One of my friends and a regular at my home game recently was in an accident that left him with a compound fractured clavicle and an injured lung. He’s a bartender in the French Quarter, so obviously he doesn’t have insurance (I could rant here about the lack socialized medicine here, but this is a poker blog, not a political soapbox) and his medical bills are going to be, frankly, scary. So, I decided to throw a poker tournament in his honor.

First, if you’re planning on running a multi-table poker tournament, don’t! But you probably will… and truthfully, I probably will too. I like playing the tournament director role. I get to watch hands and judge them from afar. That part is fun. Organizing one, however, is not.

I started by getting the space, which was upstairs from a bar which I DJ at once a week. Problem was that the upstairs bar was no longer in use and the owner was letting it be a “personal” room for his cats. The whole place stank. So cleaning it was a nightmare. But, we (Mike Heckman and myself) were able to clean it and successfully get the smell with the inventive use of scented candles, incense and Febreeze.

Secondly, begging for donations from local businesses is not really something that I enjoy doing. Begging in general. In the end though, I was able to scrape together a little over $200 in donations to use as prizes. Some business really surprised me with their generosity. One of the greatest things this city has going for it is the sense of community. Neighbors truly do try and help their neighbors here.

So, I picked a night. I put the word out. Put up a lot of fliers. Basically worked it. Still, not as many players as I hoped for. But still a fun turn out.

In the end we raised about $500 for my friend (a drop in the bucket) and I got an opportunity to play (I ended up placing 3rd, but “donated” my prize to the dealer, since she was volunteering her time).

Has all of this taught me a lesson? Yes. Am I still thinking about organizing a poker league (in a different location)? Yes.

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