Mustang Poker Club

Tournament Rules

Structure

Each player will be given $200 worth of chips.  10 white($.50), 10 blue($1), 7 red($5), 2 green($25), and 1 black($100).

Play will be conducted in 30 minute increments with a 10 minute break at the end of every three sessions.

Tables will consist of 5, 6 or 7 players.  No table will ever exceed 7 players or drop below 3 players. (except for the final table which can have up to 9 players and will continue play until one player remains)  As Players are eliminated, tables will be randomly reconfigured to keep a fair balance of players at each table. (see Moving Players) 

Play will begin promptly at the predetermined start time.  If a paid player is not present when play begins, the player will be dealt in and their hand folded for every hand that he/she is absent from and all blinds will be forfeited.

All tournaments will have a predetermined ending time.  Should there be more than one player remaining when time expires, the winner and subsequent places will be determined by each players chip value.

General Rules

• Smoking is not permitted anywhere inside the tournament venue.
• The house has the authority to close any game at any time.
• The house has the authority to remove any player, at any time, for any period of time, for any violation of any rule.
• Only the English language may be spoken at the table.
• Only one player to a hand.
• Chopping (splitting) blinds is not permitted.
• Straddle bets are not permitted.
• All tournament chips must remain visible on the table throughout the event. Chips taken off the table or pocketed will be removed from the event, and a player who is caught doing this may be disqualified

Code of Conduct

The following actions are improper, and grounds for warning, time out, suspending, or barring a violator:

• Deliberately acting out of turn.
• Revealing the contents of a live hand before all possible action is complete.
• Needlessly stalling the action of a game.
• Deliberately discarding hands away from the muck. Cards should be released in a low line of flight, at a moderate rate of speed.
• Stacking chips in a manner that interferes with dealing or viewing cards.
• Making statements or taking action that could unfairly influence the course of play, whether or not the offender is involved in the pot.
• Using a cell phone at the table.
• Collusion with another player or any other form of cheating.
• Verbally or physically threatening any fellow player.
• Creating a disturbance by arguing, shouting, or making excessive noise.
• Throwing, tearing, bending, or crumpling cards.
• Destroying or defacing property.
• Using an illegal substance.
• Carrying a weapon.

 

Dealing/Play Procedure

Before the cards are dealt the two players to the left of the dealer place initial bets called the 'small blind' and the 'big blind' in order to create a pot to play for.  The small blind (to the dealers left) places a bet equal to half the smallest structured bet, and the big blind (to the small blinds left) places a bet equal to the smallest structured bet.  In heads-up play with two blinds, the small blind is on the button

 Blind schedule will be as follows…………………….

                             Blind               Ante

          1^st Session     $.50-$1

          2^nd Session     $1-$2

          3^rd Session     $2-$4          

          4^th Session     $3-$5           $.50

          5^th Session     $5-$10          $1

          6^th Session     $10-$20        $2

          7^th Session     $15-$30        $3

          8^th Session     $25-$50        $5

          9^th Session     $50-$100       $10

        10^th Session     $100-$200     $25

Each player is dealt two cards, face down.

 If the first holecard dealt is exposed, a misdeal results. The dealer will retrieve the card, reshuffle, and recut the cards. If any other holecard is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The exposed card may not be kept. After completing the hand, the dealer replaces the card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed card is then used for the burncard. If more than one holecard is exposed, this is a misdeal and there must be a redeal.   If the dealer mistakenly deals the first player an extra card (after all players have received their starting hands), the card will be returned to the deck and used for the burncard. If the dealer mistakenly deals more than one extra card, it is a misdeal.

A round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the two who posted the blinds. Players can call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

After the first betting round, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called burning the card and is done to ensure that no one accidentally saw the top card, and to help prevent cheating.

The dealer then flips the next three cards face up on the table. These cards are called the "flop."

  If the flop contains too many cards, it must be redealt. (This applies even if it were possible to know which card was the extra one.) If the flop needs to be redealt because the cards were prematurely flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too many cards, the boardcards are mixed with the remainder of the deck. The burncard remains on the table. After shuffling, the dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card.

After the flop, another round of betting takes place, beginning with the player to the left of the dealer (the button). During this and all future rounds of betting, players can check, call, raise, or fold when it's their turn to bet.

The dealer burns another card and places one more face up onto the table. This, the fourth community card, is called the "turn card."

  If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round, even if subsequent players elect to fold. The betting is then completed. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card’s place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burncards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card.

The player to the left of the dealer (the button) begins the third round of betting.

The dealer burns another card before placing the final face-up card on the table. This card is called the "river."

    If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.

