Rules and General Information TEXAS HOLD’EM POKER TOURS (THPT) RULES and GENERAL INFORMATION Texas Hold’em Poker Tours (THPT) tournaments are non­gambling events. Anyone suspected of such will be promptly asked to leave. Under no circumstances will any games be played for cash or any side bets allowed. THPT holds multiple tournaments at each event and all standard Texas Hold’em Rules apply. THPT Dealers are independent contractors that work for gratuities only. Although players are encouraged to tip their dealers for each tournament played, it is not required in order to play in THPT Tournaments. ELIGIBILITY Players must be 18 years or older to be eligible to play in Texas Hold’em Poker Tours events. However, in any venue where you must be 21 to be served, no one under the age of 21 will be permitted to play. Any certificates won by a player under the age of 21 in these venues will be forfeited. REGISTRATION AND SEATING Players arriving after the start of the first tournament will be added to the bottom of the player list. Players who register at the venue prior to the first tournament will be seated on a first come, first served basis after those having priority seating. At the start of the first tournament, the dealer may put 11 cards on the table, Ace through Jack, for each table playing. Each player will select a card randomly and be seated in the corresponding seat at the corresponding table. The seat to the left of the dealer is seat number 1. Alternately, the dealer may deal for the button. All subsequent tournaments will be seated according to the order in which players are eliminated from the previous tournament. Newly arriving players will be placed on the bottom of the list as they arrive. Players playing for the first time at any THPT venue will be asked to fill out a registration form. CHIP VALUES Black = 100 White = 500 Red = 1000 Blue = 5000 Chips: ●
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Each player starts out with 2,500 in chips. Players who purchase food from the venue receive an additional 500 chips. Players will receive an additional 500 chips for every beverage purchased and brought to the table and/or bought during play as long as there are white chips still on the table (free refills do not count). Players who purchase dessert will receive an additional 500 in chips for one game only. THPT 500 Chip Card. In addition players may receive a max of 1500 in chips by any of the following: ○ Being a ​
new player to THPT​
or bringing a new player receives 500 chips. ○ Wearing​
a THPT shirt receives 500 chips ○ Wearing​
a THPT hat receives 500 chips ○ Card protector with THPT Logo receives 500 chips ○ Daytona Poker Room Players Card including THPT with your name. The only exception is, the player maintaining the sign in list for the nightly venue will receive 500 chips. TOURNAMENT START DEALER BUTTON ­ Typically, the dealer will deal for the button by dealing a card to each player at the table. The highest card is awarded the dealer button. If there is a tie, the following suit order will be followed: Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs. BLINDS ­ The person immediately to the left of the BUTTON will post the SMALL BLIND. The person immediately left of the SMALL BLIND will post the BIG BLIND. Under no circumstances will a player ever be BIG BLIND twice in a row. The BUTTON can be in a dead position (meaning a position where a player has just been eliminated). The SMALL BLIND may also be in a dead position. The BIG BLIND may never be in a dead position. The BIG BLIND must always advance to the next occupied seat. When only two players remain, the player on the SMALL BLIND is the player who has the BUTTON. The blinds will increase as follows: 100/200 200/400 400/800 500/1000 1000/2000 2000/4000 4000/8000 5000/10,000 All blinds will be run for 10­minute increments until the tournament is HEADS UP. At that time the blinds will run for 5­minute increments. In the first tournament, the timer will be started and run to 200­400 then stops until all players that were on the list at the tournament start time have been seated. In subsequent tournaments, the timer will be started when all players that were on the list at the end of the previous tournament have been seated. In a multiple­table venue, no player may enter a tournament once tables have consolidated to a final table. In a single­table venue, players may no longer enter a tournament once the blinds reach 500/1000. Individual venues may set stricter guidelines as to late entry into prize tournaments. If a player leaves the table and has not returned by the completion of the deal, their blinds will be posted (if necessary) and their hand folded immediately. No new player may enter into a tournament and be seated in the SMALL BLIND or BUTTON position. MISDEAL If a player is accidentally dealt a card face up, a card is seen by another player, or a card leaves the table, the deal is completed and the exposed card is replaced with the next card in the deck. The exposed card is shown to all players and becomes the first burn card. If two cards are exposed, a misdeal is declared, and the hand is re­dealt. A misdeal will also be declared if the first or the second card dealt is exposed. BETTING A player may bet any amount of his chip stack during the course of play. The minimum bet is the amount of the BIG BLIND. The minimum raise must be double the previous bet. No STRING BETS. A STRING BET is moving chips into play with more than one motion without a verbalization. Also, if a player in turn picks up chips from his stack and moves his hand toward the pot ("forward motion with chips in hand"), this constitutes a commitment to bet (or call), and the player may not withdraw his hand to check or fold. All of the chips in the players hand at that time are committed and will go into the pot if no verbalization of a bet is made. Players are highly encouraged to state their intentions (call, check or raise) before placing chips in front of them. All verbalizations are binding. Any motion towards the playing field constitutes a bet. If there is no verbalization prior to a motion, all chips moved towards the pot must be put into play. Players betting out of turn must stand on the bet they make. If a player continuously