A 20 year old amateur

I was introduced to poker at the age of 4. I barely knew the names of the cards, but I'd beg and plead for my uncle to play with me. He's always been my mentor for poker. I started with five card draw. I always remember winning, I guess that means he was good uncle. Somewhere in the years after we started blackjack. There he taught me to read hands. Learning the player meant everything. I know it seems odd to read hands there, but when you're 8, two cards to read are easier than 5. I took a big break from poker for the majority of my young life. I didn't really get back to playing until I was 13, and I was first introduced to Texas Hold 'em. This game had it all, suspense, action, betting, and the dreaded river. It was, as I'd find out, my game. At first I played for the thrill, not much thought put into my cards, just enjoying the rush. I guess at the age of 15 I figured out, you could play this game for money. I resisted for awhile associating the gambling in a bad way. At the age of 18 I started playing my first cash game. I had moved to Nashville, TN to go to college, and I found out rich kids love poker. I played a game with friends and felt like I was getting pretty good. The reality was that they were horrible. We only played for $5, but we felt like superstars when we won. The group played weekly and we learned different games, no big news. I consistently won. I thought I was a good player until I played with adults.