Players can now use any combination of seven cards -- the five community cards and the two cards known only to them -- to form the best possible five-card Poker hand.

The fourth and final round of betting starts with the player to the left of the dealer (the button).

After the final betting round, the player who made the initial bet or the player who made the last raise shows their hand first.  All other players then have the option of showing their cards or mucking their hand.

The player with the best hand wins.

The Showdown

• A player must show all cards in the hand face-up on the table to win any part of the pot.
• If everyone checks (or is all-in) on the final betting round, the player who acted first is the first to show the hand. If there is wagering on the final betting round, the last player to take aggressive action by a bet or raise is the first to show the hand. In order to speed up the game, a player holding a probable winner is encouraged to show the hand without delay. If there is a side pot, players involved in the side pot should show their hands before anyone who is all-in for only the main pot.

Betting Rules

 

• Any wager must be at least the size of the previous bet or raise in that round, unless a player is going all-in. Raises must be at least double the previous bet.
• If the player in the big blind mucks his/her hand when they had the opportunity to simply “check”, the player’s hand is folded and cannot be recovered.

• A verbal statement denotes your action and is binding. If in turn you verbally declare a fold, check, bet, call, or raise, you are forced to take that action.

 

• Betting a single, greater value chip without announcing a “raise” is considered a call and change will be given.

 

• A player who bets or calls by releasing chips into the pot is bound by that action. If a player is unaware that the pot has been raised, he will be forced to put in the remaining balance to constitute a call. 
• String raises are not allowed. To protect your right to raise, you should either declare your intention verbally or place the proper amount of chips into the pot. Putting a full bet plus a half-bet 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.)

Moving Players

If the number of players differs by two or more between any tables, one player must move from one of the highest populated tables to the lowest populated table. This ensures a balanced number of players between tables.

When a player is eliminated and a move must be made, the player ‘playing a hand’ in the same position (seat), relative to the button, at one of the highest populated table must move to the eliminated player’s seat. The move must occur before the next hand is dealt, or the button is advanced, at any table. For the purposes of this rule, a player is ‘playing a hand’ once all the blinds/antes have been posted and the dealer has begun shuffling (riffles the deck).  The table from which a player will be moved from will be determined by the eliminated player drawing a number that corresponds to one of the most populated tables.

A moved player will be dealt a hand at the start of the next deal and assume any obligation of the new seat including the posting of a blind or dealing.

Moving occurs at the conclusion of all hands presently being played at all tables. If several players must be moved at the same time, begin with the eliminated player, at the lowest populated table, closest to the left of the button.

When forced to choose between removing a player from two equally populated tables, the eliminated player will draw a number that corresponds to one of the equally populated tables.

Example: There are 6 players at Table 1, 6 players at Table 2 and 5 players at Table 3. A player three seats to the left of the button is eliminated from Table 3. The eliminated player will draw a number that will correspond to one of the remaining tables.  The player presently playing a hand three seats to the left of the button, at the table who’s number was drawn, must move to the eliminated player’s seat at Table 3. That player will post the big blind at the new table, just as he would have had to do if he had stayed at his original table.

Odd Chips

When the smallest remaining chip denomination is “colored up” and removed from the game, any odd chips remaining will be distributed as follows…

Each player will place his/her odd chips in the middle of the table.  The chips will be replaced with an equal value of the next highest denomination.  Each player will then be dealt one card for each odd chip that they put in the middle.  The player with the highest card will receive one of the higher denomination chips.  Then the player with the next highest card will receive one, and so on, until all of the higher denomination chips are distributed.  A player may receive only one higher denomination chip.  If two players have cards of the same value, the tie will be broken by suit value. (spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs)

Points Structure

 

Points will be awarded to players at each tournament according to where they finish.  The point distribution table is as follows.

 

Place	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Points	20	18	16	14	12	10	8	6	4	2

                                  *All other players receive 1 pt.

 

Standings will be kept throughout the year and at the conclusion of the December event a “Championship Tournament” will be held consisting of the top 12 point getters from the regular season.  The top 4 players in the standings will receive more chips than the rest of the field based on their finish in the standings.  The chip distribution will be as follows…..

 

          1^st = $400      2^nd  = $350    3^rd = $300      4^th = $250      5^th-12^th = $200

 

If two or more players are tied for one of the top 4 point totals at the conclusion of the December event, the order of tiebreakers will be as follows…

 

1)    Player with the most “club event” victories.

2)    Player with the most “club event” top tens

3)    Players who remain tied after the first two tiebreakers have been applied will compete in a “turbo” match to determine the order of finish.  In this match, players will start with $100 in chips.  The blinds will begin at 1-2 and will increase every 15 minutes until a champion is crowned.