Plaw - I scoped out that game tonight...
Okay, these guys are serious. I walk into the basement, and there are 5 large poker tables set up. There are 14 of us, so we have 2 tables of 7. $100 buy-in gives you "$2000" in chips -- worth $500/100/25.
Talking to some of them, they seem to practically live in AC, and some go to Vegas for $1000 buy-in tourneys. I think a couple even went to the WSOP.
I went to simply practice, and to take in the experience. I was kinda proud of myself for lasting a whole hour with the $100. This one kid at my table re-bought another $100 like six or seven times in that hour! (The same kid who told me he won 4 of 6 tourneys in AC recently - hmmm....)
Trying to think of all the details. There was a timer; apparently every 30 mins the ante (blind) went up. For most of the night there was no dealer, so I had to learn pretty damn quick -- and I did, since I was like 5th in line to deal. I didn't even know how the blinds worked, but figured it out fast enough to not make a fool of myself - lol.
Typical of me, I got shit cards ALL night. And remembering your advice, I played tight/conservatively for a long time since I had nothing. I was hoping that once I did start actually betting, that they'd get scared. But nah, nothing scares these guys. lol But with the blinds going up on a schedule, even not betting you're gonna lose.
It was a tremendous learning experience, though! Well worth the $100 for that. There was $1000s of dollars in that room...unbelievable. Right now, while I'm home, they're probably just consolidating to one table. Awesome!