General Tournament Rules, Blind Structure, and Hand Rankings
Section I - Tournament Rules
- All Southern Charity Poker Tournaments are No Limit Texas Hold’em. These are tournaments for charity so anyone who is displaying any form of inappropriate behavior will be asked to leave the tournament without a refund.
- All players start with the same number and value of chips – usually 20 chips worth $5,000, however this may be altered from tournament to tournament.
- Blinds will be increased consistently throughout the tournament.
- When players lose all of their chips they are eliminated and must leave their table, except in the case of "Rebuy" tournaments when players may purchase additional chips until the first break, once they are below a specific level to be decided on prior to each tournament.
- Play continues until there is only one player left.
- Lower valued chips will be “colored up” when they are no longer needed due to increased blinds. Any amounts not equal to the “colored up” chip denomination will be rounded up.
- Late arriving players will be allowed to start if they arrive before the 4th round. The late arriving players starting chip total will be less the amount equal to 2 times the big blind at the time they start (i.e. if they start when the big blind is 200 they will start with 4600 dollars worth of chips).
- A player may not ask for advice when it his/her turn to act.
- Players draw to see who will start the game as the Dealer. Dealer responsibility rotates clockwise one player after each hand.
- Dealer must shuffle cards a minimum of 3 times and then cut cards to the player behind them before each hand.
When volunteer dealers are present, they will deal as though the hand is being dealt by each player as the Dealer Button is placed in front of them.
- Players must take their blinds (a mandatory amount put into the pot before each hand is dealt). The Small Blind is the player seated to the left of the Dealer. The Big Blind is the player seated to the left of the Small Blind.
- Raises must be equal to or greater than the previous bet.
- All participating hands will be turned face-up whenever a player is “all in” and betting action is complete.
- If 2 or more players tie, the pot will be split between the players who tied. If there is an odd chip, it will left in the middle and become a part of the next hand’s pot.
- If more than 1 player is eliminated on the same hand the player with the highest chip total at the beginning of the hand will be awarded the higher finishing place.
- Should Small Blind be eliminated player to the right of missing player will deal and blinds are posted as usual. Should Big Blind be eliminated Small Blind is dead and only the Big Blind is posted (the hand following that hand would be dealt by player to right of missing player and blinds posted as usual).
- As players are eliminated remaining players may be moved to consolidate tables.
- Players new to a table play are dealt in to next hand unless seated in the Small Blind or Dealer position.
- Absent players will be dealt a hand and held responsible for blinds. If player is absent when it is his/her turn to act the hand will be folded.
- When only 2 players remain the player due to act as the Big Blind will do so and the other player will assume the dealer position. The dealer will act first prior to the flop and second after the flop.
- If a card is dealt face-up by accident the Dealer continues to deal all of the hole cards as usual. The Dealer then replaces the improperly dealt card with a new one and the improperly dealt card becomes the first burn card. One card must be burnt before the flop, before the turn, and before the river.
- Players are not allowed to turn over cards in the muck pile. When each hand is completed the Dealer will collect all cards and pass them to the next Dealer (not applicable when a designated dealer is present.)
- Any player whose cards touch the muck pile will lose all action on that hand.
- Players’ chips and cards must remain on or above the table at all times.
- Dealer is only player allowed to touch chips in the pot. Players should make change with other players between hands. If necessary, the player may state his intended action (call, raise) and dealer may make change for the player from the pot.
- No string bets.
- Players who win a non-called pot are not required to show their cards.
Section II - How to Play
- The small and big blinds are posted.
- Begin the game by dealing two cards face down to each player.
- Follow with a round of betting starting with the player to the left of the big blind. Players must call , raise or fold in this round of betting. Bets must meet the game minimum.
- "Burn" - discard unseen - the top card of the deck and place the next three cards, called the "flop," face up in the center of the table. These cards are available to all players, giving each player five cards with which to work.
- Follow with a second round of betting starting with the first active player to the left of the dealer.
- Burn the top card and add the fourth community card.
- Follow with a third round of betting.
- Burn the top card and add the fifth and final community card.
- Finish with a final round of betting.
- Determine the winner. See Hand Rankings Section below
Section III - Sample Chip Value & Blind Structure
Blinds will increase every 20 minutes
Level 1 25-50
Level 2 50-100
Level 3 75-150
Level 4 100-200
Level 5 150-300
Level 6 200-400
Level 7 300-600
Level 8 400-800
Level 9 500-1000
Level 10 700-1400
Level 11 1000-2000
Level 12 1500-3000
Level 13 2000-4000
Level 14 2500-5000
Level 15 3000-6000
Level 16 3500-7000
Level 17 4000-8000
Level 18 5000-10000
After hour 1 25 dollar chips will be taken out of play
After hour 2 100 dollar chips will be taken out of play
Section IV - Hand Rankings
- Royal Flush: An Ace, King, Queen, Jack and Ten in the same suit.
- Straight Flush: Five cards in sequence, of the same suit.
- Four of a Kind: Four cards of the same rank, and one side card.
In the event of a tie: Highest four of a kind wins.
- Full House: Three cards of the same rank, and two cards of a different, matching rank.
In the event of a tie: Highest three matching cards wins the pot.
- Flush: Five cards of the same suit.
In the event of a tie: The player holding the highest ranked card wins. If necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest, and fifth-highest cards can be used to break the tie.
- Straight: Five cards in sequence.
In the event of a tie: Highest ranking card at the top of the sequence wins. Note: The Ace may be used at the top or bottom of the sequence, and is the only card which can act in this manner.
- Three of a kind: Three cards of the same rank, and two unrelated side cards.
In the event of a tie: Highest ranking three of a kind wins.
- Two pair: Two cards of a matching rank, another two cards of a different matching rank, and one side card.
In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same highest pair, highest second pair wins. If both players have identical pairs, highest side card wins.
- One pair: Two cards of a matching rank, and three unrelated side cards. In the event of a tie: Highest pair wins. If players have the same pair, the highest side card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest and third-highest side card can be used to break the tie.
- High card: Any hand that does not qualify under a category listed above.
In the event of a tie: Highest card wins, and if necessary, the second-highest, third-highest, fourth-highest and smallest card can be used to break the tie.
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