Your first money made in poker

[Pitonealal]

Hey everyone! 👋

I wanted to start a small discussion about something that every poker player remembers – their first money made in poker. For me, it all began with freerolls. 🎉 At first, I didn’t believe it was possible to turn $0 into something real, but little by little, I realized that freerolls are a true gift for beginners.

You sit down, play for free, and suddenly – boom! You win a ticket or even a small cash prize. The feeling is amazing, because it’s not just about money, it’s about proving to yourself that you can do it. 💪

I remember once turning a freeroll ticket into $10, and from there, everything felt possible. With careful play and patience, those small winnings can open the doors to bigger buy-ins – $5.50, $11, $22 – step by step. It’s like climbing a ladder, one freeroll at a time. 🚀

Yes, it takes discipline, patience, and sometimes a bit of luck 🍀, but it’s 100% possible. My advice to beginners – don’t ignore freerolls. They’re not just practice, they’re opportunities. And the first $10 you earn will always feel like $1,000 in your heart. ❤️

What about you guys? Do you remember your first winnings?

 

[hajaehyun]

It's a good idea
Do you do your own freerolls when you're tired of it?

 

[Johnvaka]

My first profit came when I needed it most to buy some things for my bike

 

[Pitonealal]

Моя первая прибыль пришла, когда она мне больше всего была нужна, чтобы купить кое-что для моего велосипеда.

Congratulations, will you let me go for a ride?)

 

[WellAA]

My first profit came when I needed it most to buy some things for my bike

Congrats, I hope the next profit, You'll go for a entire new brand one.

 

[WellAA]

Yes, it takes discipline, patience, and sometimes a bit of luck

Certainly quite a lot of it all above, adding discipline, discipline, plus time, time, and some more discipline and time to accomplish.
I remember the first good one that I won, a monthly league competition at pokerstars, some years ago. Was about $500 for the 3rd place.

 

[GrannySmit77]

How did your ''500 k freeroll'' tournament go?

 

[TheFO0L]

my first win was also my first freeroll on winamax for 28$, i had already train like 5 month in play money before this though

 

[R.Holynskyi]

My first win was also in freerolls. I think I won about $2, which I spent over the next week. But for me, that win was a real event

 

[Hospedar]

If I'm not wrong, my first prize was $0.30 that I got from one of those long freerolls with a tiny prize pool; It was my first time playing online poker in 2023, just a few months after I turned 18 (and I was like: "how could someone let me play poker and win money without spending a single cent!?")...

When I got that prize, I was happy and decided to talk that to my older brother, who said to me something like: "Oh, nice! I have a friend that plays this game and study it a lot; he watch a lot of screens of it and get some money too..."; this was the exact moment I knew that people actually study poker and I went to learn more about this and how could be possible to study poker...

What you saw above is what triggered most part of my journey at poker and, just after, at CardsChat...

Now I love this game even more and play it a lot during the year!

 

[dreamer13]

I won a freeroll on PokerStars for $30.

 

[Brigistul]

Oh! I think it was 20 years ago when my first poker win was at a casino where I played live with the dealer and after catching 4 cards of the same kind, I think I won over $1000 and walked away happy.

 

[pentazepam]

Online, I was a winning player at 1/2 dollar LH and 10 dollars SnG from 2003 before switching to NLH Cash.

Live much earlier.

 

[Reddog888]

You will lost a lot time for this

 

[Pitonealal]

Вы потеряете много времени на это.

Luckily I'm in jail and have 4 more years of free time

 

[Fallenglory]

Online I used to do freerolls on partypoker and got my bankroll started. When I won my first ever tournament live that was the best feeling ever.

 

[Pitonealal]

В интернете я играл во фрироллах на Partypoker и начал зарабатывать банкролл. Когда я выиграл свой первый живой турнир, это было лучшее чувство в моей жизни.

Wow! Live tournaments I think it's a lot of fun

 

[Fallenglory]

Wow! Live tournaments I think it's a lot of fun

Yeah they are, they are however a lot more expensive then online. So you'll need a bankroll for them if you want to frequent live tournaments.

 

[dannystanks]

In 1995 I went into Harrahs casino in Atlantic City NJ and sat at my first cash game, 7 card stud. I bought in for 100.00 and played for like 3 or 4 hours and won 500.00. I thought that was the easiest money I’ve ever made. So I was hooked on poker after that. That 500.00 has cost me so much money over the years lol

 

[Cooking]

Yes. I've started to play many years ago (around 18 years) and at that time there were a lot of poker rooms. One of them was Everest Poker, that used to offer free sit'gos 24/7 (Shasta tables) - they used to pay cents (I don't remember for sure, but I think it was $0.10 for the winner, $0.07 2nd place and $0.05 3rd place). So, I've played a lot of them, because you could played how much as you wanted.

 

[Peteski84]

I don't remember my first win, but i remember a freeroll I played when I first started up online. Fell to 120 chips early on in the tournament and came 2nd place overall. Not the biggest win but it definitely left a big impression on my memory.

 

[Academico]

The first money I ever won in poker was $82, from a tournament with a tiny $0.27 buy-in. At the time, it felt like a small victory, but it left a huge impression on me. I remember the excitement of navigating through the tournament, making decisions under pressure, and slowly climbing my way to the top. That first taste of success wasn’t just about the money — it was about realizing that skill, patience, and focus could actually pay off.

From that moment, I knew poker was more than just a game for me. It became a challenge, a learning experience, and a journey where even the smallest beginnings could lead to bigger victories. That $82 sparked my curiosity and drive, teaching me that every hand, every tournament, no matter the stakes, could teach me something valuable.

 

[fewerz]

Years ago I deposited $20 on PokerStars and even won an extra $4 on top. At that time I barely even knew the rules of poker. Of course, in that same session I lost the whole deposit. I was about 12 years old, or so.