2016 POKER TOURNAMENT CONTEST RULES SECTION 1 Code of Conduct: Temple Etz Chaim will attempt to maintain a pleasant environment for all players, staff and volunteers, but is not responsible for the conduct of any player. Temple Etz Chaim may deny attendance to any violators. The following are not permitted: Collusion with another player or any other form of cheating. Verbally or physically threatening ANY other person. Using profanity or obscene language. 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. POKER ETIQUETTE: The following actions are improper and grounds for warning, suspending, or barring a violator: Deliberately acting out of turn. Deliberately splashing chips into the pot. Agreeing to check a hand out when a third player is all in. Reading a hand for another player at the showdown before it has been placed face up on the table. Telling anyone to turn a hand face up at the showdown. Revealing the contents of a live hand in a multi handed pot before the betting is complete. Revealing the contents of a folded hand before the betting is complete. Do not divulge the contents of a hand during a deal even to someone not in the pot, so you do not leave any possibility of the information being transmitted to an active player. 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 (not at the dealer's hands or chip rack). 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. If the cell phone becomes a distraction to other players, the user will be asked to leave the gaming room. TOBACCO USE: Smoking by anyone is not allowed inside the Temple Etz Chaim. Designated smoking areas are outside, no closer than 50 feet of any entrance.
SECTION TWO: Poker Rules THE BUY IN Players buy in before the start of the event. Buy In is $100, for which you will receive: o Pre Registered Players $2,500 in chips o At The Door Players $2,000 in chips Re Buys are allowed at the cost of $50.00 for $1,000 in chips. You may only re buy if you are completely out of chips. You may re buy as often as you want during the first round of play and once during the mid game break. After the mid game break, no re buys will be permitted. THE GAME All tables will be playing Texas Hold Em. This is a 7 card game with no wild cards in play. Jokers will not be in play. The object of the game is to make the best 5 card poker hand you can, using all or some of the cards in your hand, and as many communal cards as necessary to make a 5 card hand. DEALING All tournament tables will have a trained dealer. This person will be responsible for the play, deals, shuffles, ordering of the deal and the blinds. The dealer is the final arbitrator of hand order and determining the winning hand. ORDER OF PLAY The Dealer will place a flat disc, called the Dealer Button in front of the player sitting to the immediate left of the dealer (to be known as the First Player). This button will rotate around the table with each new hand. The player with this button receives his cards last. The two players to the left of the dealer button are the players who post the Blinds (small blind and big blind). 1. Two cards will be dealt to each player, to remain face down until it is time to disclose the final hands. A player who folds (quits the hand) is to leave his cards face down throughout the hand. There will be one round of betting, beginning with the player to the left of the Big Blind. A maximum of three raises of the original bet are allowed in each round. 2. After the initial betting round, the dealer will place the first three communal cards, called the Flop, face up on the table. A second round of betting takes place, again beginning with the first active player to the left of the big blind. 3. The dealer places a 4 th card, called the Turn, face up on the table. Another round of betting takes place. 4. The dealer places a 5 th card, called the River, face up on the table. The final round of betting now takes place. 5. Declaration takes place, beginning with either the person who placed the original bet in the final round, or with the last person to declare a raise in the final round. Each remaining player must turn up both of their face down cards during the declaration phase (regardless of whether they were used in the poker hand).
6. The winner is the player with the highest poker hand based on the following order: a. High Card b. One Pair (two cards of the same value) c. Two Pairs (two sets of two cards of the same values) d. Three of a Kind (three cards of the same value) e. A Straight (where all 5 of the cards are sequential but from different suits) f. A Flush (where all 5 of the cards are from the same suit but not sequential) g. Full House (three of a kind plus a pair) h. Four of a Kind (four cards of the same value) i. Straight Flush (where all 5 cards are sequential and of the same suit) j. Royal Flush (where all 5 cards are the same suit sequential from the Ace to the Ten) 7. NOTES a. CARDS SPEAK. The dealer will assist each player during the declaration to make the best possible poker hand. It is important that each remaining player show their cards to allow the dealer to assess and assist. Do NOT throw in your hand because a prior players hand looks better, play your cards and allow the dealer to assess. b. There is no difference in values by suit. For example, a Royal Flush in Spades is not ranked higher than a Royal Flush in Diamonds. c. Where two (or more) players share the same ranked hand, the pot is split evenly between the players. d. In the event of a split pot where there is an odd chip left (of the lowest possible chip value), that chip is awarded to the first winning hand going clockwise from the Dealer Button. BLINDS AND BETTING The two players to the immediate left of the Dealer Button are the Blinds. The first player is the Small Blind. The small blind is half the value of the Big Blind. These two players must place their blinds into the pot prior to the deal. For a player to stay in the game after the deal, they must match the Big Blind, plus any raises that may have occurred prior to their turn. To stay in the hand, the Small Blind player must add the second half of the Big Blind value, plus any raises that may have occurred prior to their turn. A player may only call a raise on their turn after they have put in the required amount chips from previous bets, and only if there have not already been three raises in the same betting round. A raise must be equal to or greater than the prior bet or raise. The first raise of any betting round must be equal to or greater than the Big Blind. Once you have released chips into the pot, you are bound by your action (whether it is a call or a raise). Once you begin to release any chips into the pot you must, at the very least, call the current bet. You may only CHECK bet when there are no bets prior to your turn. Side Pots, pots that involve a limited number of players due to one player in the game being out of chips, are controlled and regulated by the dealer. Blinds are not static. They will be raised by dealer in pre defined order. Blind changes always occur with the dealer button on the first player (the player sitting to the immediate left of the actual dealer).
SECTION 3: Tournament Winners The tournament winners (1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd place) are determined by chip count at the end of the tournament. The player with the highest chip count will be determined the winner. The dealers at each table will validate chip counts. In the event that two players tie for any winner position, there will be a single hand, played to completion between the two players to determine the final victor. SECTION 4: Out of Chips A player in the tournament who loses all of their chips, and does not or cannot re buy, is considered out of the tournament. Once a player leaves the tournament, they cannot reenter. Each such player will receive a complimentary starting chip set (this amount is determined by the committee and is not the full value starting set) for the Casino Night portion of the event. SECTION 5: Prizes There are two sets of prizes. The first set is for the Poker Tournament group and consists of items valued at $650, $250, and $150 (not cash but cash equivalents). The second set of prizes are for Casino Night. Each player, at the end of the night will cash in their remaining chips for prize tickets. Each ticket costs $1,000 in chips. The tickets will then be used in a drawing to determine prize winners. Each attendee of the event (Poker and Casino Night) will receive a door prize ticket. At the end of the night, these tickets will be used in a drawing to determine the door prize winner. PRIZE WINNERS MUST BE PRESENT TO COLLECT THEIR PRIZE. SECTION 4: Casino Night Each attendee of casino night will receive $1,500 worth of chips. You can re buy additional chips at the cost of $10 per $400 worth of chips (you must be out of chips to re buy). There will be four games available: Blackjack (21) Craps Roulette Poker
SECTION 5: Refreshments Each attendee (Casino Night and Poker Tournament) will receive two (2) drink tickets. Each ticket is good from one (1) drink (soda, bottled water, beer or wine). Additional drinks may be purchased ($3 for Beer and wind, $2 for soda, and $1 for water). Snacks will be placed around the room and are complimentary. You may NOT bring any alcohol or other drink items into the event. If you have non authorized drinks in the room you will be asked to remove them. No Food may be brought into the room as Temple Etz Chaim is a Kosher facility and only food prepared on the premises is allowed.