ok you both have student loans burning a hole in your pockets
losing over £150/month each with your online play at the moment
never played live b&m tourneys before
and would like to make a night of it while gaining experience
The answer is simple
Come and join my local casino game in a relaxed friendly atmosphere. In fact sod that ! if you live near Nottingham its only a couple of hours away for me, you name the local and I will join you
and I will buy you a pint for every two you buy for yourself**
On a serious note I was in the same situation as you and stumbled across the Apat site by accident while only playing online. In fact I only posted on here to help with directions/ cheap hotels etc to the next tournament which was in my home town. I was warmly welcomed and invited to join the tournament which I played in and thoroughly enjoyed.
It was the best thing I could have done.
Going back to your original questions, you are now an Apat member already free of charge. Registration for the tournaments usually are available about three weeks before (mods can give you details). Most buy-ins are £75 . The DTD World Tourney I believe is £100 but the kind sponsors 888Poker pay the registration fee.
They are great value tournaments with a cracking atmosphere.
Craig
**I am having second thoughts about buying every third pint. If you are typical students this could be a hefty rake