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Tournament Rules

Official rules for the Sunshine Poker Tournament.

1

Basic Rules

If you're not already familiar with these, make sure to read all the rules. It's your responsibility to ensure that you don't interfere with the fairness of play.

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  1. Only one person may play a hand.

  2. No one is allowed to play another player's chips.

  3. Players must keep their cards in full view. The cards should not be covered by the hands in a manner that completely conceals them.

  4. Any player is entitled to a clear view of an opponent's chips. Higher denomination chips should be easily visible.

  5. Looking through the discards or deck stub is not allowed.

  6. After a deal ends, dealers are asked not to show what card would have been dealt.

  7. Once action begins, a misdeal cannot be called.

  8. If you put a single chip in the pot that is larger than the bet, but do not announce a raise, you are assumed to have only called.

  9. 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.

2

Misdeal

The following circumstances cause a misdeal, provided attention is called to the error before two players have acted on their hands.

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  1. The first or second card of the hand has been exposed by a dealer error.

  2. Two or more cards have been exposed by the dealer.

  3. Two or more boxed cards (improperly faced cards) are found.

  4. Two or more extra cards have been dealt in the starting hands of a game.

  5. An incorrect number of cards have been dealt to a player, except the top card may be dealt if it goes to the player in proper sequence.

  6. Any card has been dealt out of the proper sequence. An exposed card may be replaced by the burn card.

  7. The button was out of position.

  8. The first card was dealt to the wrong position.

  9. Cards have been dealt to an empty seat or a player not entitled to a hand.

  10. A player has been dealt out who is entitled to a hand. This player must be present at the table or have posted a blind or ante.

3

Tournament Rules

  1. Absent Players - All players must be dealt into the hand and their blinds and antes forced into the pot whether they are at the table or not. If the player is not present by the time his second card is dealt, his hand will be ruled dead.

  2. Breaking Tables - As players are eliminated the tournament director will start breaking tables in a predetermined order. If your table breaks, you will be assigned randomly to an empty seat at one of the remaining tables.

  3. All-in confrontations - When two players are all in and the action is completed, both hands must be exposed face up before the rest of the board is run.

  4. Calling the Clock - A player can request the tournament director to force a player to choose an action in a set amount of time (60 seconds). If the player fails to act in that time, his or her hand is folded. Only a player seated at the table at the time the current hand was dealt can call the clock.

  5. Inappropriate play - Inappropriate play such as swearing or throwing cards is punishable by a penalty.

  6. Hand-for-hand play - As play approaches the bubble, when the money starts, play may go hand for hand. This means that all tables will deal a hand and the next hand will not be dealt until all tables have completed their hand.

  7. Wrong winner - If a pot has been incorrectly awarded and mingled with chips that were not in the pot, and the time limit for a ruling request given in the previous rule has been observed, management may determine how much was in the pot by reconstructing the betting, and then transfer that amount to the proper player.

  8. Fairness first - The same action may have a different meaning depending on who does it, so the possible intent of an offender will be taken into consideration. Some factors here are the person's amount of poker experience and past record.

  9. Mucked hands - Cards thrown into the muck may be ruled dead. However, a hand that is clearly identifiable may be retrieved and ruled live at management's discretion if doing so is in the best interest of the game. An extra effort should be made to rule a hand retrievable if it was folded as a result of incorrect information given to the player.

  10. Protect your cards - Your cards may be protected with your hands, a chip, or other object placed on top of them. If you fail to protect your hand, you will have no redress if it becomes fouled or the dealer accidentally kills it.

  11. "Wait, I found a card on the floor!" - One or more cards missing from the deck does not invalidate the results of a hand.

  12. Exposed cards - A card that is flashed by a dealer is treated as an exposed card. A card that is flashed by a player will play. To obtain a ruling on whether a card was exposed or should be replaced, a player should announce that the card was flashed or exposed before looking at it. A downcard dealt off the table is an exposed card. If a card is exposed due to dealer error, a player does not have an option to take or reject the card.

  13. Wrong burn card - If the dealer fails to burn a card or burns more than one card, the error should be corrected if discovered before betting action has started for that round. Once action has been taken on a board card, the card must stand.

  14. "The hand's not over!" - If the deck stub gets fouled for some reason, such as the dealer believing the deal is over and dropping the deck, the deal must still be played out, and the deck reconstituted in as fair a way as possible. Otherwise, the stub will be shuffled and play will continue.

  15. Gotta show it to win it - To win any part of a pot, a player must show all of his cards face-up on the table, whether they were used in the final hand played or not.

  16. Request to see another player's hand - Any player who has been dealt in may request to see any hand that was eligible to participate in the showdown, even if the opponent's hand or the winning hand has been mucked. However, this is a privilege that may be revoked if abused. If the winning player asks to see a losing player's hand, both hands are live, and the best hand wins.

  17. Show one, show all - Players are entitled to receive equal access to information about the contents of another player's hand. After a deal, if cards are shown to another player, every player at the table has a right to see those cards.

  18. Who shows first? - 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.

  19. Burn and turn too early - If the dealer burns and turns before a betting round is complete, the card or cards may not be used, even if all subsequent players elect to fold. Nobody has an option of accepting or rejecting the card. Once the betting is then completed, the exposed card will be reshuffled into the deck and a new card will be revealed without burning a card.

  20. Hidden chips - All tournament chips must remain visible on the table throughout the event. Chips taken off the table will be removed from the event, and a player doing this may be disqualified.

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