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After a 16-hour marathon at the World Series of Poker, Catherine Hart says she's convinced the game can truly be called a sport.

Hart, 48, who lives in Albuquerque, finished the first round of play Saturday at Las Vegas, Nev. with $33,900 worth of chips. She made the cut to the second round, which begins Tuesday.

Playing for 16 hours straight with only a few 20-minute breaks was more of a workout than she thought, she said.

"That was some brain work, let me tell you," Hart told The Tribune in a phone interview on Sunday. "My whole body's tired, but I'm still in it."

Hart received a $10,000 entry fee into the World Series of Poker by winning an online tournament on AOL's No-Limit Texas Hold ÕEm site.

Playing live is a lot different than playing online, but people still make the same mistakes, she said.

"People were going all-in when they shouldn't have," Hart said. "I did really well at the end by just taking their chips."

Hart knocked four people out of the tournament on Saturday, and by Tuesday the nearly 9,000 original entrants will be reduced to about 1,200, she said.

Hart's in the middle of the pack with her $33,900 in chips. The leader from Saturday's play-in was Dag Martin Mikkelsen, who finished with $236,000 in chips.

"I was playing conservative because I wanted to stay in it and make it to the second round," Hart said.

At one point her chips dropped to $10,000, but she doubled up and went all in and made her way back by the end of the day, she said.

Some players who lost in Round 1 didn't handle it very well, she added with a chuckle.

"Some people get really mad," Hart said. "I understand, because they lost their $10,000 entry fee. But this one guy was throwing stuff when he found out he didn't make it."

She plans to change her strategy a bit on Tuesday.

"I think I'm going to have to call a little more, bet a little more and bluff a little more," Hart said.

If she makes it to Round 3, she'll be thrilled, she said.

The prize for those in the top 900 is about $15,000.

"It's been a great experience," Hart said. "I'm not nervous anymore. I'm so excited that I'm still in it."