POKER TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS 1

POKER TOURNAMENT REGULATIONS

1. Tournaments will be held at Harold Park Paceway, Glebe, Sydney, New South Wales and other approved affiliate venues.

2. Single Table Tournaments will comprise up to 10 participants. Multi Table Tournaments will comprise a minimum of 11 and above participants. The number of entrants may also include ‘Alternates’. ‘Alternates’ are permitted to enter a tournament with a full starting bank of chips, for a predetermined period after the tournament starts.

3. Only persons over 18 entitled to enter Paceway and/or other affiliated venues are eligible to enter.

4. Prior to being eligible to participate in any Neverending Poker tournaments, it is compulsory to register as a member of Neverending Poker. To register each person must complete and sign a Neverending Poker Participant Acknowledgement and Release Form;

5. As part of the registration process described in clause 4, each person accepts that they will abide by the tournament rules as listed on the Neverending Poker website or risk incurring penalties. Written regulations available on request.

6. The Management of Neverending Poker reserves the right to refuse any application for entry into a tournament.

7. In the event a tournament does not proceed, the full entry cost will be refunded.

8. If an entrant wishes to withdraw from a tournament that he personally paid for, the buy-in only is refundable.

9. If an entrant wishes to withdraw from a tournament that the entrant won a freeroll entry into, the entrant will be refunded the full value of the entry less a 50% administration/penalty fee.

10. Tournament entries are non transferable.

11. The entry cost will not be refunded to an entrant who is disqualified during a particular tournament. That entrant's tournament chips will be taken out of play.

12. By entering the Neverending Poker Tournament each participant authorises Neverending or a third party to the unconditional use of the entrant’s name, suburb, image and likeness (including by way of photograph, video, cinematograph film recording or any other media) for the purpose of promoting and advertising Neverending, the Harold Park Paceway Complex, an Affiliate Venue or any third party without further consideration, notice, review, or consent as further described in the Neverending Poker Acknowledgement and Release Form.

13. All tournaments will be played on one or more tables, the number of tables being determined by the number of entries received for a particular tournament.

14. Seating assignments may be altered to ensure that entrants who are connected by family or association play at different tables or are separated on the final table.

15. All wagers will be made with tournament chips. Tournament chips in the possession of an entrant at the conclusion of a particular tournament will remain the property of the Host or Affiliate Venue.

16. An entrant’s highest denomination chips must be the most prominent on the table.

17. Where a tournament allows re-buys, entrants in that tournament may purchase an additional bank of chips for the amount stipulated prior to the tournament commencing. Re-buys will only take place for a predetermined period of time during a tournament. Where the tournament allows add-ons, all entrants in that particular tournament may purchase an additional bank(s) of chips at the end of the re-buy period for a predetermined amount.

18. Tournament Directors are to consider the best interest of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness. The Tournament Director’s decision is final.

19. Once a reasonable amount of time has passed and a clock is called for, a player will be given one minute to make a decision. If action has not been taken by the time the minute is over, there will be a 10-second countdown. If a player has not acted on his hand by the time the countdown is over, the hand will be dead.

20. When it is time to color-up chips, they will be raced off with a maximum of one chip going to any player. The chip race will always start in the No.1 seat. A player cannot be raced out of a tournament. In the event that a player has only one chip left, the regular race procedure will take place. If that player loses the race, he will be given one chip of the smallest denomination still in play. Suits if necessary determine the order of cards – suit order is spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. Alternatively for smaller denominations, chips may be changed up.

21. Odd chip - when there are two or more hands splitting the pot, the odd chip(s) will go to the left of the button.

22. Tournament play will use a dead button.

23. A player must be at the table by the time all players have received both hole cards in order to have his hand live.

24. An oversized chip unannounced before the flop is a call; after the flop, an oversized chip by the initial bettor put in the pot will constitute the size of the bet. If a player states raise and throws in an oversized chip, the raise will be the maximum amount allowable up to the size of that chip.

25. If a player puts in a raise of 50 percent or more of the previous bet, he will be required to make a full raise. The raise will be exactly the minimum raise allowed.

26. .A raise of less than 50% of the previous bet or raise, without an announcement or indication of intent will be taken as a call.

27. An entrant making a bet of less than the amount required to call will be required to make up the difference or fold and surrender the initial bet which then forms part of the pot.

28. When raising, an entrant is urged to announce the raise amount or bet in a ‘clean’ motion. By stating the word raise only, an entrant protects his right to raise, but the raise must still be completed as per the previous sentence guidelines.

