When you get more comfortable and experienced you’ll be able to loosen up your starting hand requirements a bit. Lower pocket pairs, adding AJ and AT to your list, suited connectors, etc. You’ll also find yourself more often in position to steal blinds with a big raise or bluff on the flop or turn. First session is about survival; second session is about accumulation.
Yeah, you might have gone a little too tight. I’d want to see a few flops if the price wasn’t too astronomical. And moving around didn’t give you the super-tight-if-he-plays-he’s-got-a-hand aura. Sounds like you need to go back 
I wouldn’t say I was playing too tight. I spent most of the night getting crap like 85o and other completely unplayable hands. I even pulled two 72o. I did see a few flops and loosened it up a bit with things like JT, but people started raising pretty heavily pretty quick and I decided that descretion was the better part of valor and got out. Heck, half the time I couldn’t even stay in when I was BB, because people would go from like $200 to $500 or more preflop, and I didn’t have anything worth raising on. I’m telling you, I pulled some really bad cards.
Yeah, I think I’ll go back sometime. But it ain’t going to happen this week–unless I head to Isleta. I figure that a $5 buy-in (I’m guessing a $5 entry fee as well) will get a lot of really loose players, so that might work in my favor, cause I’d still play it pretty tight. What I thought was a $60 buy-in at Sandia is actually a $100 buy-in, and if I’m going to spend that kind of dough on entertainment I’ve got a box set of South Park season 5 and Futurama season 4 calling my name. Or I’d hit the blackjack table if I was determined to gamble with that much cash.
Also, I’d play online, but I’ve never been able to get the Interpoker software to load properly on my computer and I don’t really feel like playing for play-money. After all, I can just play against the computer with the game I have (though it’d be limit hold’em.) If I could get in on the free-roll tournaments I would, but I simply can’t get the software to install.
I have computer sim poker and play at PokerRoom.com (Otto plays there as well), and to me the online is entirely different. I’ll eventually plop some coin into PokerRoom, I have a sneaking suspiscion that will play a lot different than the play money does. So while play money online may not be the absolute most accurate way to judge your skill, it has at least given me a better understanding of the game. Worth at least what I pay for it.
Stupid me. It’s a $60 buy-in at Isleta. There are too many freaking Indian casinos in New Mexico, and only three I’m willing to drive to (well, two, really, cause it’s a surpisingly long drive out to Route 66, which is Laguna Pueblo’s casino.) So that would be my $40 I won playing blackjack today plus 20 bucks. I think that might be worth it, as I’d only be out 20 bucks of my own money. But if they’ve only got room for 60 people (Sandia had better than 180, and according to Isleta’s website, they only have 6 tables), I’d probably have to get down there early in the morning, get my fees paid, then go back that night.
Pokerroom and its various skins have a Java client, no download required. There’s also a bunch of us who play (or in my case try to play) tournaments.
If you’re interested and would like some extra play money starting chips (and a deposit bonus should you decide to play for real money) email me for a referral.