by Rolland Judd

Created on: January 27, 2009

These days many people watch The World Series of Poker on television and think to themselves "that looks easy, I could do that." This is half right; you can do it, but it is anything but easy. Making money playing poker is not as easy as it looks on TV. You don't have the benefit of being able to see everyone else's hand with that neat little percentage graphic below it. If you are dedicated to learning the game, however, making good money playing poker is definitely an achievable goal.

The first thing you need to know about making money playing poker is that it is going to cost you to learn. We're not talking about training videos or books here, those cost money too, but actually sitting down at a poker table is going to cost you the first few times you do it. Plan on losing whatever money you put down at the table (whether it is a real table or on-line) and learn everything you can as you try your best to win some hands. The great Doyle Brunson said it best, poker is "...the only game that will cost you a Cadillac to learn."

Start your education about playing poker by playing free games. There are many different sites on the internet that offer free poker with no strings attached and there are also many establishments (bars mostly, but also some senior centers and even churches occasionally) in most states that have a "poker night" where people come and play for a free hat or T-shirt or something like that. These are great ways to get your feet wet and begin to master the basics of the game.

When you feel like you're ready to take the next step and put some real money down at the tables your best bet is to play on-line in small stakes games. The first thing you will notice is how different the style of play is when everyone is putting real money down. Players are much more aggressive in their betting trends and if you're new to the game you will feel like you are being run over by great players. This is a normal part of the learning process. Just make sure you are paying very close attention to what people are doing and, even more importantly, when they are doing it.

As you begin to get a better feel for the game and you start actually winning some money playing small stakes you will find yourself wanting to up the ante and play for more money. The more money you are playing for, the more competitive the games are going to be, but there is only one way to find this out and that's by putting down your hard-earned cash. When you start to think you are ready to

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