► Poker Rules
General Tournament Details
Throughout this document any mention of the Tournament Director implies the Tournament Director himself or the assisting staff. 1. Dealing Procedure 1. For the first hand of the tournament, the player in seat one is the dealer. 2. The two blind positions will be “off the button”; therefore, the small blind will start in seat two and the big blind in seat three. 3. Whilst the tournament is selfdealt, cards will be shuffled by the dealer and cut by the player to the immediate right. Cutting cards will be provided for each table and must be used (to hide the bottom card of the deck). 4. It is within a players right to decline a cut, in which case it maybe offered to the next right, if everyone declines the cut then the cards may be dealt with no cut. 5. When dealing, cards must be dealt to each player one at a time, from the table. When dealing the “flop”, cards must also be dealt from the table one at a time (this is to ensure cards are not visible to others as they are being dealt). 6. During the dealing period the pack of cards must always remain above the table and visible. Therefore players should refrain from holding the pack in their hand below the table. 7. Help with the dealing process will be found at the bottom of this web page.* 2. Misdeals Occasionally, due to dealer error, there may be a misdeal whereby the deal must be completely redone (including a reshuffle and a recut). If you believe there has been a mistake then you should notify the dealer there has been a misdeal; however, players should not be too hasty in throwing their cards in when someone calls a misdeal. It may be an accidental false call and if so the hand will continue to be played out. 1. The following circumstances cause a misdeal, provided attention is called to the error before two players have acted on their hands. If the two players after the big blind have already acted, a misdeal can no longer be declared and the hand must be played to a conclusion (no money will therefore be returned to any player whose hand is fouled). (a) The first or second card of the hand has been dealt faceup or exposed through dealer error. (b) Two or more cards have been exposed by the dealer. (c) Two or more boxed cards (improperly faced cards) are found. (d) Two or more extra cards have been dealt in the starting hands of a game. (e) An incorrect number of cards have been dealt to a player, except the top card, which may be dealt if it goes to the player in proper sequence. (f) Any card has been dealt out of the proper sequence (except an exposed card may be replaced by the burncard). (g) The first card was dealt to the wrong position. (h) Cards have been dealt to an empty seat or a player not entitled to a hand. (i) A player has been dealt out who is entitled to a hand. (j) The deck was not shuffled and/or cut. 2. Any player failing to announce the wrong amount of cards, before voluntarily betting is disqualified from the hand. And any stakes entered into the pot will not be returned. 3. If a card is exposed on the initial deal by the dealer, the deal continues in sequence (i.e. continue as if the card had not been exposed but leaving the exposed card faceup in front of the appropriate player). On completion of the deal, the exposed card shall be exchanged for the burnt card before the flop. All players must see the exposed card. The player does not have the option to accept or reject the card. (If more than one card is exposed in a deal, it is a misdeal). 4. Before the first round of betting, if a dealer deals one additional card, it is returned to the deck and used as the burncard. 5. If a player has not been given the opportunity to call / raise a bet before the flop cards are dealt, the following rules apply: o If one card has been turned, then that card will be replaced with the third card from the bottom of the deck (due to this rule, it is vital that any discarded or burnt cards are not put to the bottom of the pile as this could result in a dealt card coming back into play). o If two or more cards have been turned, then the flop will stand and the player is out of the hand. (This highlights why it is preferable to deal the flop cards one at a time). 3. Dead Hands 1. Each player is responsible for their own cards. Your cards may be protected with your hands, a chip, or other object (without hiding them). Failure to protect a hand means the player will have no redress if the cards are accidentally mucked by the dealer. A player is deemed to have passed their cards if: (a) The cards touch the discard pile. (b) The cards are collected and put “in the muck” by a house dealer. (c) You fold or announce that you are folding when facing a bet or a raise. (d) You throw your hand away in a forward motion causing another player to act behind you (even if not facing a bet). (e) The hand does not contain the proper number of cards for that particular game and it has not been noticed before action has taken place. (f) You have the clock on you when facing a bet or raise and exceed the specified time limit. (g) The Card Room Tournament Director believes that the player physically or verbally gave the impression that they were about to pass their cards. 2. Cards thrown into another player’s hand are dead, whether they are faceup or facedown. 4. Seating 1. Seating and table positions are decided by a random draw and are nontransferable. 2. Playing positions for the final table will be decided by a random draw and a dealer will be provided (dealers will also be provided for the final three tables if available). 3. All players must leave their seat immediately after being eliminated from the tournament. 4. When players are eliminated and seats become vacant, the empty seats must remain in the same position. They cannot be removed from the table, or occupied by another player from the same table as the positions will be needed for players moved from other tables. 