Basic Rules For No-Limit Texas Hold'em

1. Prior to dealing the cards, two blinds (the Small Blind and the Big Blind) are placed in the 'pot' by the two players to the immediate left of the dealer. The 'blinds' are put in to start the action.

2. Everyone is dealt two down cards ('hole cards'). The action begins with the player to the left of the Big Blind folding, calling, or raising. Action continues with all players making one of these decisions. This is the first betting round.

3. Upon completion of the first round of betting, the dealer turns over three cards (community cards known as 'The Flop'). This is the second betting round. Beginning with this round of betting (and throughout the remainder of the hand), the player to the left of the button acts first. A player may now check (not bet or fold) or bet if there is no betting in front of them. If there is betting and/or raising in front of them, they may call, raise, or fold.

4. Following the completion of action on The Flop, the dealer turns over another card (known as 'The Turn' or 'Fourth Street'). This is the third round of betting. Once again, the betting starts with the player closest to the left of the button.

5. Following the completion of action on The Turn, the dealer turns over the last card (known as 'The River' or 'Fifth Street'). This is the final round of betting.

6. Upon completion of the final betting round, the best hand wins the pot.  
BAR RULES* No cost or fee is necessary to play in our tournaments *  1. Players must arrive thirty (30) minutes prior to the tournament start to register and sign-up on the players list. Early sign-ups or call-ins will NOT be accepted, NO EXCEPTIONS. Each participant in The Poker Pub may sign-up themselves and one (1) guest. Guests may NOT sign up a guest of their own. Participants must be at least 21 years of age.

2. Normal rules of No-Limit Texas Hold'em apply.

3. Each player will receive $4,000 in chip points (19 total chips).

4. When all tables are full and players are seated, each person draws a card. The person with the highest card takes first deal. If two players have the same card, suit preference will be given, reverse alphabetical order Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs. The deal then passes in a clockwise manner.

5. Those persons on the waiting list will fill empty seats in the order in which they are vacated. After thirty (30) minutes of the tournament have passed, the waiting list will close and NO waiting players will be allowed to join. Every waiting list player must post the Big Blind when they join their first table.

6. Blinds will be raised every fifteen to twenty (15-20) minutes (25-50 ---> 50-100); this will be announced by the floor men. If a hand is still being dealt during the blind raise, the next round of play will be with the raised blinds.

7. In the event that the first session runs long, the second session blinds MAY start at 50-100. This is at the floor person' discretion.

8. Players not at their table when they are to post a blind will have that blind posted for them (out of their chips) by the dealer. If said player is STILL not at their table when their turn comes in the first round of betting, their blind will be automatically added to the pot and their cards will be mucked (i.e. thrown into the fold pile).

9. If a player leaves the tournament early for any reason, ALL of his/her chips will be evenly distributed between the remaining players at his/her table. Any remaining chips that cannot be evenly distributed will be added to the pot for the next hand.

10. A fifteen (15) minute break will be offered after the first hour of play. Players must leave their chips so that they can be broken down and replaced with higher value chips (due to the increased blinds).

11. Once a player is eliminated (out of chip points), they are not allowed to re-buy or borrow chips. If they want to play again, they must sign-up for the next round.

12. Pre-flop, the minimum bet is up to the Big Blind (i.e. calling the Big Blind). If any additional betting takes place either pre-flop or post-flop, the minimum bet is the Big Blind. On Fourth Street and Fifth Street (the final two cards), however, the minimum bet is double the Big Blind.

13. If the dealer turns over cards early, betting is frozen and the hand is played out—highest hand wins.
14. A player may expose their hand when the play is heads up.  If a player shows their hand in a multi way pot, the player will be warned about this action.  If the action continues, the penalty will be the floor persons discretion.
15. Moving players to new tables will happen as follows: if each table has four persons each, the tables will be combined and all eight players will draw (high) cards to determine where the dealer button will start. In any other case (i.e. with any other number of players being moved), the players being moved will draw cards at their initial table. The person(s) with the highest card(s) will select which open seat to fill at the new table.

16. THE IDEAL POSITION FOR A NEW PLAYER WILL BE IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE BUTTON (TO THE IMMEDIATE RIGHT OF THE DEALER). If a player finds him or herself in the Big Blind, he/she may wait for the deal to pass. If a player finds him or herself in the Small Blind, he/she must wait for the deal to pass.

17. Zach is always correct .

18. Remember—it's JUST A GAME and best of all, it's FREE!!!  
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Card Rankings (What Beats What)  High Card (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2)

Pair (A,A, etc.)

Two Pair (A,A,K,K, etc.)

Three-of-a-Kind (7,7,7, etc.)

Straight (Six, Five, Four, Three, Two, etc.)

Flush (five cards of the same suit: Spades, Hearts, Clubs, or Diamonds)

Full House (K,K,K,8,8, three cards of same denomination plus another pair)

Four-of-a-Kind (K,K,K,K, etc.)

Straight Flush (sequential five cards of the same suit)

Royal Flush (Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten of the same suit)  * Priority will be given to the suit of the cards.

* All players MUST forfeit their smaller chips when the floor men come around to change out the chips, NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

* If a table winds down to four (4) players, notify one of the floor men and they will add more players or reassign the table.

* If there are any disputes or questions, they will be handled by the floor men.

* The Poker Pub and the participating establishment reserve the right to disqualify any player at their own discretion.

* Please use poker etiquette and refrain from the following: No string betting, pot splashing (keep bets in front of you till round of betting is complete), or strattle betting.

* Please keep mucked cards separate from burned cards.

* A Poker Pub Employee will Deal when the tournament winds down to 7 players and a final table is reached.

This will prevent confusing situations that might not be resolved correctly during play.Points Awarding  * Participation points will no longer be awarded.  The final eight players will be awarded points as follows:

First place/100 points

Second place/80 points

Third place/60 points

Fourth place/55 points

Fifth place/50 points

Sixth place/45 points

Seventh place/40 points

Eighth place/35 points

9th-16th place/15 points