TUSCALOOSA | Mark Upton, a 40-year-old Northport resident, said he’s been playing poker since he was 5 years old.

But despite his 35 years of experience, he hasn’t had a lot of luck with the game.

“I’m a loser," Upton said. “My nickname is Dead Money.

“I know with the law of averages, though, I’ll start winning eventually," he said. “Heck, it’s been 35 years now and I think [Greg] Raymer being here is a sign that my luck is going to turn around."

The 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event champion, Greg “Fossil Man" Raymer, took on all challengers in the tournament from his place of honor at a red table in the center of the bar.

By the end of the first hour of the third annual Buffalo Rock American Heart Association Poker Showdown at Wilhagan’s Bar and Grill on Tuesday night, Upton was able to pinch the less than a dozen chips he had left between two fingers.

The tournament this year had twice as many people as last year’s event, held at Rhythm & Brews, and featured a special guest.

Three years ago, Raymer defeated 2,575 players in Las Vegas to win the World Series of Poker’s $5 million pot.

Tuesday night, the world champ faced only 200 people, but said he would be lucky to beat even one.

“I find it difficult to win at these type of charity tournaments because no one wants to fold against me," Raymer said.

The game was 7-card Texas Hold 'Em with white chips being equivalent to $50, red $100, blue $500 and green $1,000.

Chris Gunter, the administrative manager for Buffalo Rock, said the buy-in for the tournament was $50 for $5,000 worth of chips or $100 for $10,000 in chips.

About $15,000 in proceeds from the tournament was donated to the American Heart Association, Gunter said.

The prizes at the tournament, given to the top 25 players, ranged from coolers to a 32-inch LCD flat-screen TV to a free trip to Las Vegas.

A special reward also was given to the person who knocked Raymer out of the game.

The bounty on Raymer’s head was a windbreaker suit and autographed photo of Raymer, which might not have been as valuable as an LCD TV, but was a prize many people were gunning for.

University of Alabama senior Cal McCleskey, who sat at Raymer’s table two seats away from him, said he’s only been playing for five years, but thought he had a fair shot of taking out the champ.

“It all depends on the cards he gets and the ones I get," said McCleskey, a 22-year-old broadcast journalism major.