I was a little bit behind the poker craze amongst my group of friends. They started playing all of the time a couple of years ago, but initially, for reasons that escape me, I resisted sitting in. I can recall sitting off in a dark corner, sulking in my beer, wondering what the big shit was all about. Then one Sunday afternoon I caught Rounders on television, and all of a sudden something clicked. I decided it was time to begin my career. I sat in on a game that very night, and proceeded to get my ass handed to me in about 20 minutes.

The good news was that I was hooked, but the bad news was that I sucked worse than a Celebrity Poker asswipe. Since I was behind the curve, I lost just about every single hand I played for a month. There was definitely work to be done, but we all have to start somewhere.

Getting your feet wet in poker can be an intimidating thing. Most of us are hopeless at first, and it is certainly easy to get frustrated. But what’s so great about poker is that it is a truly egalitarian game. You aren’t limited by factors like age, physical fitness or gender. Anybody, and I do mean anybody, can become proficient at poker with some study and practice.

So what is the best way to get started? There really is no right answer, but allow me to offer a suggestion. In my opinion, the best way to learn poker is through a combination of playing low stake single table sit and go’s on the internet and reading any poker book you can get your hands on (Phil Hellmuth’s Play Poker Like The Pros is a good book for beginning players).

Reading poker books will provide a strategic and practical background (covering areas like rules and betting formats etc), while internet play will provide the real game experience that every beginning player needs. However, I advise against wasting your time with play money tables on the internet, as people play much differently (read: loosely) when no real money is involved. It’s simply not a good environment for learning.

Instead, put $55 in a real money account and play ten full table $5 sit and go’s (each $5 game has $0.5 of juice, necessitating depositing $55). This will allow you to see tons of hands and log many hours of play. You will become familiar with posting blinds and betting on the flop, turn and river. You will learn about the value of position at the table, and you will start to determine the type of hands that win most often.

If, after the ten sit and go’s, you find your account is empty, don’t despair. Put $55 back in your account and do it again. I guarantee you’ll do better this time, and it won’t be long before you begin to book some cashes. Furthermore, you should never view your bad sessions in light of the money that was lost. Instead, view them as learning experiences that will make you a better player the next time you sit down. This, combined with a little luck and a lot of hard work, will ensure you keep your game on the winning track.