The tournament
director is to consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual
circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness.
Their decision is final.
Betting Procedures
The action of betting is physically
defined as the release of chips after a single, forward motion.
Above all, verbal declarations in turn are binding.
A player, who declares a call, raise, fold, must do so to the limit that the chips allow. If simultaneous declarations are
made (tossing in a raise and saying call), the verbal declaration takes precedence.
Action out of turn is not binding.
The deliberate intention to act out of turn may result in a penalty.
Check raising (checking, then later raising
over a bet) is allowed.
String betting (placing out bets with more than one motion without verbally declaring your
intention) is forbidden. Any betting motions after the first motion will be dismissed.
By stating the word “raise“,
a player protects his right to raise, but the raise must be made in one additional motion unless he states the amount.
A bet must be at least the amount of the big blind. A raise must be at least double that of the previous bet/raise.
No splashing the pot (throwing chips in).
Split Pots,
Side Pots, and going All-in
A player who is all-in must show his cards at the showdown.
In
the case of a split pot when there are two or more high hands, the chip(s) will be split as evenly as possible (chips may
need to be broken down into smaller denominations) with any odd chip(s) left over given out to the winning player with the
worst position (left of the button being the worst).
Each side pot will be split as a separate pot. They will not
be mixed together before they are split.
When a player creates a side pot by going all-in, the side pot will be
the current pot plus each call up to the amount of the all-in. Any raises (or calls in the case of a below-the- limit all-in)
go into the new pot.
At the showdown with a side pot, the player who is all-in can only win the pot set aside
when he or she went all-in. After the winner of that hand is resolved, the players involved in the main pot determine the
winner without regard to the all-in hand.
In case of multiple side pots, a player can only win up to what he put
in times the number of calls up to the all-in amount.
In
the event of an odd amount, the player in the worst position (left of the dealer) will get the odd amount.
The dealer and/or the players involved in the pot are the only ones allowed
to handle the chips.
Blinds and Antes
Players must post blinds and antes before
cards are dealt.
If a player does not have enough to cover his blind/ante, a side pot is created before cards are
dealt and...
a. In an ante only game, the side pot will equal the amount of the
all-in
times the number of players.
b. In a blind only game, the side pot will equal the amount of the
all-in times the number of callers.
c.
In a game with blinds AND antes, if the player can call the
ante
and part of the blind, the side pot will equal the amount
of
the ante times the number of player PLUS the amount of the
remaining all-in blind times the number of callers.
d. In a game with blinds AND antes, if the
player can call all or
part of the ante but no
part of the blind, the side pot will equal
the
amount of the all-in times the number of players and the
blind
will be absent.
When heads up, the blinds are reversed. The player on the button has the small blind.
In the hand after a big blind is eliminated, the button will move normally and there will be no small blind. The following
hand, the button will move into the position where the eliminated player was, creating a dead button situation.
In the hand after a small blind is eliminated, the button will move into the position where the eliminated player was, creating
a dead button situation.
In the hand after both blinds are eliminated, the button will move into the position where
the former small blind was and there will be no small blind. The following hand, the button will move into the position where
the former big blind was.
Through players being eliminated, no player should miss a big or small blind.
Chips
All chips must be visibly displayed at all times.
Players must keep
their highest denomination chips visible at all times.
There will be no foreign chips allowed on the table other
then a card protector.
At the request of the dealer, a player must exchange his or her chips for chips of a different
denomination.
Killing a Hand / Dead Hands
If a live player leaves during a
hand, there will be no minute countdown and the hand will be declared dead.
A player must be in their seat by the
time all players have complete hands in order to have a live hand. Otherwise the blinds/antes will be forfeited and the hand
will be killed.
If a live hand touches the muck, face down, it will immediately be ruled dead.
If
a dealer kills an unprotected hand, the player will have no redress and will not be entitled to his money back. An exception
would be if a player raised and his raise had not been called yet, he would be entitled to receive his raise back.
In the event that a player leaves the tournament, their chips will be pulled
from the tournament.
Exposing Cards
During the initial deal, if
any pocket card is exposed due to dealer error, it will become the first burn card and the player that the card was intended
for will receive the last hole card dealt. If a second card is exposed it’s a misdeal.
A player
who exposes his cards during the play may incur a penalty, but will not have his hand killed. If any player at the table saw
the exposed cards, all other players have a right to know what the exposed card or cards were. If a player unintentionally
exposes his cards during play, his hand will not be ruled dead. If any player at the table saw the exposed card(s), then all
other players at the table have the right to know what the exposed card(s) was.
At the showdown players begin to
show their cards starting with the player to the left of the last to call. A player may “muck” his cards if they
cannot win over a previously shown hand. If the house suspects cheating or collusion, you may be asked to expose your cards
to the dealer, coordinator, and/or the other players.
Any player who is live during the showdown may ask
to see both pocket cards from a player who reveals only one.
Any player may ask another player to reveal his or
her pocket cards if they were exposed to any player at the table.
A player may not ask to see
both pocket cards from another player who revealed them to a spectator.
Going up in Levels
When time has elapsed in a round and a new round is announced, the new limits
apply to the next hand.
Excessive stalling during a hand to receive a favorable position prior to a limit change
may result in a penalty.
As levels progress it may be necessary to exchange chips of a low denomination for chips
of a higher denomination. When this happens, players may have odd chips. These are chips which, due to an insufficient sum,
will be traded to the next higher denomination.
Multi-table rules
Initial tournament
and satellite seats will be randomly assigned.
A table can
play down to 4 players and no less.
The order of moving
a player or players will be determined by a card draw with the highest card/cards moving. In the event of a tie the players
that tied will redraw. Effective for the 2nd half of 2008 the movement of playes will be done by the computer program.
The high card for movement will be used if the program is not available.
Players going from a broken table
to fill in seats assume the responsibilities of their new position. They may receive any position from blind to button.
The only place a moved player cannot be placed is between the small blind and the button. If it is necessary for a
player to be moved to this position, that player must sit out that hand.
The final two tables will redraw using high
card for the button (dealer).
A player who intentionally dodges his blind(s) when moving from a broken table will
forfeit the blind(s) and/or incur a penalty. The money will be put into the next pot and will be considered dead money.
Prior to the “bubble” (the point where only a few more players must be eliminated for all remaining players
to be guaranteed a portion of the prize pool), the tournament may be played “hand-for-hand”. This means that each
table will wait until all other tables finish their hands before starting another. This deters stalling by players in an attempt
to place higher.
Hand-for-hand play may also be instituted during times where stalling to receive a higher place
in the tournament would be advantageous to any player.
Miscellaneous Rules
One
player to a hand. During the hand, a player may not discuss play with other players, spectators, or the dealer.
English only at the table.
Players may not exchange chips for any reason.
A player who wants to
use a cellular phone or any communication device must step away from the table.
A player may not leave a camera,
cell phone, any recording instrument, or highly reflective item on the table.
The Tournament Director may call
for deck changes in certain circumstances. Players may not ask for deck changes unless proof can be made that certain cards
can be construed as “marked”.
Rabbit hunting (asking to see additional board cards after play is over)
is forbidden as it can give insight into players’ hands by reducing the possible number of unknowns.
The
tournament coordinator reserves the right to cancel or alter any event at its sole discretion in the best interest of the
tournament and/or its players.
Players will be allowed to
enter the main event up to the start of the 3rd blind level with a penalty of ten times the big blind at that time.
Participating in this event for entertainment purposes only, gambling on
these premises is strictly prohibited.
