Well this is my last blog for now. After 14 days and over $4000 in cash its time to call it a day for now.

So what have I learnt from this social experiment in playing poker under the circumstances I have come across here in Florida where gambling is restricted to a $100 buy-in, pot-limit is unheard of and once you go into the $5/$10 game you may as well be playing in a $100 raffle every hand you play?

Well for one thing the standard of play IS poor. Unfortunately for me I couldn't adapt to seeing players play 8-3 offsuit and winning the pot when the trip 3's hit the river after my entire stack had crossed the line with Q-Q on the turn.

The $1/$2 is too passive for me, especially during the day when OAP's from across mid Florida all converge with their $10 slot voucher. They're happy to buy-in for $50 and sit and wait for a hand then call you all the way with it. They never raise and you can't read them! In the evening the game does liven up a bit when the college kids, direct from classes, come in and fill the tables. Perhaps my mistake was not to play them as much as I should have but in the 14 days I played that's not the way it turned out!

The $2/$5 was lively and played what I perceived to be correct. The only problem was that the $100 max buy-in meant that many more players were determined to see the river having paid $20 for the flop then another $50 for the turn. Hell another $30 wasn't going to put them off. Once you had a big stack you could make the turn bet $100 to see them off but not with only $100 to start with. It was in this game I did my brains.

The $300 I spent in the $5/$10 game was more for an education than anything else as the players that had been established there for several hours simply called anything the short stacks threw at them and more often than not ended up winning. Nothing to be done really!

Tournaments played as tournaments play the world over so no problems with them.

The $2/$4 Omaha Hi-Lo was action packed and if you could scoop a couple of 'KILL' pots you could be set for the day but it was a grind and as the house took $5 a pot you know there was only going to be one winner!

Gambling in Florida is a bit of a mess. Thirty feet from the poker tables you could play $5000 a hand in blackjack and bet $45 a spin in a slot machine but when it comes to poker the best you can do is pull a Benjamin out and pray.

There's no doubt I'll be back to Tampa. Next time I'll bring $10,000 and plan to stay for 4 weeks (at least). Stay tuned. I may be beaten up this time but it won't be long before I continue this blog.....!!!