Advice, please: Am I strong enough for OTB Tournament Play?

I have a question for a chess veteran from an adult beginner: 

My rating here is about 1450-1550 for "Online Chess" her at chess.com, and I don't use any Opening Books during play.  I tend to make my Online moves in about the same amount of time as a G45 game.

I am considering playing in a local club OTB tournament.  Do any of you veterans think I stand a chance of not coming in dead last?  In a typical small town chess club of 10 people, would I win at least 10% of my games?  I'd like to be able to give the competition decent games if I'm going to spend a weekend playing OTB.

My experience in a club so far has all been at a scholastic club with my ankle biters, so I have no "adult" OTB experience to gauge myself.  Any quick comments would be appreciated, thanks.

Play and have fun.

Most people don't do well in their first OTB tournament. If you are interested in OTB tournaments I would just say just start playing. Your results and rating will improve as you get acclimated and comfortable with the experience. If you put any expectations on yourself except starting to learn the ropes, you will just frustrate yourself. Who knows how well you will do? It partly depends on how strong the other players are. Don't worry about it, just play.

Just go for it, you may suprise yourself as well! Good luck if you enter.

Thanks for the immediate comments!  I think I'm going to go for it - my hunch is that I will learn a lot from that sort of OTB play.

The next step is to convince the wife.  I can imagine her jaw dropping "WHAT!?! You are going to play chess for THREE WHOLE DAYS??"  "WHAT? One game takes ALL MORNING?"

It really depends on the nine other people.

In most small tournaments, I doubt you'd be the worst player there, but you might go winless if there's only a few rounds and you have a bad day.

Okay, one should always go and have OTB experience at any age. It is a great experience, one can make many friends around your age and when you play OTB chess it helps you experience the pressures your children endure, which overall makes one a better chess parent and coach.

If you want to improve OTB games is a must. A tournament is exciting too btw so go for it and never look back!! :)

   Jump right in there and have a good time, i think you will find out that OTB chess is way better then anything you can play online. Have fun and good luck

For sure you should play. You'll enjoy the atmosphere even if you lose every game.

Play and have fun.  OTB chess is great fun.

And don't worry about losing.  We all get stomped on at times.

Sure! How strong do you have to be to lift a chess piece?

Be prepared to take more time. For me, G/60 OTB feels about as fast as G/30 online.

Small bits of advice.

Get used to pressing the clock so it is "automatic". 

Play with your eyes more than your brain.

Before each and every move, imagine the move, and then ask yourself "What can he do?" 

Against highly agressive players, don't get too defensive, just get "solid".

You will do better than you expect.  There are players of all ratings at tournaments.

So true !!  you gonna be nervous the first game so play something you know, stick with the main lines let your opponent deviate because most OTB tourys you really only have 3 or 4 minutes per move, once the opening phase is over you will be more comfortable and still have plenty of time on your clock . GOOD-LUCK

Awesome! Another vote here for just going for it. I played in my first OTB event in August after playing on chess.com for a few months, and I'm really glad I did it. The first few games were really nerve wracking, and I didn't play my best, but it didn't take long to get the hang of everything. My game has definitely improved from it, and now I'm addicted to OTB events.

I have never let the likelihood of my getting crushed stand in the way of my playing in a tournament.

What happened to the Esq., WR?

Anyway, as long as you aren't expecting to win every game, there's no strength requirement to participate. At least I hope not, seeing as I'll be participating in at least one tourney over the summer.

There is no such thing as "not good enough" to play in an OTB tourney.  Really.

I don't play anything on Chess.com except live blitz, but my online rating is around 1000, and has been for some time.  My OTB rating is around 750, but I think it is rising and will soon be in the 900 range.

I play against a mixture of kids and adults in OTB tornaments, and I do sometimes win against the adults.  Therefore, my guess is not only that you are "good enough" to play, you are also "good enough" to win some games.

Moreover, as  a Chess organizer, I just wish I could totally and completely eliminate the idea that there is anyone in the world who knows the rules of Chess but somehow "isn't good enough" to play in an OTB tourney.  Where did such a silly idea come from?

The beauty of the Swiss format is that if you've lost all your games you'll most likely be paired with someone who's lost all of theirs 

You probably won't win your first tournament...or your second....you may never win one. But is that why you play?