Sunday, November 16, 2014

Day Zero Project #27: Play in a poker competition.

This past Friday I strolled into the Derby Poker Club in St. Petersburg, FL ready to play in my first ever Texas Hold 'Em tournament. I had spent a whole 15 to 20 minutes Googling poker strategy and I even watched a YouTube video of Phil Helmuth, so I figured I was in a pretty good spot to win the whole thing.

As I walked out the door I did forget three important things that all poker players need: my hoodie, some sunglasses and my headphones. And (spoiler alert) when I didn't win the tournament, I was pretty sure that this mistake is what cost me the trophy (and cash)

So how did I do? The tournament started with four tables and I was the last guy out before the final table, so I tied for 11th. Not too shabby for my first ever tournament. I was a little bummed about going out at that time because all the final table won something and I went home with nothing more $18 in winnings from the dog races that were taking place during the tournament.


For those who care about how I lost, my stack was running pretty low and the blinds were getting high enough that I didn't have much choice but to take my next decent hand and go all-in. I ended up being dealt a pair of Queens (which gave me some hope that I might win the hand and get back into it). I was called by two people and none of the other cards that were dealt helped at all.

Oh well, I had a ton of fun and plan to hit up a few more tournaments next year and see if I can't start cashing in on some of those prizes!

Note: I stole that bottom photo from Paul W. who was also at the tournament and did a whole lot better than I did, both at picture taking and in card playing.


No comments:

Post a Comment