Tournament Guidelines Royal Flush Poker League considers the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in our decision making process during all tournaments. By participating in any event; you agree to abide by the rules of Royal Flush Poker League.
Participation
Outside Advertising
Outside advertising is not permitted at any time during an event with Royal Flush Poker League.
Food / Alcohol
Players are not permitted to bring in any outside food or outside alcohol at any event.
Language
English is the only language to be spoken while at a table when a game is in progress.
Physically / Verbally Threaten
No player may physically or verbally threaten another player. If a player threatens another player, the accused player will be asked to turn their chips in and will not be permitted to play for the remainder of the tournament. Any player who physically or verbally threatens another player will be permanently banned from Royal Flush Poker League.
Gambling
No gambling is ever allowed at anytime. This includes cash bets, side bets, and gambling on side tables. No form of currency is ever allowed on a playing table at anytime. Any player who is found gambling will be disqualified and will have their chips removed from play immediately. Any player who is caught gambling at any location will be permanently banned from Royal Flush Poker League. Cheating / Stealing No player is ever permitted to cheat or steal. Any player that is caught cheating will be asked to turn chips their chips in and will permanently banned from Royal Flush Poker League. Any player caught stealing from another player, staff member, or a customer will be asked to turn their chips in and will be permanently banned from Royal Flush Poker League. Destroying / Damaging Property No player is ever permitted to destroy or damage property belonging to Royal Flush Poker League or the property of one of our venues. Any player who is caught destroying or damaging property at any location will be asked to turn their chips in and will be permanently banned from Royal Flush Poker League.
Tournament General Rules
Age Requirement
Players must be at least 21 years of age and must provide a photo identification if asked, to participate at any event.
Registration / Membership
Only registered players may sit at a poker table. Any player that has been eliminated must leave the table immediately. Players participating in an event must register with the Tournament Director prior to each event.
Tournament Directors
Tournament Directors reserve the right to make decisions with fairness to all players in mind. Decisions of the Tournament Directors are final.
Late Players
Any player who arrives after the official start time may enter into the tournament as long as they are signed in by the end of first break. Player that arrives before the end of first break will be docked accordingly based on the time of arrival.
Dealer Button / Dealer Shuffling
Players must post all blinds every round. Dealers are required to shuffle and cut the deck themselves. The dealer is required to shuffle the deck minimum of three times. Only the dealer is permitted to handle the chips in the pot while the hand is in progress.
New Players
New players are dealt in immediately unless they sit down in the small blind or button position. In these two cases, they must wait until the button passes.
Splashing / Mucking / Rabbitting
Players are not permitted to splash the pot. Any bet, call, or raise should be placed in front of the players cards until the round of betting has ended and then pushed into the center of the table. Players are not allowed to go back into the burn pile once cards have been folded or mucked. No rabbit hunting is permitted at the table.
Show One Show All / All In / Burn Cards / Card Protection
After a hand no player is permitted to show cards to one player only, Show one Show all. Players who are all in are required to turn cards face up once a player is all in and all action is complete. Burn cards need to be separate from folded cards. It is the player responsibility to protect their cards at all times. Calling Time If a player is not present when it becomes your turn to act, your hand will be mucked. Any player who takes excessive time to call a hand my have time called on them. If time is called on a player that player has one minute to decide if they want to play the hand or fold. If the player has not acted by the end of the minute the player has ten seconds to make a decision. If the player has not acted by the time the count down is over, the player's hand will be dead. Chips / Odd Chips / Visible Chips / Insufficient Chips / Color Up All players start out with the same amount of chips. Chips must remain visible to all players at all times. A player may make change with a neighbor. If a neighbor is unable to make change, the player must state his intention (check, bet, or raise) and put down the chip or chips he has. If the player only wishes to call but has only a higher unit chip than necessary to call, he will place that chip or chips in the pot and receive change after the hand. After the hand is complete the dealer will distribute the correct amount of chips to each player. The odd chip will go to the high hand. When there are two or more high hands or two or more low hands, the odd chip will go to the left of the button. If a player lacks sufficient chips for a blind or a forced bet the player is entitled to get action on whatever amount of money remains. When coloring up though out the event the Tournament Director may designate one player to color up the table. In such an event only the designated player is to color up the entire table. Playing A Hand Or Not Players whether in the hand or not, may not discuss their hands until all action is complete. Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Discussing cards discarded or hand possibilities are not allowed. All players start out with the same amount of chips. Each player chips must be visibly displayed at all times. Players may not have tournament chips in their pockets at anytime. A player who has chips in his pocket will forfeit the chips. The forfeited chips will be taken out of play from the tournament. Players must keep their highest denomination chips visible at all times. No player is ever permitted to take their chips off of the table. A player chips need to remain on the tables at all times unless instructed by the Tournament Director. No player may touch another player chips unless a player is making change with another player. If a player chooses to call but has only a higher unit chip than necessary to call, he/she will place that chips in the pot and receive change from the dealer after the hand. Broken Tables As players are eliminated tables are broken in a preset order with players from the broken tables assigned to empty seats at other tables. They can be seated in big blind. The only place they cannot get in a hand is between the small blind and the button. Any table that loses 50% of players will be required to redraw for deal. The number of players at each table is a maximum of 8 and a minimum of five. Players Out Same Time If two or more players go out at the same time, the player starting with the larger amount of chips finishes in the higher tournament place. If two or more players go out with the same amount of chips the player with the best hand finishes in the higher tournament place. Misdeals A misdeal may be declared if the following have occurred. (1) The first or second card off the shoot has been dealt face up or exposed through dealer error or if (2) two or more cards have been exposed by the dealer (3) two or more extra cards have been dealt in the starting hands (4) an incorrect number of cards has been dealt to a player except the top card may be dealt if it goes to the