Regulations   Participation By participating in any Big Slick Poker League event, you agree to adhere to the rules and regulations set forth by the organization. You also understand either league or venue management reserves the right to ask any player who violates the rules to leave the tournament and or establishment.   Age Requirement Any player who participates in any Big Slick Poker League event must be at least 21 years of age and must have valid photo identification to participate at any event.   Membership All players participating in a Big Slick Poker League event must be registered members. Registration is free and can be completed at any venue or online at Bigslickpokerleague.com.   Poker Etiquette The following actions of improper and should be avoided at any Big Slick Poker League event: Deliberately acting out of turn, deliberately splashing the pot, talking about another players hand out of turn or when you are not in the hand, revealing the contents of a live hand in a multi-handed pot before the hand is complete, stalling the action of a game, 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, using a cell phone at the table.   Smoking While most establishments allow smoking, we ask that you consider the feelings of the other players at the table before smoking. If they are cool with it we are cool with it.   Gambling Absolutely no gambling of any nature will be allowed at any Big Slick Poker League event. This includes but is not limited to side bets, cash bets, and gambling on side tables. No form of currency is ever allowed on a playing table.   Players Only registered Big Slick Poker Players who have signed up to play that night may sit at the table, additionally any player who has been eliminated must leave the table immediately.   Language English is the only language to be spoken at a table while a game is in progress.   Tournament Rules   Tournament Directors Reserve the right to make decisions with fairness to all players in mind. Decisions of the Tournament Directors are final. The proper time to bring an issue to attention is at the time the issue is first noticed.  Any delay could affect the ruling.   Seating Players will be seated according to the table assignment list on the sign up sheet. If a player has not yet registered online, he will have an opportunity to do so at this point.  Players should sign up at least 30 minutes before the tournament is scheduled to begin. Once a tournament has reached capacity, no more players will be seated. As the tournament progresses, players will be moved to other tables to lower the playing field.   Chips All players who are seated prior to start time will receive the same number and color of chips equal to 5000 units. (12) - 25 units (7) - 100 units (4) 500 units (2) 1000 units. The chips have no exchangeable value and are used solely for game play. (See Late Player rules to determine starting chip count for players who arrive after official starting time.) Chips must remain visible to all players at all times. A player may make change with a neighbor, if a neighbor is unable to make change, the player must state his intension (check, bet, or raise) and put down the chip or chips he has. If the player only wishes to call but has only a higher unit chip than necessary to call, he will place that chip or chips in the pot and receive change after the hand. After the hand is complete the dealer will distribute the correct amount of chips to each player. If there is an odd chip due to a split pot, the players entitled to the split pot shall flip a coin to determine who obtains the odd chip.   Betting Splashing the pot is not allowed. No string bets are allowed. A player must state his intention and place all chips he wishes to bet in one motion. An initial bet must be at least the amount of the big blind. An initial raise must be at least twice the amount of the big blind unless the player is all in and does not have enough chips to achieve this. In this case a side pot shall be created between the other players in on the hand. A player may move "all-in" at any point during the game. If a player first to act moves "all-in" but does not complete a raise, the additional players may call the amount of the "short all-in" bet. Any betting after a player is "all in" will create a side pot between the players not "all in". If a player does not have enough chips to complete a blind or forced bet, the player must play the chips he has and is entitled to action on the amount he does have. In this case a side pot will be created between the other players in the hand.   Late Player A player who arrives after the official starting time but before the first color up will be allowed to play by acquiring a starting stack of chips that will be placed at each seat to accommodate late players. All blinds will be paid out of this stack in a player's absence. After the first color up all chips not belonging to a player will be picked up from the table. A hand shall be dealt to each chip stack including the absent player chip stack, however absent player hands will be folded automatically.   Determining Dealer Before the first cards are dealt, each player will draw a random card from the deck mixed in a pile face down on the table. This card will determine where the dealer button starts by assigning the person who has drawn the highest card the dealer.  Ties during this process will be broken down by suit in descending order (spade, heart, diamond, club). The dealer button will then be rotated after each hand in a clockwise rotation. If a table is reseated and more than half of the players seated are new, the players will draw cards again to determine dealer. This process will occur again when only one table remains.   Shuffling The cards will be shuffled at least 3 times and the shuffled deck cut each time prior to dealing. Any player unsatisfied with the shuffling or cutting process may request the process be repeated.   Misdeals A misdeal can be caused by the following circumstances: The first or second card has been dealt face up or exposed through dealer error, two or more cards have been exposed by the dealer, two or more extra cards have been dealt in the starting hands, an incorrect number of cards has been dealt to a player except the top card may be dealt if it goes to the player in proper sequence, any card has been dealt out of proper sequence except an exposed card may be replaced by the burn card, the button was out of position, the first card was dealt to the wrong position, cards have been dealt to any empty seat or a player not entitled to a hand, a player has been dealt out who is entitled to a hand. Once action begins, a misdeal can not be called. Action is considered to occur when two players after the blinds have acted on their hands.   Dead Hands A hand is considered dead if: a player folds or announces a fold when facing a bet or raise, a player throws a hand away in a forward motion causing another player to act, a hand is thrown into the muck pile.   Muck Pile No player other than the dealer is allowed to touch the muck pile, additionally the burn pile will be kept separate from the muck pile until the hand is complete.   Blinds The player directly to the left of the dealer will post the small blind and the player directly to the left of the small blind will post the big blind. In heads up play (when only two players remain) the dealer will assume the small blind and the other player the big blind. Blinds will be structured to the size of the event and will increase periodically as the tournament progresses. The tournament director will announce when it is time to raise blinds.   Dead Button If a player in the small blind is eliminated, the button will move to the vacant position, the player behind the small blind will deal, no small blind will be posted, and the big blind will be posted as usual. On the next hand blinds will return to normal. If a player in the big blind is eliminated, the dealer button will rotate as normal, no small blind will be posted, and the player after the vacant seat will post the big blind. On the next hand the button will move to the vacant seat, the player behind the button will deal again, the player after the vacant seat will post the small blind, and the player after the small blind will post the big blind. On the next hand blinds will return to normal. If the players in both the small and big blinds are eliminated, the button moves to the first vacant seat, the player behind the button deals again, no small blind is posted and the player after the second vacant seat posts the big blind. On the next hand, the button moves to the second vacant seat, the player behind the button deals again, the player after the second vacant seat posts the small blind and the player after the small blind posts the big blind. On the next hand blinds return to normal.   Reseating into Blinds If a player is moved to another table into big blind position, the player must post the big blind. If the player is moved into the dealer or small blind position, the player must wait until the dealer button passes before he is dealt a hand.   Coloring up When a particular chip unit is no longer needed to post a blind, it will be "colored up", this is to trade the smaller chip units in for larger chip units. Any remaining odd chips will be rounded up to the next highest chip unit. This process is done to lower the number of chips on the table and will be announced by the tournament director.   Showdown To win any part of a pot, a player must show both hole cards. Cards speak for themselves. Players are responsible for holding on to their hands until the winner is declared. Although verbal declarations are not binding, deliberately miscalling your hand with the intent of causing another player to discard a winning hand will result in forfeiture of the pot. Players may not ask advice or show their hand to any player or spectator. The winning hand is determined by using a combination of the best five cards derived from the player's hole cards and or the community cards. If two or more players are eliminated in one hand, the players will place according to their chip count at the time of elimination in descending order from greatest to least. If two players have the same chip count they will tie for that place.   © 2009 Big Slick Poker League. All rights reserved.