and bluffing — to cripple him, upon which he almost started crying after her call with just a pair of 5s.

By: JaKat

JaKat — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:54:20 +0000

“Books mean nothing if you have no real experience to understand it with.” — True, but so is the inverse. Picking up some theoretical understanding of the game before actually trying to play the game isn’t a bad approach, especially for a 12-year old. Also… who the hell knows how much the kid’s Dad knows about poker. Why not help give the kid an advantage from the jump off?

I like the poker party idea, but only if you’re the one who’s going to sell it to the other kids’ parents. “Uh Joe, your little Jimmy lost $20 playing .05/.10 at my house last night. I assume you’re good for it.”

By: DanM

DanM — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:43:42 +0000

***buy his son some chips and a number of quality poker strategy books that he must read before starting to play penny-ante games at the kitchen table.***

way to take all the fun out of poker right from the git-go, katkin! your plan should guarantee the kid never plays the game!

a) books mean nothing if you have no real experience to understand it with.
b) losses are an important part of the learning process in poker.

i’d recommend hosting a sit-n-go for some prize (do kids still like ice cream?) … would make for a great slumber party activity.

then go from there … begin the poker conversations about how you can do better. will put what is seen on TV in some context …

make sure bankroll management is part of the conversation a few weeks into it … and maybe some day start the kid on a bankroll. make him do chores to rebuild if he goes broke.

advanced training includes learning about the pitfalls of poker … and make them read Pokerati, but try to keep them away from Tao of Poker, lest they start asking you how much you have to win to get on-call blowjobs from hottie railbirds. (though there might be an important lesson in that, too, actually.) so yeah, just so long as they don’t read Neverwin … and keep them away from 2+2, lol.