i noticed some fliers around town for free poker tournament/leagues in the area. looks like these are leagues where you play for points that go towards championships and possible entries into real money tourneys. most seem to be held in sports bars around the area. two sites if found:

http://www.pioneerpokerleague.com/

http://www.worldtavernpoker.com/

you can look up places to play, and it looks like games run nearly every day of the week.

has anyone played at any of these places? is the competition any good? i figure it can't be all that great since it's a free money tournament. but, it might be a good way for me to get my poker fix (outside of internet play) without going to the casinos :)

So you'd be making your way up from play money to real without going to the casino? That'd be cool. If there were any serious players, Id say go for it.

http://www.worldtavernpoker.com/noblePoker_page.aspx

world tavern poker is having a promotion: if you win one of the nightly free tournaments, you get a free $500 entry into an online tourney for a chance to win cash prizes and entries into bigger tournaments.