JPA House Rules

The basic concept of the game is pretty similar no matter where you go. Every house, whether you're in a big casino, a poker room or your neighbor's dining room, has it's own particular ways of doing things. So here's our list. The rules we've made are to keep the game as fair as possible and to prevent issues from arising. We try not to rule with an iron fist because we to want you to have fun (thus the motto), so just relax and play the game. Just remember that the tournament directors have the final call.

1. Players must sign up with player number prior to play. A JPA associate will issue numbers to anyone in need. You must be at least 18yrs old to play. Some locations require you to be 21 yrs old. Signing in or out without a valid player number may result in a loss of points!

2. All players arriving prior to session start time, start with an equal amount of chips and continue to play until one player remains and accumulates all the chips.

3. No players will be added after 15 minutes of play unless notice is given beforehand to tournament director that they will be late. Late arriving players & players who can't be seated for whatever reason will be deducted 20 in chips for every 5 minutes for the first 30 minutes and then 40 in chips every 5 minutes for the next half hour. No player will be admitted after 1 hour.

4. Blinds are raised continually throughout the tournament. The lowest denomination of chip in play will be removed from table when it is no longer needed in blind structure. With the exception of white chips, lower number of chips will be chipped up. The remaining odd chips will be rounded up to the next chip denomination.

5. Before play, the players will draw for dealers position with highest card to deal first. If case players draw the same card, the suit preference will decide who starts. Spades, Hearts, Diamonds & Clubs.

6. Players rotate dealer responsibilities in clockwise rotation. Cards must be held above the table at all times. The dealer must shuffle at least 3 times before offering the cut to the player to their right. The cut card should be placed on the bottom of the deck before the cards are dealt to protect the bottom card from being exposed.

7. The players must take their blinds. The small blind is the player to the left of the dealer and the big blind is left of the small blind.

8. If the player in the small blind is eliminated, the dealer button moves to the empty position and the player to the right of the button deals for the missing player. The other players post blinds as usual. If the player in the big blind is eliminated, the small blind position is dead and only the big blind is posted. This ensures that all players post the big blind every round.

9. New players are dealt in immediately unless they sit at the small blind or dealer position. In these two cases they must wait until the dealer position passes. Exception: If a player is moved from a small blind position to a small blind position, they will be dealt in and assume the small blind. If a player sits down at the big blind position he must post the big blind.

10. If a table is reseated and at least half the players are new to the table, then players draw High Card for deal.

11. When two players remain, the player due to assume the big blind will do so, and then the small blind will inherit the dealer button. The small blind will bet first prior to the flop and second after the flop.

12. An absent player will always be dealt a hand and will post blinds. Any Player not at the table & missing 2 consecutive sets of blinds (2 small blinds & 2 big blinds) will be removed from play.

13. If you are not present when it becomes your turn to act, your hand is mucked (folded). This includes situations when a small blind is not present to act. If the big blind is not present their cards will play until a bet is made which has to be called, then they are folded if not yet present.

14. If a player is accidentally dealt a card face up, the dealer continues to deal the cards to all players. After dealing, the dealer then replaces the seen card from the deck with a new card and uses the seen card as the first burn card. If two cards are exposed, the hand will be considered a misdeal and the cards will be re-dealt. If a card is prematurely shown for the turn, flop or river before all betting has occurred, the exposed card and the burn card will be put back in the remaining deck, reshuffled and the new cards will be burned and turned after betting has finished.

15. The burn cards and muck pile must be kept separate until the hand is completed.

16. The dealer is the only one allowed to touch the muck pile. No player is allowed to turn over any cards in the muck pile. After completion of hand the dealer will collect all cards and pass the deal and button.

17. If a player’s cards touch the muck pile with the face side down before being revealed to the table, their cards are dead and must remain in the muck pile and the player loses all action on that hand. If the player placed a bet or raise that was not yet called, they will be entitled to the raise back but will forfeit the amount of the call. If the cards were revealed, they will be considered live, as cards call themselves.

18. If a player lacks sufficient chips for a blind or a forced bet, or can not make the minimum bet or raise, the player is entitled to action on whatever amount of money is in the pot at the time. In this situation a side pot will start for players with remaining chips. If the player lacking chips wins the hand, they win only the chips bet in main pot. The side pot will go to the highest hand of the other players betting.

19. When a player loses all chips, they are eliminated from play and must leave the table. If two or more players are eliminated from the table on the same hand, the player who started the hand with the most chips will be awarded the higher finishing position.

20. Player’s chips must remain on the table at all times, unless you are reassigned to another table. There is no sharing or exchanging of chips allowed.

21. When action on the hand is complete, any player with a live hand may request to have other live hands exposed. In the event of an all in, all live hands will be exposed. The tournament director may request to see any player's hand at any stage of the hand.