29. Verbal declarations in turn are binding. Verbal declarations or action out of turn may also be binding.

30. All cards will be turned face-up once an entrant is all-in and all action is complete.

31. A hand may be ruled retrievable by the Tournament Director.

32. Talking on mobile phones is not allowed at the table. Texting or reading texts at the table is acceptable only if out of the hand.

33. One card protector is the only foreign chip allowed on the table.

34. When new betting limits are announced, the limits apply to the next hand. A hand begins when the cards commence being gathered together to shuffle.

35. The use of audio headphones or other similar electronic devices is not permitted for Level 5 tournaments and final tables for lower levels as advised by the Tournament Director.

36. To maintain balanced tables throughout the duration of the tournament, at the discretion of the Tournament Director entrants may be re-seated. Entrants must promptly move to the table as requested or risk incurring a penalty.

37. In the event of more than one entrant departing from a hand on the same table, places will be allocated relative to the size of the eliminated entrants’ tournament chip bank prior to commencement of that particular hand.

38. In the event of two entrants being eliminated from two separate tables on a corresponding hand, those entrants will be equal in placing regardless of their tournament chip bank at the commencement of that particular hand.

39. Entrants in a particular tournament will be advised the basis of the prize pool break up prior to the commencement of the tournament. One in ten players will receive a freeroll entry into the next level. Additionally up to the top ten players will receive cash.

40. The English-only rule will be enforced during the play of hands.

41. No rabbit hunting is allowed.

42. A player who intentionally dodges his blind(s) when moving from a broken table will forfeit the blind(s) and/or incur a penalty. The money will be put into the next pot and will be considered dead money.

43. All chips must be visibly displayed at all times. Players may not have tournament chips in their pockets at any time.

44. If an unprotected hand is mucked, the player will have no redress and will not be entitled to his money back. An exception would be if a player raised and his raise had not been called yet, he would be entitled to receive his raise back.

45. Any hand turned face up and tabled is eligible to win the hand.

46. Players going from a broken table to fill in seats assume the rights and responsibilities of the position. They can get the big blind, the small blind, or the button. The only place they cannot get a hand is between the small blind and the button. The player moved to balance tables will be the one about to receive the big blind in most cases. Moving by corresponding seat may be used for higher level tournaments and/or for the final tables of lower level tournaments.

47. Less than full raise does not reopen the betting to a player who already has acted.

48. The Tournament Director may penalize any entrant who fails to comply with these regulations or whose behaviour compromises the integrity or the proper conduct of the tournament, including but not limited to the following: -

a. abuse of employees or other entrants, either verbally or physically;

b. An entrant revealing the content of their hand to another entrant(s) when the betting round is not complete;

c. Exposing hole card(s) with action pending.

d. Advising another entrant how to play a hand or discussion of the particular hand in play prior to action being complete by any player on the table whether in the hand or not ;

e. Soft-play/collusion occurs (the Tournament Director reserves the right to read any unexposed hands to determine whether or not soft-play / collusion has occurred);

f. Deliberately miscalling a hand;

g. Sitting in the wrong seat;

h. One player to a hand rule

i. Continually acting out of turn

49. Penalties imposed may be as follows:

a. One or more rounds of play (blinds, antes and/or forced bets to be forfeited).

b. 5 to 40 minutes away from the table (blinds, antes and/or forced bets to be forfeited)

c. Disqualification from tournament.

50. An entrant who does not take their allotted seat at the start of the tournament or is absent from play, and is not disqualified, will have all antes, blinds and forced bets deducted from the set amount of their tournament chips for each round of wagering until they take their allotted seat. The entrant’s position at the table will still be dealt in and retain all rights as if they were present at the table.

51. An entrant already playing, with very good reason, may nominate in person, a substitute to take their allotted seat during any tournament subject to Tournament Director approval. If no substitute is allowed and the entrant retires from play then they shall continue to have all antes, blinds and forced bets deducted from the value of their chip stack. The player will remain eligible to be awarded any applicable prize.

52. Never Ending Poker reserves the right to ban any means of advertising including apparel which contains obscene images or words or is otherwise deemed inappropriate by Never Ending Poker.

53. To the maximum extent permitted by law and without affecting any rights which cannot be excluded under the Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW) and the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth), Neverending Poker (including the Tournament Management) shall not be liable for any losses whatsoever that may arise from any decision of the Tournament Director.