When Matt Damon said “Texas Hold ’em is the Cadillac of poker,” in the 1998 film “Rounders”, some ISU students heard him loud and clear.

Nearly 300 people gathered in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union Sunday night for the first-ever intramural Texas Hold ’em poker tournament.

Originally scheduled to be held in the Trophy Tavern, the tournament was relocated to the Great Hall after the number of registered players skyrocketed.

“I can’t remember any event with this much response this quickly,” said intramurals coordinator Linda Marticke. “Three hundred people signed up. There were probably eight on the waiting list, then there were a few who showed up hoping they could get in.”

Marticke said she only expected 50 people, but there were more than 250 who registered on the last day.

Many of the players said they heard about the event by word of mouth. Pat Abele, who won the tournament, said he heard about it from some friends.

“I registered as fast as possible [once I heard about it],” said Abele, sophomore in materials engineering.

Players were given 32 chips for betting — eight $5 chips, 16 $10 chips and eight $25 chips — for a total of $400 to begin the tournament. Winners received intramurals T-shirts, but nobody won any money. There was no limit on the amount of “money” a player could bet.

The tournament began with 27 tables of 10 people each. As players lost their chips, other tables were knocked down to fill in the gaps until there was only one table of 10 left. The final 10 players were given T-shirts as they were eliminated.

Marticke said in order to keep the tournament moving, the “blinds” — forced bets on a hand — were raised every 20 minutes. She said only a few people complained that raising the blinds eliminated skillful play.

In Texas Hold ’em, a blind works much like an ante. Two players, usually left of the dealer, place chips into the pot before they can see their cards. An ante requires everyone to pay into the pot before cards are dealt.

After bets are made on the two cards, the “flop” — three community cards that anyone can use — is revealed. A fourth card — the “turn” or “fourth street” — is turned over, followed by the final card, the “river” or “fifth street.” Betting continues after each card is turned over. The object is to make the best five-card hand possible.

Abele said he learned how to play the game from friends.

“They taught me the most [about the game],” he said.

Matt Van Klompenburg, freshman in pre-business, finished fourth in the tournament. He said he learned to play while visiting some friends at Dordt College in Sioux Center about a year and a half ago.

Abele and Van Klompenburg both credit the sudden rise in popularity of Texas Hold ’em to World Series of Poker reruns on ESPN.

“I think a lot of people have caught on from [watching it on ESPN],” Van Klompenburg said.

Kyle Krause, junior is psychology, said he learned the basics of the game from watching it played on ESPN. Playing with friends helped him become clear on the rules, he said.

“It’s just a good time,” said Krause, who was the first to be eliminated from the final table. “It’s something anyone can do. It does take some skill and luck, but winning money is always good.”