In most poker rooms it is not allowed to hide your cards from view. This is because players make their decisions based on how much people are currently playing in the hand based on their position. If you hide your hand this influences the players decision and may cause out-of-turn betting, disturbing the gameplay. Hiding your cards from a player or players is also poor poker etiquette as poker is considered a gentleman's game.
Poker players are often given "nicknames" to describe how they play. A player who is a beginner, and plays above his level is called a "Fish", these players do not know how to play the game properly or how to play at a certain level. The reason why they are called "Fish" is because poker players who are seasoned players and know the game inside out will gain most of their profits from these "Fishes" and try to play as much as possible against them. These poker players are called "Sharks".
Watch the other players playing. How loose or aggressive is your opponent?Try to survive in the tournaments. Don't risk too much. When your opps. are angry, they'll have a weaker hand than normal in the situation. (The clouds over their heads display this.)
The website Card Player is a resource and hub for poker players. Unlike other sites on the web that feature the game of poker, this site is more about odds and information as much as playing.
Ted Forrest is one of the highly admired American professional poker players in the world who has won 5 World Series of Poker gold bracelets in his career. He is much admired for his manners.
Chinese equivalent of poker. played with a stack of dominoes. center stack is a draw pile for both players. stack is layed and players pick their hand. each domino has a value and can be grouped much like in poker by number or suit. don't know all configurations and point values but hope this helps. there is also an americanized version played with cards. haven't played but it sounds like it's worth checking out.
Golf should be a sport because although golf does not require as much physical activity as other sports, it still requires some athletic skill and you are still competing with other players. Now poker on the other hand, is not a sport.
A few essential tips for novice Texas Holdem Poker players would be to pay attention to the game, know the rules, don't bluff too much, and be selective with your starting hands.
"Free poker tournaments that require no investment by the player typically only have a prize pool of a couple hundred dollars. While it is not much, it's a good way for new poker players to earn money with very little risk while they increase their skill."
In a poker game you are free to fold any hand at any time. You can fold as much as you want, there is no rule saying you can only fold X times. As long as you have chips to play with, you are allowed to fold.
I would say from minimum wage all the way to millions. But be prepared for hard work(study) in order to make the higher limits.
Poker education never ends.