Dealers Choice
Event Overview – DEALERS CHOICE
These rules are to be used in conjunction with ‘Robert’s Rules of Poker’. Where there is a discrepancy between these rules and Robert’s Rules of Poker, these rules shall take precedence.
Tom Brucato reserves the right to:
· Make decisions in the spirit of fairness, even if a strict interpretation of the rules may indicate a different ruling.
· Change these rules at any time before the first hand of the preliminary round is dealt. Any changes will be broadcast to all participants prior to the beginning of the tournament.
THE GAME
DEALERS CHOICE
PRIOR TO DEALING ANY CARDS THE DEALER MUST CLEARLY STATE THE GAME BEING PLAYED AND THE BETTING STRUCTURE
GAME/BETTING OPTIONS:
HOLD ‘EM – LIMIT
HOLD ‘EM – POT LIMIT
HOLD ‘EM – NO LIMIT
OMAHA HI - LIMIT
OMAHA HI – POT LIMIT
OMAHA HI/LO - LIMIT
OMAHA HI/LO – POT LIMIT
If no game is declared prior to dealing we will be playing Hold ‘Em – Limit
GENERAL INFORMATION
Maximum number of players - 16.
Minimum number of players - 3.
Chip Value:
White 25
Red 50
Green 100
Blue 250
Black 500
BUYIN/REBUY/ADD-ON
The initial buy-in is $50. This will purchase 4,000 in tournament chips. These chips have no monetary value.
A player may add-on at any point in the tournament provided it is before the first hand of the fifth level is dealt.
Add-ons are $25 and will purchase 2,000 in tournament chips.
Each player is allowed up to 1 (one) add-on in this tournament.
SEATING
Table assignment and seating will be determined prior to the start of the tournament by random drawing. (However, the tournament director reserves the right to redraw the tables).
Button position will be determined by the random assignment of seat #1. Seat #1 will be the first to deal.
If we have in excess of 10 players at the start of this event we will use two tables.
If the tournament began with two tables, as soon as the remaining players equal 8, we will combine the two tables and have one table of 8 players.
When the difference in the number of players at the two tables is greater than 1 then a player must move from the bigger table to the smaller table. The computer will randomly assign a new seat and move the player accordingly.
BLINDS
The two players to the left of the dealer are required to post “blind” bets before seeing their cards. The 1st is the SB and the 2nd is the BB.
If the SB is knocked out, the button essentially goes into his empty seat.
If the BB is knocked out, then the BB moves on to the player who would have had it next and there isn’t a SB on this hand (SB moves into the empty seat). On the following hand, the button would wind up in the empty seat. The player who just had the BB would have SB, and the BB moves on normally to the next player.
When play is down to two players, figure out who would get the BB next if nothing had happened. He will be the BB on the next hand. The SB is always on the button and the other player is the BB.
SCHEDULE FOR BLINDS
The above schedule is subject to change at the discretion of the tournament director, in an effort to complete the tournament by 2am.
The lowest denomination chip in play will be removed from the table when it is no longer needed in the blind structure. All lower denomination chips that are of sufficient quantity for a new chip will be changed up directly.
TIMER USE AND BREAKS
A timer will be used to time the blind progression. When the timer expires, it should be immediately restarted. The next hand will be dealt at the new blind level. For the purposes of this rule, a hand is considered currently in play once the all blinds are posted AND the dealer has begun shuffling (riffles the deck).
The timer is stopped during breaks. No additional hands at any table should be started during such a break although hands already in progress should be completed.
THE DEAL OMAHA
The player to the right of the dealer must cut the deck before the cards are dealt.
The dealer is responsible for making sure that all bets have been called before dealing each round of card(s).
Order of the deal:
Dealer deals four cards (one at a time) face down to each player.
Betting round 1 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals 3 cards (flop) in the middle of the table face up.
Betting round 2 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals one card (turn/4th Street) in the middle.
Betting round 3 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals the final card (river/5th Street).
Betting round 4 occurs.
Omaha High rules
Omaha Hi is a community card game. Every player is dealt four cards face down, followed by five community cards dealt face up in the middle of the table. The five community cards may be used by every player.
Omaha Hi is played with a dealer button to mark who the dealer would be. The button rotates clockwise around the table between every hand. This is important as the "dealer" is the last to act, and thus has the greatest advantage for that hand.
Objective:
To make both your best five card high hand using exactly two hole cards, and three board cards.
Omaha Hi Lo Split
All the rules of Omaha apply to Omaha high-low split except as below.
A qualifier of 8-or-better for low is used. This means to win the low half of the pot, a player's hand at the showdown must have five cards of different ranks that are an eight or lower in rank. (An ace is the highest card and also the lowest card.) If there is no qualifying hand for low, the best high hand wins the whole pot.
THE DEAL HOLD ‘EM
The player to the right of the dealer may be given the right to cut the deck before the cards are dealt.
The dealer is responsible for making sure that all bets have been called before dealing each round of card(s).
Order of the deal:
Dealer deals two cards (one at a time) face down to each player.
Betting round 1 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals 3 cards (flop) in the middle of the table face up.
Betting round 2 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals one card (turn/4th Street) in the middle.
Betting round 3 occurs.
Dealer burns one card and deals the final card (river/5th Street).
Betting round 4 occurs.
