How Young Is Too Young
11 March 2010I grew up playing go fish with my family. Sometimes, for variety, we would throw in a game of Old Maid or Speed. We never played poker. I didn’t learn online poker until years later at summer camp, when we would play by flashlight after lights out for smuggled candy and food from the dining hall. Even then, I was a teenager who was relatively competent to understand the game (if nothing else in life). It was not until my early twenties that I discovered Texas Holdem and started using terms like “street”, “pre-flop” and “hole cards”.
In the great march of modernity, my card playing development is now considered as out of date as floppy disks, bell bottoms, and plug in telephones. Kids these days cut their teeth on poker online instead of go fish, and learn the lingo before they learn long division. Forgive me if I am the lone voice against progress here, but I do not think this is a good idea. Starting kids too young on poker sets up a bad card dynamic for the rest of their future. Think about it, poker is at heart a betting game. Would you rather your kids start with a card game focused on money, or would you rather teach them a game based on fun? If you start with the pure fun games, they learn to appreciate card games in themselves instead of just appreciating the pot at the end. I want kids to grow into adults that enjoy the game like I do, not money hungry players who can’t see past the dollar signs.
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