5. Balancing tables: When a player needs to be moved onto another table to balance out the player numbers per table, the player due to receive the big blind will be moved. He/she must sit in the specific seat allocated to them by the Tournament Director. Players moved onto the button position, or onto the small blind position, will be dealt out of the first hand at their new table. Players sitting on the big blind will be required to post it. 5. Betting 1. In No Limit games, unlimited raising is allowed. 2. No straddling/over blinds allowed (double blinds). 3. A player who bets or calls by releasing chips into the pot is bound by that action. However, if you are unaware that the pot has been raised, you may withdraw that money and reconsider your action, provided that no one else has acted after you. 4. String Betting: Any bets have to be clearly made in a single motion to be valid, unless the bet is verbally declared before the action is taken. A player cannot first put enough chips in the pot to call, and then reach back to add chips as a raise (or put part of a raise in and then add to it). If this occurs, only the call will be permitted. Similarly, verbal statements such as “I call your bet…..and I raise you x amount” can only be interpreted as a call as this was the first statement. To raise, a player should simply state “I raise x amount.” If a verbal declaration has been made of the amount to be raised then it no longer matters whether the bet is done in more than one motion as the statement is binding. The string bet rule exists to prevent players strategically misleading others about their actions by attempting to gain information from an opponent’s reactions. Putting a full bet plus a halfbet or more into the pot is considered to be the same as announcing a raise, and the raise must be completed. (This does not apply in the use of a single chip of greater value.) 5. If you put a single chip into the pot that is larger than the bet, but do not announce a raise, this action is taken to be a call. For example, if a player is facing a call of 100 points and throws in a single 500 point chip without any verbal announcement, the action is only a call and the player receives 400 points in change. 6. Minimum bets/raise: On any betting round, the minimum bet a player can make is always equal to the big blind, with the maximum being all of the chips a player has in front of them. Any raises or reraises must be a minimum of the size of the previous bet or raise. For example, if the blinds are 100200, on the flop, Player A bets 200, followed by Player B who raises to 800 (a raise of 600). Player C now faces a call of 800 to stay in but if Player C wishes to raise the minimum possible amount, then he/she must add another 600 onto the total amount, therefore putting in a minimum amount of 1400. 7. Underraising: The only time a player can make an underraise (less than the minimum requirement) is when they are going allin. For the purposes of subsequent betting, an underraise counts as a call, therefore players who have already acted in the betting round cannot reraise the underraise. 8. “Allin” means every chip held by that player must go in the pot. 9. When betting falls to a player who is “allin”, the action passes to the next active player in the game. 10. All wagers and calls of an improperly low amount must be brought up to proper size if the error is discovered before the betting round has been completed. This includes actions such as betting a lower amount than the minimum bet (other than going allin). No one who has acted may change a call to a raise because the wager size has been changed. 11. If a player puts the wrong amount into a pot to call a bet, the following rules apply: o If he/she has not caused any player after him/her to act by this action, the call can either be taken back, or the difference made up. o If his action caused another player to act, he must make up the difference and continue in the pot. 12. Acting in turn: Play must always proceed in a clockwise direction and players may not bet, raise or call out of turn. Deliberately acting out of turn will not be tolerated. An action or verbal declaration out of turn may be ruled binding if there is no bet, call, or raise by an intervening player acting after the infraction has been committed. o If a player bets, raises or calls out of turn, the bet stands, but the player who bet out of turn cannot reraise during that round of betting. o If the player who should have acted first chooses to bet, then the out of turn bet does not stand and may be changed. 6. Showdown 1. All players who reach a showdown at the river must show their hand if requested by any other player at the table (whether they were involved in the hand or not). There should be no delay in showing cards as all may be seen anyway. This does not apply to a player who has passed to a final bet; however the Tournament Director has the right to check any folded cards at any time. 2. Cards speak (cards read for themselves). The dealer assists in reading hands, but players are responsible for holding onto their cards until the winner is declared. Although verbal declarations as to the contents of a hand are not binding, deliberately miscalling a hand with the intent of causing another player to discard a winning hand is unethical and may result in a penalty at the Tournament Director’s discretion. 3. Both hole cards have to be shown to win a pot. 4. If a player incorrectly mucks his hand at the showdown, which turns out to be a winner, his/her claim to the pot is forfeited. If the cards have been shown, but then mucked, they are still valid as the hand has been declared (cards speak). 5. Upon an “on their backs” cue, all active players must place their cards faceup on the table. There should therefore be no delay in showing hands. 6. Split Pots: Odd chips remaining after a split pot go to the player in the nearest position clockwise from the dealer button, that was involved in the hand. An odd chip will be broken down into the smallest denomination used in the game. 7. Prizes 1. Hand for hand: When there is only one player left to be eliminated before all players reach a position whereby they are guaranteed a prize, the tournament may be played “hand for hand” until one more player is eliminated. Each table will therefore have to deal the same number of hands; so on completion of a hand must wait for all other tables to finish the current hand before proceeding with the next hand. Hand for hand may also be applied when only one player must be eliminated before the final table begins. 