Forced Bets
Blinds
Omaha Hi rules dictate that there be two forced bets every hand, called blinds. There is a small blind, and a big blind. Before the hand begins, the player to the immediate left of the dealer button is forced to post the small blind, and the player to the left of that person is forced to post the big blind. These bets count towards that player's first round bet, and are considered live, meaning the player may choose to raise even if nobody else has.
Note: In a heads up match (1 on 1), the player with the dealer button posts the small blind, and the other player posts the big blind. The player with the dealer button is the first to act before the flop, but acts after his opponent in the three betting rounds to follow.
Limit Betting Rules
In limit, one’s choice of how much to bet is fixed by the blinds. Using our first round bets as an example, 25 and 50 blinds, the player “under the gun” (this is the first player to the left of the big blind) has three options.
He may call the 50 big blind.
He may raise but is only permitted to raise 50 as the limits are fixed.
He may fold and sit out this hand and wait for a new deal.
If anyone wishes to raise then they can only do so in increments of 50.
After this first round of betting the dealer delivers the flop. Players are still limited to a maximum bet of 50 and raises of 50. However, on the turn and river the betting amount doubles, so in our example the betting would now be in 100 increments. These are known as ‘big bets’. There isn’t a choice of betting either 50 or 100. If one now wishes to bet, the amount must be 100 and raises must be in 100 increments.
Each round of betting has a maximum number of 3 raises, after which all players must call, or fold.
Pot Limit Betting Rules
There are four rounds of betting. A player may bet or raise any amount they wish, up to the amount that is currently in the pot. There are still minimum bets, depending on what the big blind is in that round. In addition, all bets and raises must be greater than or equal to the previous bet or raise, with the exception of a player that is raising all in. If a player does raise all in, and that bet is not greater than or equal to the previous raise, then the door is not opened for the original raiser to reraise. For example, if Player A bets 30, Player B calls, and Player C raises all in for a total less than 60, Player A would not be able to reraise that bet. When playing pot limit, the number of raises per betting round are unlimited.
No Limit Betting Rules
No limit hold’em there is no limit, except the size of the blinds, , the first player to act can call, fold or raise. The difference from the other two structures is that a player can raise a minimum of the size of the big blind, but his maximum allowable bet is only limited to the chips he has in front of him at the table (the amount he started the hand with). If there has been a bet beforehand, then the minimum raise amount would be the size of the previous bet. For example, if a player bets 50 then if the next player wishes to raise he must bet at least $100. This is the same as in pot limit, but with one big different, there is no maximum limit.
Some standard rules:
Folding can be done at any stage of the game. The action of folding basically shows the player cards being moved to the dealer. The player from then on would not be considered as part of the game. He/she would not have any rights over any pots created on the table.
Apart from the fold option, a player could also get the option of "Check", in which the player can pass his/her turn without placing a bet. This option would not always be available to the player, and depends on the actions taken by the previous player in the hand. The player HAS TO equal the amount of bet placed by any other players for each round in the hand.
Poker is typically played "table stakes", meaning only the chips in play at the beginning of each hand may be used throughout the hand. This means that the player cannot get additional funds from the cashier while he is in the midst of a game. The table stakes rule has an application called the "All-In" rule, which states that a player cannot be forced to forfeit a hand because the player does not have enough chips to call a bet.
Showdown - After all the action is complete, there is a showdown. All the active players (those who have cards) show their hands. The last player to bet/raise shows his cards first; the next player clockwise will show his cards second (unless it's a losing hand - he then has a choice to show or muck his cards). This will continue until the last player's cards are shown or mucked. If all the active players check on the river, then the first player to the left of the button will show his cards first and the showdown will continue in a clockwise direction. If there is a side pot, the players involved in the side pot will show their hands first under the same guidelines as above. The hand belonging to the winner of the side pot is then compared in a clockwise direction to all the hands involved in the main pot. High hand only, wins. The final poker hand is made up of the best five cards, using exactly 2 out of the 4 pocket cards and exactly 3 out 5 board cards.
If two or more hands are the same ranking, the winner is the one having the higher cards. For example, a Flush with an Ace high beats a Flush with a King high. If the poker hands remain tied, then the highest card not being held in common (the kicker) determines the winner.
The suit order of the cards is not taken into account while deciding on the winning cards. Should poker hands be absolutely identical in ranking, the rule of poker pot distribution will be split evenly between the two or more winning players. If there is an odd chip, the winning player to the left of the button/dealer will receive it
After the showdown, the button is moved one player to the left, marking the new dealer's position. The blinds are now posted by the 2 players to the immediate left of the dealer button, and a new game begins.
BETTING
Check and raise is allowed.
The minimum bet is equal to the size of the BB.
The raise must always be at least the size of the previous bet or raise.
Betting round 1 begins with the player to the left of the BB.
Betting rounds 2-4 begin with the player to the left of the button.
When only two players are left sitting at the table, the BB is dealt to first, the button acts first before the flop, and the BB acts first after the flop.
Do not splash the pot. Stack your bets in front of you the dealer will rake the bets into the pot after the betting round is complete.
Do not bet, check, call, fold, or raise out of turn.
WINNING THE TOURNAMENT
The final player remaining, in the championship round, with all the chips will be the first prize winner. The last player eliminated will be the second prize winner; the second last player eliminated will be the third prize winner, etc... If two players get eliminated in the same hand, the person who started the hand with the most chips gets the higher finish and awarded the corresponding prize pool for that placement.