A Five Table Tournament

Fifty players were seated for the Wednesday night Texas hold'em no-limit tournament . Each week since the first of the year, the no-limit tournament at the Oasis Casino in Mesquite, Nevada has seen an increase in the number of participants. For a small poker room it's a great little tournament . The buy-in is $25.00 with unlimited $10.00 re-buys until the half time, and then a player can buy a $20.00 add-on, worth $4000 in tournament money. After the first half, the game is strictly a no-limit shootout with the last man (or woman) standing, declared the winner. A player is eliminated when his chips are gone. If the player makes the final table, he usually earns enough money to cover his buy-in and add-ons. The top four players, are paid according to position. The winner qualifies for a later Champions tournament that yields a nice vacation package.

I was eliminated last night in 14th place, 4 spots out of the money. It was interesting to play some of the younger players who take their cues from the World Poker Tour on Travel Channel television. Many of them use the all-in strategy whenever they enter a pot, irrespective of the stage of the tournament that they are playing. The indiscrimate use of this technique, saw many aspiring T.J. Cloutiers and Scotty Nyguens (both world champions), hit the rail early. One strike and you're out in this game. Once in a while, one of these neophyte players hit a streak and amassed a mountain of chips. These rushes usually didn't last, and provided ample opportunities for others to double up when the luck ran out.

Tournaments are a fun and inexpensive way to participate in the exciting game of no-limit Texas Hold'em that is sweeping America these days. They are bringing people into the poker world from all walks of life. Poker is truly becoming a legitimate sport.

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