So this afternoon was the first time I've played online for money. The only other times I've played for money have been with friends playing games like Guts and Baseball.

I was surprised by a few things. I was playing at the lowest level, .02-.04 on PokerStars, and I saw people slow playing AA, QQ, JJ. I also saw a lot of check raising as well. I've only been reading this forum for a month or so, but it seems in almost all of the hand posts that I've read that you don't see many of those tactics or advice.

It seems as soon as I jumped in and the cards starting being dealt I forgot everything I had just read in GSIHE. I didn't check the pot size, I forgot about my position, I probably played some hands I shouldn't have, and took some other hands too far. I hope it gets easier to keep everything in mind that you've learned while you play.

Overall though it was a lot of fun, I learned a lot, and I got my feet wet. I'm really looking forward to improving my play and learning more about poker.

These forums are awesome. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to post here and help beginners like myself understand and play the game better.