bets out of turn, after being warned by the dealer, and it is believed the betting out of turn is intentional, a 10 minute time out may be assessed. ALL IN / SIDE POTS If a player lacks sufficient chips for a blind, the player MUST bet his/her remaining chips. If the player lacks sufficient chips for a bet, the player may bet his/her remaining chips. A player cannot win more chips from each player in the hand than he has bet. This situation creates a SIDE POT for players with remaining chips. Whenever a player is ALL IN and all betting action is completed, all hands in play will be turned face up. When a player loses all their chips, they are eliminated from play and must leave the table. If two or more players are eliminated on the same hand, the player who started the hand with more chips will be awarded the higher finishing position. COMBINING TABLES/RE­SEATING As players are eliminated from the tournament, in order to keep the tables balanced, the dealer may re­seat players. When tables are combined to form a final table, the dealer will deal for the button location. The official time for the blind level should be paused during any significant down time. RULES OF PLAY Seven (7) players is the minimum number to constitute a legal game for win purposes. An area manager may, on occasion, authorize a game to be run with less than seven (7) players. This game may be worth a win certificate for only the top (1st place) finisher. Chips must remain on the table at all times unless a player is reassigned to another table. All cards must remain above the table during play. All cards and chips must be visible to the dealer and other players at all times. Players may not ask advice from any player, spectator, or dealer. If a player exposes their cards to another active player during the hand their cards will be mucked. If a player shows their cards at the end of the hand, the cards must be shown to all players (show one, show all). If a player exposes his cards prematurely the following applies: * If the hand is exposed, the hand must be left exposed and all other players have the option to either bet or fold. The player who exposed their cards may only call a bet or fold, they no longer have the option to initiate a bet or raise. A player’s cards are considered mucked when he moves the cards towards the muck pile and releases them. Once cards are mucked they cannot be put back into play. No SPLASHING the pot. Players must place their bets in front of them, so all players know exactly how much they are betting. No TABLE TALK about a hand still in play. Players may not talk about their hand in any way, shape, or form while others are still playing, unless they are heads up. No player may talk on a cell phone while playing a hand, this includes text messaging. All drinks must be placed in a cup holder, not on the table. No ash trays maybe placed on the table. To be fair to all players playing the game, the only language allowed during play is English. CONDUCT Players are expected to exhibit good poker etiquette. Inappropriate behavior will not be tolerated and players may be asked to leave the tournament. A player using the “F­bomb” will be warned once. Any further offense will constitute a 10­minute time­out. If a player is given more than 3 time­outs in a tournament, they will be asked to leave the tournament. PRIZES Winners of any THPT Tournaments played at local venues will receive a certificate that entitles them to a seat in the THPT Championship Event held in their region, usually every quarter. This first win entitles the player to 10,000 in chips for the Champion Tournament. In most cases, 1st and 2nd place will receive a win/certificate. For each additional certificate a player wins, they are entitled to 1000 extra chips for the Championship Event. Third place winners will receive two 500­chip cards. Fourth place winners will receive one 500­chip card. The high hand of the night at local venues will receive a certificate to the THPT Championship Event, providing the hand is aces full or better. The player must be present for the first 5 tournaments held during that local venue event or 3 hours. Once the flop occurs, the high hand can be awarded. On occasion, one or more of the THPT Owners or Management Team may chose to sit in and play at a local venue as a Bounty. Any player who eliminates an Owner or member of the Management Team will be awarded two 500­chip cards or a Certificate to the Championship Event. THPT Championship Events ­ Championship Events are held periodically throughout the year. Players who have wins during the current period are eligible to play in the Championship. If a player has a legitimate reason and cannot play in a tournament, he or she must contact the office directly by phone or email and register a request to rollover current wins to the next Championship Tournament. Verbal conversations with dealers do not qualify as notification. If a player is not able to play in two consecutive tournaments and has a legitimate reason for both tournaments (subject to office approval), he or she may rollover no more that 10 wins from the previous period and 100% from the current period to the next Tournament. The 1st Place winner of the THPT Championship Event will receive an entry into the event of their choice, unless a specific event has been announced by league management. This entry is not transferable. The value of the prize pool is determined before each tournament. Travel expenses up to $500 may be awarded depending on the circumstances. 2nd through 11th places will also receive prizes and/or buy­ins. Total wins/certificates shall be capped at 100 wins for a 3 month period. Any wins over the 100 may be used in the Century Club Tournament which has a separate prize pool. Rollovers­ If for some reason a player is not able to attend the quarterly they are able to rollover the first 25 wins or half the number of totals wins, whichever is the greater amount of wins they accumulated for that quarter. ALL rollovers must be called into the main office at 1888­608­1444 and approved by administration prior to the day of the missed quarterly. You may only rollover one quarter's win total that will be added to any wins you receive in the next quarter that you return to play.