Testing my luck.

I ventured back into the Casino today. The Sydney Casino has a big poker tournament next month which attracts a $2,200 buy-in. As I would never pay so much to play in such a tournament, my only chance is to qualify via satellites. Today's satellite attracted a $250 fee, with 1 ticket offered for every 10 runners. A friend was keen to chance her luck on it so it felt like a good day to go.

The tournament was scheduled to start at 2:15pm. We were a little early and registered quickly. There was a commotion at 2:15 when they announced the start was delayed to 3pm due to lack of runners - 19 players were already registered and ready to go, some of the regulars were vocal in their disappointment and management eventually agreed on a 2:30 compromise.

The first session was quite successful for me. I started off folding everything, so much so that I felt like I could get away with a few bluffs (and i did). Just before the break some of them were hitting and I went to the first break with my stack tripled. My friend had also started well but had taken a big hit just before the break. The late start was pointless as they only opened up 2 tables anyway and despite crawling to 25 runners, the extras were surplus and treated as reserves, only joining when one was eliminated.

After the break the table numbers started dwindling. My friend was eliminated and both tables had 3 or so empty seats so I opened my range. This tactic did not work for me and my stack started to erode. We eventually combined tables and I went card dead. I eventually made a move with KQ, ran into AQ and lost. I made it to 7th place, a respectable finish but still 4 outside the prize money.

The good thing about playing at Casinos is that tournaments are stricter than pub games, though today I must say that the organisers had no clue. They couldn't tell us when the tournament starts, how long the breaks were scheduled for, if antes were introduced in later levels and changed their minds about offering the final table a free drink. It is nice having a dealer look after the side pots and settle disagreements, however there in certainly room for improvement.

I may not have won money today, but it was still nice playing in a formal tournament and will try another one if I can squeeze it in. At least I was also able to catch up with my friend, who despite being eliminated relatively early, was able to recover $200 on the cash tables afterwards!