I finally was able to persuade my wife that a Vegas trip would be fun for us both, partly with my agreeing to limit my poker play each day to a morning tournament.

I studied Allvegaspoker.com for weeks prior to the trip, trying to map out which tourneys would be the right ones to enter for a first timer. (My background: Home games and very limited online over the past year. I have been a voracious reader, though, of the strategy books, including Harrington's two volumes and all the regular "bibles" of the game.)

I finally decided to try the Flamingo 10 a.m. tourney ($50 + $5 buy in) one day and then the Paris 9:30 a.m. ($60 + $5 + $5 add-on) tourney the next.

I arrived at the Flamingo at about 9:15 a.m. and got the last seat for the 30 person tournament.

One guy was clearly a regular at my table and was chatting up everyone, clearly setting up a dominating table image. On the first hand, he moves all-in after a flop of A-x-x all diamonds with A6o and a guy to my right calls -- with K4s. But the K4 were hearts. not diamonds!

A husband and wife played at my table, too, and I was suspicious when the wife, who had been throwing her chips around fairly easily, didn't call the husband's all-in when he was very short stacked. Whatever.

I played very tight, maybe 5 or 6 hands, and won all of them. My image was helped by the talker, who started telling the others that I knew what I was doing. I didn't respond. But it did allow for one semi-bluff.

I had 10-6c in the big blind. Guy two to my right raises it to twice the blind, so I call. Flop comes K-6-7 with two clubs. Guy bets, I call. Turn is a rag. He bets. I reraise. He thinks for a long time, then shows a K and throws it away. Thought I was on two pair. I'll never know if I would have made the flush, of course.

My tight play got me to the final table (out of only 30 players) with an above average stack.

Early on, the talker guy (who was now big stack and had been bullying) raises about four times big blind, which was about half my stack. I look down at AKo. I moved all in. He turns up AA. I go home in 8th place.

I'm not sure I could have put him on AA there -- and so don't regret that one.

Flamingo room was well run, started on time, easy to deal with, no complaints or anything. I was surprised that all seats were gone so soon -- and glad I got there 45 minutes early.

Went to Paris next day at the tournament organization was much different. (One thing to note: They do allow a $5 add-on for a $500 chip, giving you $2000 to start. Pay it. Everyone else does.)

This place had a much more touristy feel to the players -- older guys, a few older women who just happened to stop by at the right time (I think, anyway) -- and felt more beatable.

Everyone was ready to go at 9:30, except for the dealers and director, who scrambled around to find a key to open the locks and provide us with cards. About 15 minutes later, that was solved. Our dealer said that things were still pretty disorganized.

The room was fine, and as advertised on this site -- kind of in the open. But, as with the Flamingo, the morning crowds aren't too big or bothersome so noise and smoke wasn't really a factor. Also, drink service seemed much faster in the AM than what I observed at other rooms in the PM.

First hand at Paris, a guy in a hat and sunglasses (why?) moves all-in with $2000 to win a $150 pot. Hmmmm.

Needless to say, I again played very tight, waiting only for premium hands and was able to get good payoffs for them.

I was ahead when my money went in almost everyone time. One exception: With one guy all in and me in a side pot with another guy, I was hoping we would check it down to take the guy out. But he bet the turn, and I called with 88 when I was probably behind on a board of Q-J-3-4. River was an 8. I beat the all-in guy and never saw what the other fella had. I'm thinking the set won it for me, though.

Anyway, here's where the real lesson for future play comes in.

Those blinds come speeding around very, very quickly. More than I ever expected.

With 40 players in the tournament, starting at $2000 each, I knew the final table average would be $8000 per player. I was figuring that I needed to be at or above that average to be in decent shape to then see what happens when it was down to the end.

Wrong.

By midway through, so many players are deparate because of the blinds, you simply cannot afford to see a flop. A small raise looking to see a flop would inevitably be met by an all-in that was just too much to call. I tried to see flops with J-10s or 77 or 66 by limping or raising two or three times the bb -- but would be creamed by an all-in move that wasn't laying the right odds to call. (In my mind, anyway.)

Be aware of that in the middle rounds.

OK, long story short.

We get to the final table with blinds at 1600-3200. I am in good shape (I think) with $11600. Several guys are barely hanging on with a couple chips.

It is high-carded for the button and I end up in the big blind. I put out my $3200. The UTG goes all in for $8000. Folds around. I have 8-3, can't call it.

I put in my $1600 small blind. A few folds. Guy goes all-in with $4500. More folds. I have 8-3 yet again! Can't call it.

Boom. I'm down to $6800 like that.

I fold, fold, fold with weak cards while the shorter-than-me stacks move all in and sort out which among them is going to stay alive.

When it gets down to 6 players (4 get paid in this tourney, I was told), I was desparately asking everyone to chop the $2,600 in real money. The only one who wouldn't was, of course, the big stack. Next hand -- he loses a good part of his stack in a confrontation.

I again propose a chop, and now the old big stack agrees, but the new big stack won't!

Then, dealer annouces blinds double to -- $3200-$6400!

Yikes.

There is $80000 on the table with 6 players ((13,333 average per player -- and the blinds are going to eat $9600 of it).

This is what perhaps all the regular readers of this Web site already understand. But for rookies like me, it was something I wish I would have truly grasped earlier. I would have played more aggressively in the middle stages to accumulate enough chips for later. Being average stack at the final table just wasn't enough with where the blinds were. I think it should have been, by the way.

Anyway, despite my pleadings for a chop and pointing out that we were no longer playing poker but instead standing at a figurative slot machine, the big blind comes to me at 6400 -- and takes all but my last 400.

One raise, one call and I'm forced to throw in the last 400 with a 9-6o, hoping they are live and I triple up. It didn't happen. I went out 5th.

I was OK with 8th and 5th place finishes in first ever live play, but sure would have liked to have made some money.

I have really enjoyed reading the other posts on here and hope this has been helpful to you.

In the future, I might look at putting all my money toward the Wynn tournament that allows $3000 in strating chips and 45 minute blinds. There are $110 satellites into it if you can't afford the $500+ buy-in. Something to consider, anyway.

My main lessons:

1. Arrive early, to ensure a seat.

2. Play tight, but not forever. It definitely mattered.

3. Be very aware of the blinds -- and what the next level will do to your stack. You might not feel big-time desparate with $12,000 at blinds of 400-800, but it's getting time to move when (on the next hand) blinds double to 800-1600. (Your M drops from 10 to 5 in a heartbeat.)

Again, I hope this helps you.