Entry Fees - must be paid before your active participation begins. 100% of entry fees go to prize pool. Players who wish to participate in tournaments that start before they can arrive will have a seat assigned, initial stake awarded, blinds posted as required, cards dealt and all hands folded until they arrive. Players who direct their seat be managed in this manner are liable to winners for their entry fees even if they never appear in person.
Your Seat - is randomly assigned through drawing cards. No seat changes are allowed, save for combining tables, at which time seats will be assigned usually through random draw
Starting Stacks - will be provided by the house. Tournament chips have no cash value and you cannot cash out at any time. Count your starting stack to ensure it totals the starting stake
Player Responsibilities - protect your hands, make your intentions clear, follow the action, act in turn, defend your right to act, keep cards visible, keep chips correctly stacked, remain at the table with a live hand, speak up if you see a mistake, call for a clock when warranted, transfer tables promptly, know and comply with the rules, practice proper etiquette, and generally contribute to an orderly event
Blinds - will start and escalate according to the above schedule based on the player count at tournament start. Blinds can be adjusted to speed play at the discretion of the house. In heads-up play, the small blind is on the button and is first to act after the deal
The Button - acts exactly as it does in a cash game. The two players to the left of the button are the small blind and the big blind (see Dead Button exceptions). After each hand the button moves one seat to the left. The button is determined in the first hand by random draw and may be re-determined if players are reseated
The Dealer - Players act as dealer, shuffling and dealing the cards in turn. When all remaining players are "in the money" the house may offer a neutral dealer for the remainder of the tournament. Such a service comes with no tipping or other compensation expected or provided ("the Andy rule")
The Deal- Decks alternate with each hand at the table. Dealers should riffle-shuffle several times to ensure randomization of the deck. Dealers may wash the deck at their discretion however washing is discouraged from being a frequent occurrence. The cut is offered to the player to the dealer's right who may cut or knock the deck at his discretion. Cards should not be dealt from the deck until action necessitates it (e.g. no pre-dealing an entire face-down board)
No "Rabbit Hunting" - Hands are completed before a showdown when there is only one live player left in the hand. To keep play moving no further cards should be dealt to satisfy curiosities. Cards should be promptly collected and given to the next player dealing that deck to facilitate shuffling of cards during the deal of the next hand. As the tournament field narrows the house may issue rabbit hunting licenses at his discretion.
Misdeal, down card exposure - In the first instance of a card being unintentionally exposed within the deal, the player for whom the card was intended can choose to accept or reject that card. If the player accepts the card it is turned face down, given to the player and the deal continues as normal. If the player rejects the card, that card becomes the first burn card and it is replaced by the first card left on the deck after the remainder of the cards are dealt (e.g. what was intended to be the first burn card, ensuring the order of the cards is not changed by the misdeal). If a second card in the same hand is unintentionally exposed all cards are mucked, the hand is dead, the deck is changed and the hand redealt by the same dealer. Dealers should not look at their cards until the hand is successfully dealt unless the last card of the deal is the one unintentionally exposed
Misdeal, out of order - If cards are dealt out of order and the error is discovered before the action starts, every effort will be made to reorder the cards as the original deal had intended. If misordered cards have been seen by other players or cards cannot be put back in original sequence to all players' satisfaction, all hands are mucked, the deck is exchanged and shuffled and the hand is redealt by the same dealer.
Absent Players - are defined as being in the restroom or otherwise absent from the room. Players getting a snack or other refreshment are to be called back to the table which includes a "calling of the clock" to ensure a prompt return. Truly absent players are dealt into the hand as if they were present with all forced bets taken from their stack and placed in the pot. Players absent when it's their action may have their hands folded at the discretion of the house.
Action - commences as in a cash game with the player to the left of the big blind the first to act after the deal and the player immediately to the left of the dealer first to act in subsequent rounds. Tournament games are no limit / table stakes. Players are encouraged to commit verbally before acting as string betting is not allowed. Verbal indications and betting are binding. Generally accepted hand signals are binding. When it's your action your verbiage and actions are taken without the benefit of context. e.g. If you say the word "Check" for any reason when the action is on you, you forfeit your right to bet on that turn. Ditto if you tap the table. Bets without prior verbal indications must be made with all chips moved forward beyond your cards in a single motion. Adding to chips pushed forward without verbal indication prior to the initial act is prohibited (no string bets). Chips may be stacked for betting close to one's stake but should not be moved forward beyond your cards until you are ready to commit to your wager. Minimum raise is the amount of the big blind in effect when the hand was dealt.
Live cards - Generally cards should be left face down in plain view on the felt (e.g. not the racetrack) in front of the player at all times so all players can accurately gauge who's left in the hand (e.g. do not hide them with your hands). Players may place (a single or small stack of) tournament chips or other such protective coin atop their cards to signify they are alive in the hand. Players in close quarters to other players may temporarily lift cards off the table for reading but players may not hold their cards beyond these few brief moments. At no time should cards be taken more than a forearm's length away from the table. Card-based chicanery can result in a hand being declared dead by the house.
One Player to a Hand – During a live hand players should not disclose cards to or discuss strategy with another person, be they player, spectator or official.
Chips - Chips should be kept in countable stacks to assist players in reasonably estimating an opponent's chip count. Clean stacks of 20 chips are encouraged. Higher denomination chips must be visible and identifiable at all times. A player with live cards may request another live opponent's chip count at any time during a hand. Players may request any opponent's chip count between hands. Players may request an opponent standardize the stacking of their chips into clean 20 chip stacks and to make all higher denomination chips clearly visible at any time.
