# Card Games to Prepare Kid (aged 5) for Poker **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 23, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462 "2013-04-23T02:39:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/21 "2013-04-25T00:55:13Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > now i’m curious too. please name a few concrete benefits out of what you have described that would benefit a five-year-old? i’m missing out since i’m not into Poker, and i have no idea what you’re talking about that would apply to a five-year-old. the art of lying? Yes, the art of lying; better, the art of knowing what to reveal and what not to reveal. The art of reading people, figuring out their motives. Dealing with being lied to. Probability. Appropriate/wise use of resources. She’s got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run. If you’re not “into” poker I really don’t think you’re gonna get it, no offense. Anyway, I never claimed I wanted a 5 year-old poker wiz; read the OP. ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/22 "2013-04-25T00:56:37Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > now i’m curious too. please name a few concrete benefits out of what you have described that would benefit a five-year-old? i’m missing out since i’m not into Poker, and i have no idea what you’re talking about that would apply to a five-year-old. the art of lying? Yes, the art of lying; better, the art of knowing what to reveal and what not to reveal. The art of reading people, figuring out their motives. Dealing with being lied to. Probability. Appropriate/wise use of resources. She’s got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run. If you’re not “into” poker I really don’t think you’re gonna get it, no offense Anyway, I never claimed I wanted to build a 5 year-old poker wiz; read the OP (hint: the key phrase is “set the stage”). ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/23 "2013-04-25T01:41:28Z")
We taught our kids poker at that age. They still don’t quite get if three of a kind or two pair is better at 13 and 14, but they known since they were little if they had junk or not. Now they know things like “don’t draw to an inside straight” We did some variation of Texas Holdum because there were a lot of cards face up and we could talk them through “if you are holding an 7s right now…” We started them that young because we don’t want them to loose all their first semester fun money in the first weekend of college. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/24 "2013-04-25T01:45:45Z")
> [@whc.03grady](#): > > … Anyway, I never claimed I wanted to build a 5 year-old poker wiz; read the OP (hint: the key phrase is “set the stage”). and i never claimed you wanted to; though if you read your OP you did say you wanted your child to be a poker wiz asap. do you think it unreasonable to be wary of teaching a young child a popular form of gambling and to lie? i see both pros and cons, not just the importance you assign to it. ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/25 "2013-04-25T02:20:49Z")
> [@shijinn](#): > > ]do you think it unreasonable to be wary of teaching a young child a popular form of gambling and to lie? i see both pros and cons, not just the importance you assign to it. No, and if you think teaching a kid how to play poker is teaching them how to lie in the serious sense of the word, then you really don’t understand what’s going on. And gambling? You gamble every time you drive down the street, weighing the benefit (getting to the store) against the risk (getting killed) and making a bet (going anyway). My kid likes cards. I think it’d be good that she knows how to play poker well, eventually. I asked on a public forum what might be some games that’d help ease her into poker. That’s all. If she liked playing instruments I might ask which ones she could learn now that might help her play piano or violin later. Same thing. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/26 "2013-04-25T02:49:42Z")
> [@whc.03grady](#): > > Yes, the art of lying; better, the art of knowing what to reveal and what not to reveal. The art of reading people, figuring out their motives. Dealing with being lied to. … sounds pretty serious to me. if you don’t think poker is gambling, then you don’t understand what’s going on. > [@](#): > > … I learned late and suffered for it … why exactly do you want your child to pick up this particular form of cards? what happened to you in the past? piano or violin could be onerous enough if foisted on a child. please note that neither i nor the other posters have made objections to teaching a child to play poker. your defensiveness despite this, coupled with your rosy bias for poker as an ultimate goal, points to an agenda that might be more personal than anything. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/27 "2013-04-25T03:02:31Z")
Cribbage would be good. Teaches you how to evaluate which combination of cards to keep or toss in the crib, plus has the element of playing/reading your opponent when playing he cards. Hell, if nothing else your kid will be able to count to 31. Or 15. Depends on the kid. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8797f3/32.png) [@The\_Universe\_Lashes\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Universe_Lashes_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/28 "2013-04-25T03:39:26Z")
One important life lesson poker can teach you is not to be outcome-dependent. You have to be able to make a good bet before you know what your final hand will be. Sometimes you’ll get lucky, sometimes you won’t, but to be a good player you have to keep making the right bet regardless of what happened last time. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 7:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/29 "2013-04-25T07:16:55Z")
Games like cribbage are great at practicing logic, arithmetic, etc. But poker helps one learn about emotion, psychology, money management, and more. I think the negative posters here are being silly. ---
