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| Tournament Rules |
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1) The Nationwide Poker Tour plays No-Limit Texas Hold’em.
2) All players start with the same number and value of chips – traditionally,
20 chips worth $5,000. Area managers may elect to
make variations in the starting chip count. All cards and chips must be kept
on the table and visible to everyone at all times.
3) Blinds will be increased
consistently throughout the tournament. Nightly league tournaments
will consist of the traditional blind structure, however area managers
have the right to make variations for invite tournaments in levels
and lengths.
4) Play continues until there is only one player left.
5) Lower valued chips will be “colored-up” when they are no
longer needed due to increased blinds. Any amounts not equal to the
“colored-up” chip denomination will be rounded up.
6) Late arriving players will be allowed to start if they arrive
before the 4th level of blinds. The late arriving players starting chip
total will be less the amount equal to two times the big blind at the
time they start (i.e. if they start when the big blind is $200, they
will start with $400 fewer chips in their starting stack).
7) One player per hand. A player may not ask for advice when
it their turn to act. If cards are exposed to one player at any point
during a hand, they must be exposed to the whole table. In other words,
“Show one, show all.” Talking about your hand, including what cards
you folded or any other displays of obvious emotion about a hand you
are no longer involved with is considered bad table etiquette and is
not appreciated.
8) Players draw to see who will start the game as the dealer.
The dealer position rotates clockwise one player after each hand.
9) Dealers must shuffle the deck a minimum of three times
and then cut the deck before each hand.
10) Players must post their blinds (a mandatory amount put into
the pot before each hand is dealt). The small blind is the player seated
to the left of the dealer. The big blind is the player seated to the left
of the small blind.
11) If a card is accidentally dealt face-up, the dealer continues
to deal all of the hole cards as usual. The dealer then replaces the
improperly dealt card with the first burn card and the improperly dealt
card becomes the first burn card. Any additional cards dealt face up
will result in a misdeal. If the first card of either blind is accidentally
dealt face up, the hand is also considered a misdeal.
12) Players will act in a clockwise motion and may not act out
of turn. This includes the blinds going all-in “in the dark” over the
amount of the big blind. No string bets or pre-flop chopping. If a player
is going to bet, place the bet out in front of you and keep it separate
from the pot. To avoid confusion, there is no “splashing” of the pot.
If a player verbally announces the amount of the raise and then places a
different amount into play, the verbal overrides the physical action.
13) Only the dealer may handle the chips and any mucked cards
involved in a hand. NO EXCEPTIONS! This rule applies especially where
there is a side-pot. Players that wish to make change can either make
change with other players at the table or the player can request the
dealer to make change with the chips in the pot. Remember, the dealer
and dealer ONLY can touch the chips in the pot. Once, the proper change
has been distributed by the dealer, the dealer should announce the
“pot is right” and all players should push their most recent bet into
the pot.
14) All cards that either touch the muck pile or are gathered by
the dealer are dead and will not be in play until the subsequent hand.
15) Absent players will be dealt a hand and held responsible
for blinds. If player is absent when it is their turn to act, the hand
will be folded. If a dealer pre-maturely displayers the flop, the turn,
our the river before the all players involved in the hand have a turn
to act, the burn card remains burned and the exposed card(s) are shuffled
back into the deck a total of three times and then exposed once the
round of betting concludes.
16) Any initial bet on the flop, turn or river must be at least
the amount of the big blind. All raises must be at least double the
previous bet, with the exception of an all-in. Pre-flop, the initial bet
is the big blind. Therefore, the minimum raise would be double the big
blind, with the exception of an all-in.
17) If a player is all-in on their respective blind but cannot
match the full amount of the blind, all remaining players must at least
call the big blind to participate in the hand. All participating hands
will be turned face-up whenever a player is “all-in” and betting action
is complete.
18) In regards to the showdown of a hand, the table always plays,
meaning if one person announces two pair, when they actually have a
flush, the final ruling is a flush. However, once the cards are shuffled
for the next hand, the ruling of the previous hand is binding. Both cards
in the player's hand must be shown in order to win the hand.
19) If two or more players tie, the pot will be split between the players
who tied. If there is an odd chip, it will left in the middle and become a part
of the next hand’s pot.
20) When players lose all of their chips, they are eliminated and
must leave their table. If there is more than one player that is
eliminated on the same hand, the player with the highest chip total at
the beginning of the hand will be awarded the higher rank or points,
if finishing within the top 20.
21) As players are eliminated, all tables will remain as full or
as evenly distributed as possible. When moving players, the tournament
director will attempt to place each player in approximately the same
position relative the blinds as the previous table.
22) If the small blind is eliminated, the player to the right of the
eliminated player will deal and blinds are posted as usual. If the big blind
is eliminated , only the big blind will be posted on the following hand and
the dealer of the hand would deal twice. The second hand would then include
both the small and big blinds.
23) Players new to a table are dealt in the next hand, unless seated
in the small blind or dealer position.
24) When only two players remain, the player due to act as the big
blind will do so and the other player will assume the dealer position.
The dealer will act first prior to the flop and second after the flop.
25) Players who win a non-called pot are not required to show their cards.
26) To avoid collusion, English should be the only language spoken at the table.
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