E-WSOP

Some General Rules for Poker Tournaments

Poker has become an internationally popular and well-organized sport with plenty of tournaments held at all levels through the year. This has led to certain rules for tournament Poker participation that all players must keep in mind. A player has to maintain a courteous behavior throughout a tournament, follow the rules or face debarring. Here is a run down of the general rules that must be kept in mind during professional Poker tournaments:

• The proper Poker rules apply to the type of game you are going to play and you can request the floorperson to help you go through the rules before the start of play
• The seating arrangement of the players is decided by either a random draw or the floor person may assign the seats. Sometimes, for example, in a one-table poker satellite tournament, cards may be dealt face-up to give the choice to players who come in early. The button, in any case, is placed randomly and rotates clockwise around the table so everyone gets and equal chance to bet
• But a player cannot change his seat after the game has begun
• All chips are placed before the seat of each player in accordance with the rules even if the player is not in his seat. Cards are dealt even for seats that are unoccupied with blinds and antes being placed in the pot accordingly
• The director of the tournament may decide that the chips be removed after half an hour of play or beginning of a new betting level. Usually, the director also tries to contact the missing player before declaring the forfeit
• Limits and blinds have to be raised as scheduled
• When the lowest denomination of chips are not required in a blind or ante Poker game, they may be removed from the table. Cards are dealt to decide which player exchanges his odd chips first
• If it is a player’s turn to act and he is absent from the table after a game has become then his hand is declared dead.
• In a long or huge tournament the players are shifted to empty seats at subsequent tables as players get eliminated. The number of players at all tables is kept balanced. Usually in all poker tournaments, a re-draw takes place when players are left for only three, two or one tables.
• If a player goes all-in and loses but suddenly finds that one or more of his chips remained behind cannot avoid elimination. The director may pass on the ‘discovered’ chips to the winner of the pot.
• When a player does not have enough chips for a forced bet or blind, he can get into the action with whatever he has.
• A player must vacate his seat immediately on being eliminated
• A player must not show his cards without proper procedure and risks elimination if he does so against the rules. The hand is considered dead and the player is punished
• Indecent behavior like abusing, throwing cards, disrupting play etc can invite strict punitive action from the director
• A deck is only changed if it has some damaged cards otherwise a deck only changes when a new dealer comes in
• The dealer button has to be placed properly and passed on correctly
• When there is head-up play – that is only two players remain – the button is on the small blind
• All hands have to be turned face up when a player goes all in for showdown and the betting action has been completed
• If two or more players end up losing all their chips at the same hand then the player who started the hand with the bigger amount is considered to be higher in the final ranking