-My first foray into the world of gambling came via POGS, the game where you would stack circular discs of cardboard into towers same side up and and hit the pile with a brass/metal/plastic/rubber 'slammer', getting to keep whichever POGS flipped over. If it was down to a shorter stack of POGS, you would use a lighter 'slammer' and for one remaining POG you would use a really thin tool to sort of pry the POG over. I was a shark and eventually nobody for play me for keeps. All that really mattered was how deadly your slammer arsenal was.

-Then came 8th-9th grade when friends and I would play pool, bet sports games for $5-$10 each.

-Then, being rich white kids in North Carolina, we started gambling on golf. Definitely -EV for me, lost a lot of money.

-Got into NLHE around Moneymaker time, played and watched nonstop and won a lot of money playing $20-50 buy-in cash games. Subsequently went to Vegas a couple of times, did okay in $2-$5 NL and then got into mixed games with a home game crowd. Was playing $10-$20 HORSE + 2-7 every Thursday night before moving to Nepal. Occasionally would play in NL games around town for similar stakes.

-Since being in Nepal, I bet sports occasionally and play Indian marriage for money. Lots of fun and definitely +EV for anybody who knows their way around cards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Marriage