All-In Bets - Players declaring themselves "all-in" play for all the chips in their possession. They are only entitled to play for a maximum of that amount even if other players with more chips raise an all-in call and are subsequently called themselves by a third player. Dealers will construct side pots as required to ensure covered all-in players are limited to their current table stakes
All-In Confrontations - When no further action in an all-in hand is possible (e.g. all players with live cards are all-in), all hands must be exposed face up before the remainder of the board is dealt. Dealers should deal the remainder of the board slowly to build excitement and allow players and observers to identify and discuss outs before proceeding with each aspect of the deal. It is acceptable at this time for players to indicate if they have previously folded cards that are "outs".
Showdowns - All called hands must be shown. The cards call themselves. Players muck an unshown hand at their own peril, mucked hands are forever dead, losing hands. Hands are considered mucked when they can no longer be confidently identified by all players at the table (e.g. a mucking player cannot reclaim their hand by calling their card values, there must be incontrovertible visual evidence that the actual cards can be identified)
Showing Cards - Cards (live or dead) should not be intentionally shown or discussed during live hands. Violations can be penalized by the house if they interfere with the natural progression of the action. After a hand a player may show or discuss his hand at his own discretion
Calling the Clock – Any player with chips at the table can request a player under action choose an action within 60 seconds or have his hand force-folded by making a request of the house
Multiple Busts - If more than one player goes broke on the same hand the player with the greater chip count at the start of that hand finishes in the higher position. Ties will be broken through random draw
Breaking Tables - rebalancing or combining is done at the discretion of the house
Dead Button - If the big blind busts out and is not replaced by a player from another table, the button moves to the player who posted the small blind and the player to the left of the former big blind assumes the big blind. There is no small blind for that hand. On the following deal, the button moves to the now empty seat (the seat vacated by the eliminated big blind player) and the two players to the left post the normal blinds. This will result in the same player being the dealer two hands in a row.
When the small blind busts out and is not replaced by a player from another table, the button does not move. The player who was the big blind will now post the small blind and the player to his left will post the big blind. This will result in the same player being the dealer two hands in a row.
Coloring Up - Chips will be colored up as indicated in the blind schedule or at the discretion of the house
Private Agreements - The last two or three players in a tournament can agree to split the combined prize monies at their discretion to end the tournament early however all active players must agree or any agreement is void
Misplaced Chips - Players who discover misplaced chips after losing an all-in hand must surrender those chips to the player who won that hand. If the winner of the hand cannot be determined, the house may add the chip(s) to the pot of the next hand or remove them from play at his discretion. Players who discover misplaced chips after winning an all-in hand are not entitled to matching of those chips from the losing player if the losing player had the winning player covered.
Rebuy - In tournaments with a rebuy option players must bust out entirely and exercise the option within the designated rebuy period. A player need not rebuy immediately, but must declare his intention within five minutes or before the rebuy period expires, whichever comes first.
A rebuy acts exactly like the original buy in with the price and chip counts remaining the same.
Rebuys are limited to one per player per tournament unless posted otherwise before the start of the tournament by the house.
For multi-tournament nights with 14 or fewer players, blind intervals are 10 minutes for the speed round and 15 minutes for the main round and the rebuy period is determined via the blind schedule.
For tournaments with 14 or fewer players, blinds intervals are 20 minutes and the rebuy period is determined via the blind schedule (typically 30-60 minutes).
For tournaments with 15 or more players, blinds intervals drop to 18 minutes and the rebuy period is one hour, twelve minutes.
If a player who has not yet exhausted their rebuy option(s) busts out on a hand that started in the rebuy period but ends after the rebuy period, the busted player is eligible to rebuy if they declare before the next hand starts.
Rebuys are only allowed after a player has busted their entire original stake – however players who still have a valid rebuy option remaining and possess one quarter or less of the original buy-in stake may intentionally forfeit their remaining stake to rebuy during the rebuy period, see below.
Intentional Forfeiture for Rebuy – Players who have less than or equal to one quarter of their initial stake (e.g. $652.50 for an $2610 initial stake in tournament chips) may intentionally forfeit their chip stack for the purposes of rebuy by declaring this action before cards are dealt for any given hand during the rebuy period.
Note that this action cannot be taken by a player who still has any chips after the last hand eligible for rebuy has concluded (e.g. one that starts before the rebuy period expires but ends afterwards); players wishing to force a rebuy on the last hand must go “all-in” and then either lose or fold before a showdown to force themselves bankrupt to be eligible for rebuy
Players wishing to intentionally forfeit their chips and rebuy must follow these instructions:
Declare your intention to forfeit and rebuy between hands
If any blinds are due, post them up to your ability to post them
Post any remaining chips into the main pot of the upcoming hand
Dealers will deal a hand to the player forfeiting chips, however it is immediately dead and folded
The player declaring a rebuy in this manner is barred from participating in this hand; cards are dealt to this player to maintain the integrity of the deal and the natural progression of the action
This players hand is immediately mucked after the deal without anyone looking at the cards
In the hand where chips are posted to the pot in this fashion the posted chips have no impact on the action:
They are not considered a bet
The first live player to the left of the big blind still acts first and acts on the amount of the big blind, not counting the chips that were posted towards bet or raise minimums
Any player with live cards in this hand is eligible to win all the posted chips as part of the main pot regardless of how the action progresses, e.g. if a player with a small chip stack goes all-in pre-flop and their chip stack is less than the amount of chips posted by the player forfeiting for rebuy, the live player is eligible to win all the chips posted regardless of whether they could cover the forfeiting player or not.