player in proper sequence, any card has been dealt out of proper sequence except an exposed card may be replaced by the burn card, the button was out of position, the first card was dealt to the wrong position, cards have been dealt to any empty seat or a player not entitled to a hand, a player has been dealt out who is entitled to a hand. Once action begins, a misdeal can not be called. Action is considered to occur when two players after the blinds have acted on their hands. Half Bet Rule / Side Bet / String Bet If a player puts in a raise of 50% or more of the previous bet, the player will be required to make a full raise. The raise will be exactly the minimum raise allowed. Each side pot is required to be split as a separate pot. The main pot and side pots will not be mixed together before they are awarded. No string betting will be allowed. Players will be required to announce a raise and put the amount of raise out in one motion or state your raise amount. If a player states the amount, you may make more than one motion. Showdown / Heads Up Players must show both hole cards to win any part of a pot. Cards speak for themselves. It is the player’s responsibility for holding on to their hands until the winner is declared. Verbal declarations pertaining to the strength or weakness of a player's hand are not binding. Deliberately miscalling your hand with the intent of causing another player to discard a winning hand will result in forfeiture of the pot. Players may not ask advice or show their hand to any player or spectator. In heads up play the small blind is on the button. Determining Dealer Before the first cards are dealt, each player will draw a random card from the deck mixed in a pile face down on the table. This card will determine where the dealer button starts by assigning the person who has drawn the highest card the dealer. Ties during this process will be decided by suit in descending order spade, heart, diamond and club. The dealer button will then be rotated after each hand in a clockwise rotation. At each session once down to the Top-Sixteen players the tables will be required to redraw for deal. It is the responsibility of each player when knocked out of the tournament to see the Tournament Director for their Top-Sixteen points. The final two tables are required to play hand for hand. Slow playing is not permitted. When earning points at each location the player’s points are only for where they play at unless otherwise notified. No player may ever transfer points or chips to another player.
Top-Sixteen
Table Etiquette
Poker etiquette involves being aware of and complying with norms or customs of behavior. Poker is a social activity as well as a game. Like any game there are rules to be followed. Like any social activity there are behavioral expectations. Observing poker etiquette and poker rules does not make you a better player but is asked for and expected.
Actions
You should always be paying attention to the action at the table and act only when it is your turn. Do not announce your action before it is your turn. Prematurely disclosing your intention may give you or another player an unfair advantage. There are only four actions you can take during a poker hand: check, bet, raise, and fold. When it is time to take your action just verbally announce what you are doing. Keep in mind that your verbal declaration is binding. As already mentioned, you want to announce verbally each of your actions, that way there is no ambiguity of what you are doing. There are, however, some situations in which a non-verbal action signals your intention: Tapping the table in front of you with your hand/fingers will be taken to mean you "check". If you move chips into the pot without announcing a raise it will be taken to mean you are just calling. Throwing your cards away means you have folded. It is still preferable to make a verbal declaration along with these actions.
Handling Cards
When you are dealing the cards you must do so in a manner that protects the identity of the cards. Hold the deck in your hand close to the table surface and slightly tilted away from you so no one can see the bottom card. Deal the cards close to the table surface as well, so that no one can see a card as it is dealt. Never play with the deck in the midst of a hand or do anything that others might think is intended as trying to peek at upcoming cards. As dealer it is your obligation to pay attention and deal the cards properly. Do not bend, fold, cut or mark the cards in any way. You may be suspected of cheating. Don't take out your anger of losing by ripping up or throwing the cards.
Table Talk
Never discuss anything that could reveal information about your hand or other players' hands. A particularly serious violation would be to blurt out something like "I folded a pair of deuces!" when favorable cards hit the table. Other inappropriate comments would be to encourage a player to call or raise another or to indicate what cards you think another player is holding.
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Although this point of etiquette is commonly ignored it is generally improper to ask the winning player what his hand was in an uncalled hand. In poker you are supposed to pay to see the other players' cards. If it is another player asking you what you had in that situation, you are under no obligation to tell.
Giving Lessons
Appointing yourself a poker instructor and giving lessons at the table is not something you want to do. Most people will consider it to be a form of bragging about how good a player you are or criticism of how poorly they play. Assuming you actually know what you are talking about a few people may actually listen to what you say and learn something. If you're a good player why give away your secrets?
Whining and Bragging
Everyone who plays poker has had losing sessions and received their share of bad beats. Quite frankly, no one is interested in hearing about yours so you might as well keep it to yourself. You might hear some seemingly sympathetic responses but no one really cares, they are just trying to be polite. You are going to lose some hands with excellent cards that you felt had no possibility of being beaten. Other players are going to suck out on you every so often. It is part of poker and you have to take it in stride. No yelling, cursing or other childish behavior.
Collusion
Player collusion is a form of cheating and must never be allowed. Collusion occurs when two or more players openly act together to influence the play of a hand. Obvious examples would be when one player says to another something like "I think if you and I keep betting and raising we can get he/she to fold" or "If we all check, he/she won't be able to keep raising us". Of course there are some much less obvious or more subtle methods of collusion. Whenever a player says something that is intended to influence others to play a hand in some type of coordinated fashion you and the other players should speak up and stop it. In a tournament, when one player is all-in and two or more other players are also in the hand, it is customary for the others to check rather than bet. They each know that playing that way will increase the chances of eliminating the all-in player. As long this happens without any prompting or comment it is perfectly alright. However, it would never be permissible for a player to "remind" the others about this tactic.
Other Unethical Behavior
Occasionally a player will miscall his hand and state he has a better hand than he actually does. It's a mistake that anyone could make once in a while. But deliberately miscalling a hand in order to try to get the other players to fold should never be done. Always make a player who claims to have the best hand show it. Never muck your hand until you see you are beaten.