22. One player per hand. You may not ask for advice on how to act from anyone during your action period.

23. No splashing the pot. You are to place your chips calmly in front of you, and then push your chips to the middle when the dealer has stated that the Pot is right.

24. No string bets. A player must state their intentions (Call, Check, Raise before placing chips in front of them. You must place all chips required to satisfy your intentions in one motion. You may not go back to your bank several times.

25. Players must state their intention. If an oversized chip is placed into the pot, it will be considered a call unless the player stated it is a raise beforehand. Players are not allowed to show their cards, one or both, to anyone in the hand. If this is done before the end of action, their hand will be mucked, unless it is deemed to be an unintentional play, such as going all in and showing their cards not realizing Players are still waiting to call. Any questions relating to this situation must be referred to the JPA associate, who will make the call.

26. Only the dealer is allowed to touch the chips in the pot. You must make change from your neighbor first. If you can't do that between hands, then you should state your action, then put down your chip. The dealer will pull your change from the pot and give it to you after the action is completed by all players. The dealer must state Pot is right, all players should then push their chips into the pot.

27. No short bets. All bets must be equal or greater than the big blind. All raises must be equal or greater than the big blind. For example if a big blind is 40 you can't raise by 20, you must raise at least 40. Exception: If a player goes all-in post flop but does not have enough to cover the blind, the remaining players need only call the bet that was made. Any raises must be in increments of the blind. For example, if blinds are 100/200 and a player goes all-in with 150, the other players may just call the 150. If they choose to raise, they must raise to at least 350.

28. Calling-for-clock. After a reasonable amount of time has passed, a player may call for a clock. The tournament director will give the acting player one (1) minute to act. If action has not been taken by the time the minute has expired, the hand will be declared dead. Directors are entitled to shorten the amount of time allotted for a clock if it appears that a player is deliberately stalling.

29. Poker etiquette is expected from all players. Inappropriate behavior like excessive use of foul language, eruptive displays of anger (i.e. throwing chips or cards) and derogatory remarks made in an abusive manner may be punished by eviction from the game and potential banishment from any and all JPA events, to be determined by management.

30. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. Anyone caught cheating will be ejected from the game and may be subject to forfeiture of points and eviction from all JPA events, to be determined by the management.

31. Management reserves the right to cancel or alter an event in a manner fair to players.

32. Any player wanting to exit the game while still having chips, must turn in their chips to the JPA representative. Players must not bet their chips in order to intentionally lose them. This ruins the integrity of the game. The Tournament director will remove chips from anyone doing so.

33. At times, new tables will be opened to accomodate additional players. If this happens, the tournament director may need to move players around to even the tables. In this event, the director will ask for a volunteer or the last person that came to a table to move to the new table.

As players are eliminated, tournament directors will keep tables even as much as possible. If players need to be moved, a volunteer or the person who draws the low card will be moved. They will assume a position as near to their current position as possible.

34. No table breaks are permitted when the final two tables are in play. When Final Table is formed, a 5 minute table break will be offered after the deal is drawn for.

35. All participants are prohibited from placing any form of currency on table. This is illegal. Violators will be asked to leave.

Bad Beat Jackpot

1. A person with the qualifying hand is beaten by a higher hand. The loser of the hand wins 75% of the jackpot and the winner of the hand wins 25% of the jackpot.

2. Both players must use both hole cards.

3. The hand must be played to the river.

4. It must be visually verified by the tournament director before cards are removed from the board.

5. Any cheating or suspected cheating may result in the hand being deemed ineligible.

Consolation Table Rules:

The Consolation Table rules are primarily the same as the rules for the main game except for the following.

1. Table must consist of at least 4 Players to earn points. The game may be started with less than 4 Players but will not count until the 4th Player joins in. When the 4th Player joins in chips should be redistributed in an equal amount to each Player.

If the 1st table becomes full, a 2nd table may be started. It must have at least 4 players. Players may not move from one table to the next. Each player is only allowed to participate once. Each table will be eligible for the full amount of points.

2. Chip amounts are 20 white chips & 15 red chips or a value of $500 in chips.

3. Players can join in at any time up until the end of play for the main game.

4. Players can not share or pass chips amongst each other or have someone else play their hand while away from the table. Once again a reminder that the rules are the same as the main game. If these situations arise then the game will be deemed invalid & void.

5. Anyone can play and receive points in the Consolation Table, whether they played in the main game or not. Even Players who made the Final Table can play but are not eligible for points from the Consolation Table. If someone from the Final Table wins the Consolation Table, nobody gets points.

6. Once the main game is over the Consolation Table has to end. Players are not required to go all-in on the final hand. When the final hand is completed, the Player with the most chips then earns points.

7. If the main game has 20 or more Players, the Consolation Table is worth 10 points. If the main game has less than 20 Players, the Consolation Table is worth 5 points.

JUST HAVE FUN!!!

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