2. Players eliminated simultaneously – If two or more players are eliminated at the same table at the same time, then the player to have started the hand with the most chips will be awarded the higher positional finishing place. If two players in contention for a prize winning position are eliminated simultaneously on different tables, then the money will be split equally between them. 3. The house reserves the right to alter the blind or prize structure. 4. Players and prizes will be displayed on the UPPS Website. 8. Absent Players 1. Absent players must always be dealt in, and all necessary blinds must be posted when they are required to do so. Once the deal is completed, any players who are not in their seats as the last card is dealt, are thereby “sitting out” of that hand and must have their cards mucked before action commences for the first betting round. 2. If a player misses nine consecutive hands, they are required to post an amount equal to the big blind for each further hand they miss. 3. Players taken ill: The house shall have the right to decide if chips belonging to someone taken ill, or otherwise missing, should be removed from play. Under no circumstances can another player standin for a missing player. Where this applies to someone taken ill, a view will be taken on the following basis. o Depending on the likelihood of the player returning to the game. o Depending on the time the player has been away. o At the Tournament Director’s discretion, players who are taken ill may be granted more time to return. 9. Irregularities 1. If a card with a different colour back appears during a hand, all action is void and all chips in the pot are returned to the respective bettors. If a card with a different colour back is discovered in the deck, all action stands. 2. If two cards of the same rank and suit are found, all action is void, and all chips in the pot are returned to the players who wagered them. 3. A card discovered faceup in the deck (boxed card) will be treated as a dead card out of the game (but must be shown to all players). In such circumstances the card will be replaced by the next card below it in the deck, except when the next card has already been dealt facedown to another player and mixed in with other downcards. In that case, the card that was faceup in the deck will be replaced after all other cards are dealt for that round. 4. One or more cards missing from the deck does not invalidate the results of a hand. 5. If you drop a card on the floor out of your hand, you must still play that card (and if it has been seen by at least one other player, it must be shown to all). 10. General Rules 1. Blind level increases: When the clock expires to signal the start of a new level of blinds. The blind increase will take effect from the next hand onwards. The start of a hand is at the precise point of the start of shuffling. The dealer must ensure blinds are posted before any cards are dealt. 2. Players must have their chips “in play” at all times. When moving tables, chips must be immediately placed on the new table. Any player who leaves the card room and takes their chips with them is deemed to have left the competition. During breaks, chips must be left on the table. 3. When the tournament reaches the headsup stage (when two players remain), the small blind is on the button, with the big blind the player off the button. 4. A player showing cards to another player during or after a deal, any player at the table has the right to see the exposed card(s). Cards shown during a deal to a player not in the pot should only be shown to all players when the deal is finished. 5. If a player’s cards are turned over accidentally they may remain in the pot, but can only call any bet and cannot raise. Any deliberate attempt to gauge a reaction by showing cards prematurely may result in disqualification in the hand. 6. Colouring Up: When chip changes occur, chips of a value less than the imminent opening bet value will be consolidated and rounded up to the next value chip available. It is the responsibility of all players to ensure that the correct chip values are exchanged on that table. When removing smaller denomination chips from play, players will “race” for any odd chips they have left. The highest number of higher denomination chips that a player may receive is one. Order of suits is applied where necessary, which is ranked alphabetically from highest to lowest of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. The cards are dealt by the same player to have dealt the previous hand, whereby the button stays in the same position. A player cannot be eliminated from the tournament because they lose the “chip race”. They will receive one chip of the next highest value should they lose the “chip race”. 7. Disruptive players can be asked to leave for a period of 515 minutes. In serious cases, a player can be removed from the competition and have their chips removed (no refund will be given). 8. Anyone caught cheating will be disqualified from the tournament and have all of their chips removed from play. Any disqualified player will not receive a refund. 9. Thinking Time: o Any player felt by the table to be taking an exceptional amount of time when deciding to make or call action may, at the request of another player or otherwise at the judgement of a house dealer or Card Room Tournament Director, be placed “on the clock”. They will be given a maximum amount of time in which to act, whereby if they fail to act in this time period, their hand will be declared dead. o Any player who dwells for an unreasonable amount of time when facing a call with the “nut hand” may be given a yellow card and dealt out of the game for up to 15 minutes. During this period, the player’s blinds will be taken as normal. 10. Lengthy postmortems about the previous hand are unwelcome. 11. Use of mobile phones at the tables is disliked. 12. In the event of a dispute, the Tournament Director’s decision is final.
