U.S. Tournament Poker > PLAY RULES

 " Rules" for "FREE" Poker League loosely based on HOYLE

1. All gambling is against State Law and strictly prohibited. Please keep all money off the table or field of play. Anyone caught gambling in any element of the game will be removed from the tournament.

2. Table Seating – Table seating will take place by random selection of seating cards drawn and passed out by Director.

Seated players will determine the 1st dealer/button by drawing for high card. If 1 player is put on another table to replace a busted out player, there will be no re-draw for the deal. This moved player will be placed on the new table, as close to their prior table position as possible.

AS PLAYERS ARE ELIMINATED & TABLES ARE COMBINED, THERE IS NO HARD NOR FAST RULE EXCEPT TO PLACE A PLAYER AS CLOSE TO THEIR PRIOR SEAT POSITION AS POSSIBLE OR PLACE PLAYERS SO THEY DO NOT GET THE BIG BLIND AGAIN WITH THEIR MOVE. IT WILL VARY WITH CIRCUMSTANCES FOR A DIRECTOR.

If 2 or more players are moved to a new table, all players on that table re-draw for deal. Ties will be decided by rank of suits, Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs.
When dealing, player/dealer should shuffle/riffle cards a minimum of 4 times for a legitimate shuffle.PER CASINO RULE

A cut is offered to the 1st player directly to the right of the player/dealer. They do not have to cut the cards, and the cards are not necessarily offered to another player to cut.

3. BETTING– PLAYERS...PLEASE DO NOT “splash” the chips. Players should place their bets directly in front of their position. When betting is complete, player/dealer brings all chips to the center of the table. Side-pots will be handled by player/dealer or a Director to table satisfaction.

4. APPROXIMATELY 30 seconds’ maximum for decisions on your play! (This is not to be used as a strict enforcement, but just to keep the flow of the game smoother.)

5. Calling Intentions – Players should ANNOUNCE  intentions. FOLD (Put cards in muck), CHECK, CALL BET, RAISE OR RE-RAISE. ABSOLUTELY NO “STRING BETS” Verbal declarations are binding.

If a player moves chips into the betting area, (across line if exists) and lets go of the chips, it may be considered a bet, with the option of player completing bet if not enough, raising or folding. If a player elects to fold, chips put into betting area may have to stay in the pot, depending on circumstances.

6. CHIPS – Chips must remain on the table at all times, unless player being reseated by your Director. From time to time, players may be chipped-up to remove smaller denomination chips when they are out of play. Chips are usually rounded up to next denomination until you reach the 1000 chips.

7. CARDS – Cards must remain on the table at all times. Players will be warned if spotted with cards off the table. Players are encouraged to place a chip or other object on top of their cards to protect their hand from being mucked and to signify they are still in the hand.

8. If a player has to leave the table (bathroom, phone calls, etc) their chips will remain at the table and dealer will post blinds for that player, if it’s their turn for the blinds. Every player seat will be dealt a hand and if the player is not at the table when it is their turn to act, their hand will be mucked by the dealer. All players must be dealt a hand, even if absent from the table. PER CASINO RULES:  NO CELL PHONE CALLS AT TABLE

9. Unexposed Cards – FACE DOWN, if they are let go from the player’s grasp, as in a fold, and hit the muck, the hand is DEAD! Once released by the player, dead hands cannot be pulled out of the muck, even and if it is an error on the player’s part! If in doubt at the end of a hand, always turn hand face-up for clarification.

Exposed Cards – FACE UP, as in a call, no matter where the hand is placed on the table is a LIVE HAND and the cards will speak for themselves. Preferably, players will place hands in front of them on the table, with the players and dealer calling the hand with the player/dealer making it final, unless a Director is needed.

If a card leaves the table…(falls on the floor) either by player or dealer, hand is dead, unless table agreement otherwise. A Director can make a decision in the spirit of fairness.

10. IF A CARD IS EXPOSED (FACE UP) ON THE DEAL, BY THE PLAYER/DEALER…THE CARD WILL BE SHOWN TO ALL PLAYERS AND WILL BECOME THE FIRST BURN CARD. IN THE EVENT THAT 2 CARDS ARE EXPOSED OR MISDEALT…ALL CARDS WILL BE PICKED UP, RESHULFFLED AND RE-DEALT!

11. Acting in Turn – If a player accidentally or errantly turns over their cards prior to all betting being completed, their hand CAN BE considered dead. We do not want players to turn over their cards until instructed to do so by dealer. NOTE: In the spirit of Free Poker & Fair Play, IF ANY PLAYER TURNS THEIR CARDS OVER PREMATURELY, BEFORE ALL BETTING IS COMPLETED, the hand will not be forfeited if majority agreement by table deems otherwise. Cards are turned over by all players when all players in the hand are all “all-in”. If a hand is exposed while player is folding, the folded cards will be shown to all players at the table and mucked. PER CASINO RULES: “Show one, Show all” rule applies to games.

Players are expected to “ACT IN TURN” as part of the game.

12. *SINCE EACH CASINO HAS DIFFERENT BETTING RULES:
THIS IS HOW THE  NO-LIMIT BETTING CAN BE USED
Blinds – The “Big Blind” sets the minimum amount bet for that round. The minimum amount that can be bet in order to "Call", is the amount of the “Big Blind”. Each betting round is based on the bets of that round, not the round before.

Pre-flop: The lead player (or if lead player folds the next to act & each in turn to act), can choose to "FOLD" by mucking their hand or announcing, or they can "CALL" with an amount equal to the big blind, or "RAISE" by announcing. In order to “Raise”, the "Raise" must be at least double the big blind, and a "RE-RAISE" is at least double the last bet/raise.

