Floor people are consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process.  Unusual circumstances can dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness.  The floor person’s decision is final even when a player is asked to leave (disqualified) and all his/her chips removed from play.

Tournament play will use a dead button.

Individuals will be randomly grouped into sets of 9 players to compete at a table.

Each player will be given the same denomination of chips at the beginning of play. Each player will receive chips (4,500 plus 500 chips bonus if pay $5 at register)

All participants must be seated at the start of play or they will be Blinded Out. Missed rounds by any participant will not be rescheduled for any reason.

Participants will not be allowed to remove chips from the table.

Headphones, cell phones, reading materials, and any type of pagers are not permitted at the table during game play.

The one-player-to-a-hand rule will be enforced.

Players must keep their chips and cards visible at all times. Players may not have tournament chips in their pockets at any time. A player who has chips in his pocket will forfeit the chips. The forfeited chips will be taken out of play from the tournament.

Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Discussing cards discarded or hand possibilities is not allowed.

A player who exposes his cards during the play may incur a penalty, but will not have his hand killed.

All Tournament Seating assignments are done by a random drawing starting with the first table/seat assignment drawn at registration.

Seating for our tournaments is done randomly starting at registration, when the player registers; they will be given a randomly drawn card with a table and seat number assignment on it. The dealer will collect the card when they claim their seat for the tournament. These same cards will be used for condensing tables as play goes on. All table & seat assignments are random, using these cards.

A standard 52 card deck will be used.

Obviously, NO CHEATING!! If a supervisor or dealer suspects cheating, that player will ejected and must leave the facility.

That includes discussion of cards to any other players at the table when a hand is being played.

Languages

English and ASL only rules will be enforced while at the table.

Manners

No vulgar, no disruptive behavior or similar incidents.

Blinds

During the opening rounds, all tables will begin play at the same time. Blinds will change at predetermined intervals. When the blind change is announced, the blinds will change on the next hand dealt, not on the hand being currently played.

Blinds will be accelerated.

Missed Blinds and Other Blind Rules

When the small blind is eliminated or when both blinds are eliminated during a hand, the dealer button does not move for the next hand. The players who should have next paid the small and big blinds will continue to do so.

When the big blind is eliminated during the hand, the dealer button will move to the next player. The player due to pay the next big blind will play the big blind. There will be no small blind in that hand.

Betting

The tournament is no limit betting, including no limit on the number of raises per betting round.

Check and raise is permitted.

String bets of raises are not allowed. A player must put in the full amount of the bet at one time or announce his intention to raise.

Verbal declarations in turn are binding.  Action out of turn may be binding.

No pot may be awarded until all losing hands have been killed. The winning hand should remain face up until the pot is awarded.

All cards will be turned face up once a player is all in and all action is complete.

No player shall make change from the pot or another player’s chips to make a bet, only the dealer is permitted to make change.

Before The Deal

On the opening hand, the first player to the left of the dealer will get the “button.” The button signifies who is the “dealer.”

After each hand the button is moved clockwise around the table to the next player.

Because we have a player “on the button”, we now the first two players left of the button via a specific voice announcement (just those players will hear the announcement) to “post the large or small blinds please.” The blinds serve a purpose similar to antes, in that they put forced money into the pot that gives players an incentive to enter the hand. However, only two players will “post” or “put up” the blinds.

The first player to the left of the button is the small blind. The second player to the left of the button is the big blind. As the button rotates around the table all players must pay both big and small blinds.

Once small and big blinds are paid the dealer is ready to deal.

Opening Deal

The dealer button will be set at the start of each round based on a deal of a single card to each player. The player who receives the first ace will receive the dealer button for the first hand.

The dealer always deals from the player closest to the dealer’s left. Moving clockwise around the table, the game will “dealin” each player. The players will be dealt one card face down, then a second card face down. A round of betting will occur starting with the player seated to the left of the large blind.

The player seated to the left of the large blind will always have the action on the opening deal. This player may not check, but rather can only fold, call, or raise the amount of the large blind. 

The game will now advance to each player seated asking to fold, call, or raise until we reach the large blind for an action decision. If no one has raised by the time the play comes back around to the large blind, the large blind has the option to “check” his own BLIND wager or raise.

Once all players have completed the first round of wagering, they will proceed to the flop.

Flop

Before the flop, the dealer will burn one card face down into the pot. After the burn card, the dealer will deal three cards face up in the center of the poker table. These three cards are called “community cards” which are available to all players for potential use to make a poker hand. The area in which these cards lie on the table is commonly referred to as the “board”.

After the opening deal, the player who is seated closest to the left of the button shall have the initial action for the remainder of the game. If the player who has the button folds, then the button is still active and will remain in front of that player’s seat to keep position a constant throughout that game.

