The tournaments usually draw at least 50 players and a good mix of ages, although the $5 game comes with a caveat – the game is pretty loose, because the players have so little to lose.

“Poker is meant to be played for something. I feel like I’m wasting my time,” said Angelo Arce, 19, of North Miami.

But his friends, Mitchell Rubenstein, 21, of Hollywood and Michael Cohen, 19, of Hollywood play the $5 tournament almost every day, before heading over to other casinos to play the $5-$10 no-limit games.

Joan Cook, 76, and her husband, Bob, 77, play to sharpen their games. They often travel to Las Vegas and Joan said she’s been reluctant to sit at the games there. They live in Massachusetts part of the year and are staying in Hallandale Beach this winter.

“I want to feel more comfortable at the table, and it’s a great deal,” says Joan, who also plays the $2-$4 game at Gulfstream.

She’s also picking up the first steps of tournament strategy. For example, she raised with pocket jacks, only to get a big re-raise before the flop from a generally tight player, who, it turned out, had pocket kings.

“I should have laid the jacks down,” she said.

Honing strategy is also a reason Brian Sparaco, 22, of Jupiter often plays the $5 tournament.

“It’s just as good as the cash games or other tournaments,” he said. “It’s poker.”