I have played at many a home game before, but until this past Saturday I had never played Hold 'Em in a casino or in any other venue.

One of my friends had an ex-neighbor that was hosting a $35 buy-in NL tourney at a Moose Lodge that he was a member of (The Moose Lodge was another story altogether, comical! Anyway....). Total entrants were 77. 1st prize was $1000, 2nd was $500, can't remember the other payouts but they paid out to the top 5. I believe that 5th place paid out $75.

My buddy and I had a little $5 side-bet about who would outlast the other. He went out well before I did (somewhere in the 50th out of 77 range). I played pretty well. I got crippled on a hand where I was dealt TT. The board did not show a card over a 9 and there was a flush draw on the board. I bet aggressively and was down to one other guy and me in the pot. This was the guy's first time playing and he was clueless the entire night. Can anyone guess what happened?

He turns over QQ after I got him all-in. Well, that took the wind out of my sails and although I managed to stay in another hour and a half I could never recover from that hand.

Ironically, I busted out to the same newbie that beat my TT. I had A5 on the short stack and pushed. He called me with QJ and caught a Q on the flop. Amazing how he was catching cards all night. This just goes to show that sometimes it's better to be lucky than good I guess.

I ended up busting out in 21st of 77. Not bad for my first real tournament. My previous high for total players was a mere 10 at a home game so this was an entirely new vibe for me. It was alot of fun and there is another one in November that I plan to play in.

Anyway after I busted out I went over to one of the cash tables that were playing and joined my buddy at a 7-Card Stud table. I bought in for $20 and I left with $41 there so, coupled with the $5 from my friend I only ended down $9 for the night. But seeing as how the buy-in included food, $9 is a pretty cheap price for a night of poker and free food!

mike4066 - I know that you live in my general area. This tourney is hosted in Medina. The next one is November 20th (I will verify if you're interested). $35 buy-in includes food (deli sandwich trays). there is also a cash bar. Cheap drinks being a Moose Lodge and all!