The player that has the action may check or bet. As soon as one player chooses to bet, then the other players in the hand can no longer check; They can only fold, call or raise by any amount since this is a no-limit tournament.

Turn

Before the turn, the dealer will again burn one card face down into the pot. After the burn card the dealer will deal one card face up in the center of the poker table.

The player who is seated closest to the left of the button, again, shall have the initial action.

River

Before the river the dealer will again burn one card face down into the pot. After the burn card the dealer will deal one face up in the center of the poker table. This is the last card dealt for the players.

Showdown

After all action is complete during the river, players must now show their cards to determine the winner.

The determination of which players’ cards will and must be shown first will lie with the player who had initiated the action or with the person who had initiated the last bet, raise or re-raise.

This simply means that whoever had the last action on the river must show his/her cards first.

A player who has a winning hand does not have to show his/her cards if his/her bet was not called.

A player is not required to show their cards if, and only if, they are not the player who had the last action. If a player calls a bet and sees that he/she cannot win, he/she may fold his/her cards.

The best hand, best five card combinations, takes the pot.

Betting & Side Pots

After all bets are complete before the burn card the dealer must move all chips into the center of the pot.

When raising, a player must either put the amount of the raise out in one motion or state the raise amount. 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.

When a player goes all in, this means that a player is making a bet that uses up all of the chips he has remaining at the table.

If there is only one other player left in the hand at that point, the betting has ended for that hand, and the dealer will deal out the remainder of the cards. If there are three or more players remaining in the hand when someone runs out of money and goes all in, a “side pot” is created, which is contested only by the players who still have money. It is possible, in multi-way hands, for more than one side pot to be created, if more than one player runs out of money at different times. If you are involved in a side pot, you may win that, even if you cannot beat the align player for the main pot.

Poker Hand Rankings

1.    Royal Flush

The best possible hand (Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, all of the same suit)

        2.    Straight Flush

Any five-card sequence in the same suit (e.g.: 8, 9, 10, Jack and Queen of clubs; or 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of diamonds). 

3.    Four of a Kind

All four cards of the same value (e.g.: 8, 8, 8, 8; or Queen, Queen, Queen, Queen). 

4.    Full House

Three of a kind combined with a pair (e.g.: 10, 10, 10 with 6, 6; or King, King, King with 5, 5). 

5.    Flush

Any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence (e.g.: 4, 5, 7, 10 and King of spades). 

6.    Straight

Five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit (e.g.: 7 of clubs, 8 of clubs, 9 of diamonds, 10 of spades and Jack of hearts). 

7.    Three of a Kind

Three cards of the same value (e.g.: 3, 3, 3; or Jack, Jack, Jack). 

8.    Two Pair

Two separate pairs (e.g.: 2, 2, Queen, Queen). 

9.    Pair

Two cards of the same value (e.g.: 7, 7). 

10.  High Card

If a hand contains none of the above combinations, it's valued by the highest card in it.

The Dealer

The dealer will shuffle and cut the deck of cards, no player shall ask to cut the deck.  Players may not ask for deck changes.

When a dealer or supervisor makes a decision on a hand that decision is final. There will be no type of protests allowed.

The dealer also has the right to eject any player from a table upon his discretion including when a player may be using vulgar language, arguing with players, or cheating.

No rabbit hunting (show of unused flop, turn, or river cards once a pot is won) in allowed.

Dealer Errors

If a player is dealt the Joker facedown, it is replaced by the top card of the deck after completion of the dealing to all other players. If a player does not call attention to the joker among his down cards before action on his hand, then he has a fouled hand and forfeits all rights to the pot and all monies involved.

If a player's hole card is exposed due to a dealer error, then it is a misdeal. All cards will be collected, reshuffled, and redealt.

If a player is dealt more or less cards than the game he is playing in calls for, and it is discovered before two players act on their hands, then it is a misdeal. If it is discovered after two players have acted, then all monies, antes and blinds are forfeited by that player.

Before the flop, turn, or river, if the burned card is not burned and showed as one of the face up cards on either the flop or showed faced up as either one of the turn or river cards, the card is picked up (along with the other two cards showed face up on the flop for example) and placed into the deck and reshuffled.

If the flop has too many cards, it will be taken back and reshuffled except the burn card will remain burned. No new burn card will be used.

If cards are flopped by the dealer before all the betting is completed, the entire flop is taken back and reshuffled. The burn card will remain and no additional burn card will be used for this flop.

If a card is showed face up by the dealer during the turn or the river after the burn card but before all betting is completed, the card is picked up and the deck reshuffled. A new card will then be showed and no new burn card will be burned.

Payout based on number of entries (10% of field)