|
The following poker tournament rules apply to all tournaments at
EmpirePoker.com unless otherwise stated.
1. A 'tournament' is a contest in which all players start with an equal
amount of chips and continue to play until one player remains and accumulates
all the chips. (Blinds/antes are raised consistently throughout the
tournament.) The exception to all players starting with equal chips is the
EmpirePoker.com Million Semi-finals.
2. Single-table poker tournaments will begin within seconds after all
players are seated. Players choose their seat on a first-come-first-served
basis.
3. Multi-table poker tournaments have set starting times and players must
register in advance to play. They may do so up to five minutes before play is
scheduled to begin. (Some tournaments may require more lead-time for
registration. Check the 'Tournament Lobby' for full details.) All seat
assignments are randomly drawn prior to the start of the tournament. Tables
will break down from the highest numbered table to the lowest numbered tables.
When transferring players from one table to another (as a result of tables
breaking down), the player’s position from the blinds is taken into
consideration when assigning a new seat. The system will be as fair as possible
to players in an attempt to maintain the same distance from the blinds after
the transfer.
4. In Hold'em and Omaha games, the players 'high card' for the button
immediately prior to the start of play. This means the player who draws the
highest card will start with the button. If two players get the same high card,
the suit preference of spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs will determine who
starts with the button.
5. Poker tournaments will continue until one player wins all the chips.
6. When a player loses all his/her chips, they are eliminated from play.
7. In 'limit tournaments' (limit tournaments are those that have a
prescribed amount of betting at each level), one bet and three raises are
permitted for each betting round. When only two players remain, there is no
limit on the number of raises. In pot-pimit and/or no-limit tournaments, there
are no limits on the number of raises.
8. Players are obligated to take their 'blinds'. (A 'blind' is a fixed
amount of money, determined by the size of the game that is automatically put
into the pot in Hold'em and Omaha tournaments prior to the hand being
dealt.)
9. The 'small blind' is the player immediately to the left of the dealer
button, and the 'big blind' (BB) is the player to the immediate left of the
small blind. (It is possible for a player to take two big blinds in a row. For
example, this might happen if he had the BB at one table that broke down and
then he moved to a new table where he was seated in the BB position.)
10. When two players remain, the player due to assume the big blind will do
so, and the small blind will inherit the button. The small blind or button will
act first prior to the flop and second after the flop.
11. There are no breaks during single-table poker tournaments. In
multi-table poker tournaments, a five-minute break is taken every hour.
12. The prize pool payouts for all poker tournaments will adhere to the
EmpirePoker.com Payout Schedule. Any and all deals made between players will be
the responsibility of those players. No assistance will be given in making
deals or completing any subsequent transactions.
13. All players in Sit and Go tournaments will start with 2,000 chips
irrespective of the buy-in amount. Regular Speed Sit and Gos will have 10
minute rounds, while Speed Sit and Gos will have five minute rounds.
14. If two (or more) players are eliminated on the same hand, the player who
started the hand with the most chips will be awarded the higher finishing
position.
15. When a tournament is in hand-for-hand mode, the following rules will be
applied for rank assignment:
- If two (or more) players from the same table are eliminated on the same
hand, the player who started the hand with the most chips will be awarded the
higher finishing position.
- If two (or more) players from different tables are eliminated in the same
hand, then we will wait for the hand to finish on all the tables. The prize
money will be equally divided across all the players who finished on the same
rank and the rank assigned to them will be the lowest one.
16. We expect all our players to follow established poker etiquette. Any
players who abuse proper etiquette may be asked by EmpirePoker.com personnel to
leave the tournament and/or to stop playing at EmpirePoker.com
17. There should be no 'soft playing' during tournaments. Soft playing
happens when a player does not bet his or her hand to the fullest extent. This
often happens when people play against friends and/or family in non-competitive
situations. However, such play goes against the spirit of a tournament and is
considered cheating in some instances.
18. Players who do not act on their hand in time ('time out') will be
automatically folded.
19. Our Tournament Disconnect Protection
& Cancellation Policy applies to all of our tournaments.
20. EmpirePoker.com reserves the right to alter the rules and render final
decisions on all matters herein at its sole discretion. Rule changes and
relevant decisions will be communicated accordingly by EmpirePoker.com via
electronic and/or written means.
21. EmpirePoker.com reserves the right to cancel or reschedule tournaments at
any time, for any reason, with or without notice.
22. SINGLE-TABLE POKER TOURNAMENTS: If a tournament is cancelled due to
technical issues, any player who was eliminated prior to this time will lose
his or her buy-in and entry fee. The remaining players will be refunded their
buy-ins and entry fees and will equally divide the buy-in monies (from the
players already eliminated) among themselves, regardless of the chip standing
when the tournament was halted. Play Money Tournaments - Any play money
tournament that is cancelled for any reason, will be considered to be 'not
played'. This includes play money tournaments with real money prize
pools. Prize pools for these tournaments will not be redistributed and no
compensation will be awarded to players still remaining in the tournament at
the time of cancellation.
MULTI-TABLE POKER TOURNAMENTS: If a tournament is cancelled for technical
reasons, the following refund policy will take effect:
Eliminated players at the time of cancellation will not be refunded their
buy-in (amount that goes into the prize pool) or entry fee (amount the house
takes).
Players still in the tournament at time of cancellation will be refunded as
follows:
- Prize money equal to the amount that would have been awarded to the next
player eliminated from the tournament will be awarded to all the players still
in the tournament at the time of cancellation. Of the remaining prize pool
(awarding as per point 1), 50% will be distributed equally between all players
still in the tournament at the time of cancellation, and 50% will be
distributed on a percentage basis at the time of cancellation (based on each
player's chip count).
- Their entry fee (e.g., $3 in a $30 + $3 tournament).
23. EmpirePoker.com reserves the right to amend our poker tournament rules
and policies at any time without notice. Such amendments will become effective
immediately upon being listed under the 'Tournament Rules' section of the
EmpirePoker.com website. It is the player's sole responsibility to review the
tournament rules and policies before entering a tournament.
24. The poker tournament rules and policies contained herein represent the
complete understanding between the player and EmpirePoker.com with respect to
the player’s activities at any EmpirePoker.com tournament, except as otherwise
specified in any poker tournament rules pertaining to a particular tournament,
as posted on the EmpirePoker.com website.
25. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, all use of the website by a
player is governed by the EmpirePoker.com
Terms & Conditions of Use. In the event of any dispute, those terms and
conditions shall apply.
EmpirePoker.com, July 3, 2003.
If you have any questions, please contact our 24/7 Customer
Care team.
|