**Author:** ![whc.03grady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a6a055/32.png) [@whc.03grady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whc.03grady)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/30 "2013-04-25T15:34:47Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > Games like cribbage are great at practicing logic, arithmetic, etc. But poker helps one learn about emotion, psychology, money management, and more. Thank you. > [@septimus](#): > > I think the negative posters here are being silly. Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/31 "2013-04-25T18:56:06Z")
> [@whc.03grady](#): > > Yes, the art of lying; better, the art of knowing what to reveal and what not to reveal. The art of reading people, figuring out their motives. Dealing with being lied to. Probability. Appropriate/wise use of resources. She’s got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run. If you’re not “into” poker I really don’t think you’re gonna get it, no offense. > > Anyway, I never claimed I wanted a 5 year-old poker wiz; read the OP. Yes, sometimes a person who is quiet can say so much through body language…and by learning to tune into that, you’ll be able to find where you stand in relation to that person. I too see many instances, especially between me and my employees. One time a lawyer verbally threatening me with not negotiating a lower wage penalty/fine if I continued to questioning a former employee about lunches/breaks. He wanted me to settle in the worse way by how he was acting. I called his bluff and had the ex-employees claim dismissed when I continued to question her before an ALJ who decided the claim was bogus after figuring out she took more than enough (at her request) smoke breaks to make up for the time. Also, buying and selling homes takes a little bit of strategy and poker playing too. That helps in not underselling nor overbuying in THOUSANDS of dollars. So…I get where the employee is coming from. > [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > Cribbage would be good. Teaches you how to evaluate which combination of cards to keep or toss in the crib, plus has the element of playing/reading your opponent when playing he cards. > > Hell, if nothing else your kid will be able to count to 31. Or 15. Depends on the kid. Also, counting all of the straights, combinations of 15s, pairings, etc. to max out your points and avoid muggins. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/32 "2013-04-25T19:07:45Z")
> [@Yeticus\_Rex](#): > > So…I get where the employee is coming from. …where the OP is coming from…:smack: ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2013, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/33 "2013-04-25T21:42:38Z")
Cribbage? Bridge?? It seems to me that a lot of the games mentioned here are actually much more complicated than poker itself. I would say start with 5 card no-draw with an ante but no betting, until she learns the basic hands. Then soon after add in drawing and finally betting. Strategy and bluffing will come later or develop on their own. To increase the liklihood of some of the more exotic hands you might also want to play with a reduced deck, such as 3 suits of 10 cards so they come up more often. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/34 "2013-04-26T19:54:04Z")
Well the OP did say his kid was a little more sophisticated than your typical 5 year old: > [@whc.03grady](#): > > She’s a somewhat precocious 5 year-old; she is a good early reader, knows the numbers and face cards in order, understands suits, she gets the rules of solitaire (but lacks the ability to focus on it to play a hand to fruition). She also made up her own card game called Organizer which is basically a complicated but coherent way of putting the cards in back in order that has aspects of an actual game. So she’s creative and apparently willing. > > Are there any card games I could teach her that would set the stage for learning (and hopefully excelling at) poker? Games for 8 year-olds, or maybe 10 year-olds would probably be okay. I learned most of my card games around the age of 7 (which included bridge, canasta, pinochle, poker, etc.), so I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to TRY to teach her at the age of 5. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/35 "2013-04-28T03:57:20Z")
> [@whc.03grady](#): > > Thank you. > > Agreed. Unless we know exactly what good things you think your child will learn from the game, it is impossible to recommend other games that have those similar good things. Honestly, I would have just recommended teaching her fake poker, because, to me, the betting part of poker is the least important part, at least when it comes to dealing with real life. But apparently you feel differently. And if you were wanting to teach her to bluff, then I would not really want to help you. And, frankly, when it comes to the betting side of poker, that’s the first concept that comes to mind. It’s the only thing that seems unique to poker. ---
**Author:** ![BoBettie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@BoBettie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BoBettie)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2013, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/36 "2013-04-28T21:02:57Z")
This game, Kismet is the best for starting to learn poker type basics and it’s a fun dice game, similar to Yahtzee: > **[Kismet (dice game)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kismet_(dice_game))** > > Kismet is a commercial dice game introduced in 1964. The game's name is the Turkish word for "fate". E. William DeLaittre holds the trademark on the game, which was originally published by Lakeside Games, and which is currently produced by Endless Games. Marketed as "The Modern Game of Yacht", the game play is similar to Yacht and Yahtzee, with a few variations. A primary distinction is that in Kismet, the sides of the dice have different colored pips. > The game consists of five white dice with ... I grew up playing that even very young and progressed to penny poker with my grandmother and her elderly neighbors by the time I was about 7. I still love poker and play it online and occasionally at the casino as well as occasional games at my house. I don’t know if that’s because of Kismet but I remember my father teaching me poker and saying “you know, like in Kismet!” and I got it. ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462/37 "2013-04-29T17:36:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Unless we know exactly what good things you think your child will learn from the game, it is impossible to recommend other games that have those similar good things. > > Honestly, I would have just recommended teaching her fake poker, because, to me, the betting part of poker is the least important part, at least when it comes to dealing with real life. But apparently you feel differently. > > And if you were wanting to teach her to bluff, then I would not really want to help you. And, frankly, when it comes to the betting side of poker, that’s the first concept that comes to mind. It’s the only thing that seems unique to poker. Again, it is about risk/reward which is what Life is all about…except poker is a smaller slice of that life which can be helpful in other situations in Life. [VSauce (Michael) explains a lot of it here.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5jDspIC4hY) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/card-games-to-prepare-kid-aged-5-for-poker/656462.md?page=1)