How do I know if I'm ready for a tournament?

Hi, I'm 18 years old and live in Brooklyn. I learned how to play chess by reading a book from the library when I was still in elementary school, losing 10 times in a row and then playing on and off since. I've been trying to get better, but I don't know if I'm good enough to participate in a tournament (and I don't want to sign up unless I know I won't be humiliated by better opponents). When will I know if I'm good enough? Also, here is a recent game for indication.

Once you drop this attitude you will be ready.

I wouldn't worry about loosing to better opponents.  You will be better than some and worse than others. You will probably learn a lot by playing the better opponents.  Just play and have fun.

Both players made some blunders but it appears that you have sufficient grasp of the game to compete in the novice section. Good luck.

If you don't want to be humiliated by better opponent, then play in the baby section. Seriously, in my city, most common tournaments are non-master tournaments. Weak sections are rare and usually for (high school) students.

In the non-master section, you will meet master-level players (they don't take the master tittle so that they can play in the non-master section). Sometimes when there are junior (students U18) and senior sections, some kids play in the senior section because they want to learn from playing the seniors.

Often there are very young kids playing in non-master tournaments. This makes a dilemma for weak adult players. They don't feel alright beating the kids (with their parents sitting nearby and the kids' eyes filled with tears). But losing to these kids are even worse

So is that a yes or a no for him playing in the tourney?

You'll be ready when just the thought of chess makes yout hairs stand on end,

and your eyes weep with joy!

No. He better plays on chess.com against players rated no less than 200 points below his rating, just to improve his self esteem. Another common way to improve self esteem is by gauging the rating by using engine assistance, but that's against the rule.

Or just play, but during the beginning of the game, pay attention to whether the opponent is stronger or weaker. If he is weaker play on, if he is stronger find excuses to leave the board to toilet or something.

Or use mask. And big hat. And wig and mustache. May be they can help during the humiliation.

Genius.

you shouldnt take your losses like theyre humilation, were all human therefor we all loose, (except for anand i dont think i can recall a tornament game he lost all year lol) you should only see them as ways of improvement, dont go into any game overconfident or scared, play the same game you would against a 1200 , above all else play things you understand and know, dont say things like o this opening is very theoretical he probably knows the lines better than me, play what you know and understand

 I think this one deserves to be spelled genuis.  You realize the brilliance of that sentence op?

I just started my first chess.com tournament, and due to beating my girlfriend twice (who i did NOT force to play me), my rating skyrocketed to 1450.  Got placed in the 1400-1600 tournament, and am currently getting my assets handed to me.  BUT, im trying to learn from it, and not worrying about winning or losing, just trying to enjoy the games and get something out of them.  I plan on running all of my tourny games through analysis and spending some serious study time trying to figure out where my big errors were.  And trust me, there have already been some whoppers!  Should I post them so you don't feel so bad about yourself?  

Just play, enjoy the game, and who knows, maybe your opponents will make bigger blunders than you!

just play(for fun or in tourney) 

but remember to learn from both u and your opponent's mistakes!!

Carlsen just came last in the Botvinnik memorial rapid, losing all his games on the second day. And his opponents weren't even better than him on paper.

So you need to be better than Carlsen, as a lower bound.

If you never lose you can never appreciate winning.

Since you live in the US, you have a lot of choice for your first tournament. Chess Life has a special add section in the end pages, where all upcoming tournaments in the whole US are listed, with all the details. You just have to pick up the one that will suit you most. The big tournaments, like World Open or US Open, are divided into sectons according to rating. You can play in the higher rating section, but not in the lower. For example, if your rating is 1450 you can play in Open section with the Gms or Under2000, Under1800 or Under1600 sections, but not in the Under1200/Unrated section. Of course, since you have weaker opponents in those sections prize money is lower. I would advise you to pick a tournament from the list, enter lowest possible (unrated?) section, and then just play chess, one game at the time. After the tournament is over you can take a look back at your performance and your games. That will show you how good you are and what to do to get better.

I suggest that you read Silman's wonderful book Amateur's  Mind before playing tournaments.

its not that I'm scared of losing, as long as I put up a fight and don't blunder horribly I can take it. What I don't want, on the other hand, is to play somebody like Carlsen in all my matches, get destroyed in under ten moves, and not learn anything. But thanks for all the responses guys.

The first response you got was the best.  As soon as you see a loss as something other than personally humiliating then try a tournament. I don't mean you have to enjoy losing or get to where it doesn't bug you, but if you would see losing to a pre-teen as life-shattering, then stay away. Go in with some realistic goals, and you'll be fine.

I just did my first tournament last month. You're going to learn a lot just by playing in one, and if you're anything like me or the other people I talked to, you won't play your best just because it's your first tournament. If you can review your games there with a stronger player, take it. That will be the most valuable part of the whole process, especially with your losses.