**If a player has enough chips to cover the big blind, he can make a full "CALL". If a player has double the big blind chips or more, he can make a complete "RAISE".
A player may go “ALL-IN” with their chips at any time.

Pre-flop: If a player has less than the big blind in chips and goes ALL-IN, what happens?
*For instance: Blinds are 200/400, and the player goes ALL-IN with 300. When there are a number of players yet to act, the next player to act or all remaining players in order, can "CALL" the amount of the all-in bet & then proceed to bet after the flop or can RAISE the all-in bet, by completing the bet to the full bet amount (400) & doubling it. The amount over the all-in bet goes into a "side pot", which the all-in player can't win. If there are more betting rounds, the new bets go into the side pot, or more side pots if necessary.
Pre-flop: If a player has more chips than the Big Blind, but not enough to make a complete raise
*For instance: blinds are 200/400, & player goes all-in for 500, what happens? This 500 bet is not considered a complete raise. At that point the player next to act can, either "CALL"(500), & all players acting in order may choose to just "CALL" the 500 and all players behind can just "CALL" the 500.
In this same instance, as players act in turn, if any player chooses to "RAISE" the all-in bet of 500, the player can raise to 800 by completing the bet to the full raise amount for that blind, and putting in the 300 more to bring it to 800, for the completed raise.*(note, this is all pre-flop). If a player next to act wants to "RE-RAISE"(after the raise in this instance), that player would call the prior raise total of (800) and raise an additional 800 to 1600. The players still in, if they choose, can call the raise by putting in the difference of what they already have put in, to bring their total up to 1600 in. If a player, at this point, chooses to re-raise the re-raiser, they must make it 3200 to any players left in. Meanwhile any players not having enough to cover any of these bets, but want to stay in, will create side pots, accordingly.
(This, again, is pre-flop)
After the Flop: The 1st player to act on that round may open the betting with any amount over the “Big Blind”. This is considered the opening bet, on which the rest of the betting is based for that round.*It must be at least the amount of the big blind, unless an all-in bet. The all-in betting structure, as in pre-flop, applies.
Example: 200/400 blinds, 1st player can open betting with 500 or 1100 or whatever amount over the big blind, at which point any player can choose to "CALL" that bet by equaling the amount bet, or if a player chooses to"RAISE", a raise by that player would be at least double what the last bet was. A "RE-RAISE" of the last raise would be at least double the raise amount, and so on.
CASINO "NO LIMIT" DEFINITION RULE:
A COMPLETE "CALL" IS A BET EQUAL TO THE PREVIOUS BET.
A COMPLETE "RAISE" OR "RE-RAISE", MUST BE AT LEAST DOUBLE THE AMOUNT OF THE PRECEDING BET.

WHEN “HEADS UP”; FINAL 2 PLAYERS, THE PLAYER WHO HAD THE “BIG BLIND” PRIOR TO THE HEADS UP, WILL NOT GET THE “BIG BLIND” AGAIN! THAT PLAYER WILL BE THE “SMALL BLIND” AND THE OTHER PLAYER WILL BE THE “BIG BLIND”. A CUT OF THE DECK WILL BE OFFERED FROM THE PLAYER/DEALER TO THE NON-DEALER PLAYER REGARDLESS OF THE BLIND!

13. At no time should a “Big Blind” be missed. If a player in the “Small Blind” is eliminated, the dealer button moves to the empty position and the player immediately to the right of the button deals the hand for the missing player. If the player in the “Big Blind” is eliminated, the “Small Blind” position is dead and only the “Big Blind” is posted. According to CASINP RULES, This insures that all players post the “Big Blind” every round. If the both the “Small Blind” & the “Big Blind” players are eliminated in the same hand, the dealer will again re-deal and the player immediately to his left will post only the “Big Blind”
14. If more than one player is eliminated in the same hand, the player with the greater number of chips prior to that hand will be awarded the higher finishing position.

15. General Poker Etiquette – All participants are expected to have Poker Etiquette. It is asked that the experienced players at the table to be patient and aid new players. Remember, abusive and/or inappropriate behavior or language will be addressed, and a DIRECTOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE PLAY TO ANY PLAYER VIOLATING THESE RULES OR IS DISRUPTIVE TO THE SPIRIT OF “FREE, FUN, SOCIALIZING” WHILE PARTICIPATING IN THIS ACTIVITY.

ANY PLAYER WHO CANNOT PROPERLY PARTICIPATE, DUE TO TOO MUCH DRINKING OR OTHER PROBLEMS AFFECTING THE MAJORITY OF PARTICIPANTS, CAN BE REMOVED FROM THE GAME BY DIRECTOR DECISION.

CASINO RULE NOTE: ONLY ONE PLAYER TO A HAND!

16. If at any time there is a question regarding the rules, halt play and the Director from experience, will make clarification and final decision. A Director has the final say in rulings, additions, deletions or changes in rules.

17. BLIND TIME - When the timer goes off and announces “Blind Change”, the blinds go up immediately. If the hand is in the process of being dealt, (cards to players) the blind will go up on the next hand. If the hand is in the process of play, the blind will go up on the next hand.

18. DIRECTORS MAY PARTICIPATE AT ANY LOCATIONS ON THEIR TIME OFF, OR WHILE DIRECTING, UNLESS BY DIFFERENT AGREEMENT WITH THE LOCATION & THE PLAYERS, OR IF THERE IS A LOW PLAYER TURNOUT.

19. DIRECTORS RESERVE THE RIGHT TO ALTER THESE RULES AT ANY TIME AS TO MAKE THE GAME MORE ENJOYABLE FOR ALL PARTICIPANTS. ONCE AGAIN, IT’S ALL ABOUT FUN. “IT’S FREE POKER…YOU CAN ONLY WIN!”