League Structure, Rules & Etiquette

League Structure

In this section you will find information that is specific to our league and details of the most current season.

The goal of the club is to send one player per season to a L.I.P.S. (Ladies International Poker Series) Champions No-Limit Texas Hold'em Poker tournament in Las Vegas (usually held in June). Exact details are given during each season.

Our mission is to provide an organized, structured, freindly, and fun poker environment for women only.

Seasons are 11 weeks long and players are able to "throw out" their lowest score of the season. This allows for players to be gone one of the weeks without disrupting their scores. We're all women, we understand that sometimes other things come before poker.

We will be playing at Romine's High Pockets located at 6125 South 27th Street in Milwaukee/Greenfield. The phone number of Romine's is 414-281-2212. The start time is 6:30PM.

The cost of a season is $125.00. Fees need to be paid before your first hand is dealt on your first night of play unless prior exceptional arrangements have been made. Payment should go to the league Captain or another noted person and should be paid in cash. This fee is non-refundable once your first hand is dealt on your first night as we need the full count of committed players to establish the prize payouts. Please contact Cindy to make arrangements to pay the fee.

The top prize you are playing for is a trip for two to Las Vegas, 3 night's hotel stay, and the buy-in to the a L.I.P.S. Champions No-Limit Texas Hold'em Poker tournament. Total value $1200.00. Players will be awarded the prize money for making flight and hotel accomidations on award night. Second place will win $500.00.

Monies left over from the above mentioned prize will be distributed back to players placing 3rd - last. All players will receive some sort of cash prize.

Seats will be assigned randomly before the start of the tournament by the “Tournament Director” Software. If a player knows that they are going to be late and notifies someone in the group or doesn't show without notice, their chips will be put into play as if they were playing and the blinds will be taken out by another player at the table. If the player does not show up within 40 minutes (2 blind levels) of start up, their chips will be removed from play and they will have a zero score for that night.

Each player will be given $1500 in chips. The chips will be 20-RED $5, 12-GREEN $25, and 11-BLACK $100. There are other chip values of PURPLE $500 and ORANGE $1000 that will be used later when coloring up players. All chips must be on the table at all times during play. Players must keep their highest denomination chips visible at all times. Players may not have tournament chips in their pockets, purses, etc at any time. A player who has chips in her pocket, purse, etc will forfeit those chips. The forfeited chips will be taken out of play from the tournament.

Each table will seat a maximum of 10 players. Players will be distributed as evenly as possible between the tables. The “Tournament Director” Software will move players accordingly. There should not be more than a 2 player difference between tables at any one time.

Our blinds will start out at 10-20 and will increase according to the blind schedule as follows:

Level	Time	Small Blind	Big Blind
1	20 Minutes	10	20
2	20 Minutes	15	30
3	20 Minutes	25	50
4	20 Minutes	50	100
B	15 Min BREAK Color Up	BREAK	BREAK
5	20 Minutes	100	200
6	15 Minutes	200	400
7	15 Minutes	300	600
8	15 Minutes	400	800
B	6 Min BREAK Color Up	BREAK	BREAK
9	15 Minutes	500	1000
10	15 Minutes	1000	2000
11	15 Minutes	1500	3000
12	10 Minutes	2000	4000
13	10 Minutes	3000	6000
14	10 Minutes	4000	8000
15	10 Minutes	5000	10000

Players will receive their nightly points according to the tournament specifications. Any scoring discrepancies need to be brought to the attention of the league captain within 2 days of them being posted on the website (usually within 3 days of a league night). Our point distribution will be as follows:

Points Earned	Placement
100	Showing Up to Play
300	Make It To Break
400	12th - 16th Place
500	11th Place "Bubble"
600	10th Place "Final Table"
700	9th Place
800	8th Place
900	7th Place
1000	6th Place
1200	5th Place
1400	4th Place
1600	3rd Place
1900	2nd Place
2300	1st Place

The table may have a majority rule on questionable hands; however, the league captain will make a final call in any unresolved disputes. No arguing about this call. Majority rule only applies to situations that may not be specified in these rules - otherwise the rules should be enforced how written.

No smoking at or near the tables. You can physically get up at any time and smoke away from the tables or out in the bar, but not at the table. This includes holding a lit cigarette off to the side while standing and reaching to look at your cards. You will need to completely step away from the table while smoking. There will be breaks about every hour as well. This is because not everyone smokes and it is unfair to some players to be forced to have smoke in their face while they are trying to concentrate on the game.

No food or drink ON the tables. You can eat and drink AT the tables, but use a chair or table behind you to set your food or drink on. This will prevent spills that not only ruin equipment, but also delay the game with clean up. Keep your hands clean while playing as the cards and chips will get sticky and messy.

These rules may be subject to change per a group decision because of unforeseen issues or problems specific to our league. Every attempt to not veer from the original rules will be made.

Have Fun, Shuffle Up & Deal.

TOP

Rules

In this section you will find our rules for no-limit Texas Hold'em poker tournament play. NOTE: These rules should be used as general guidelines to create an even playing field and to help expedite the flow of the game. All players should be aware of the rules and try to limit violations as much as possible. A constant policing of the game should not be necessary by any one player at the table as this will only slow the game down. If a violation does occur, each player is responsible for her own actions and should immediately follow the appropriate decision without argument. Any hand that is questionable needs to be addressed at the time of the error – otherwise it could become impossible to reverse.

The dealer button will be at the position of Seat 1 at the beginning of the night.

Players will deal to themselves. The one-player-to-a-hand rule will be enforced.

Deal will rotate clockwise around the table. There will be two decks going around the table to keep play going. The small blind will be shuffling the extra deck getting it ready for the next deal. Players can ask for deck changes if cards become damaged or missing.

Blinds will be used and will also rotate clockwise around the table. The big blind is 2 positions to the left of the dealer, and the small blind is one position to the left of the dealer. There will be a dealer button on the table that rotates as a marker for the blinds. The below pre-determined blind schedule will be used and a timer will be used to help as blinds increase during the tournament. The blind timer will only pause for breaks, final table merging, and extreme situations that require time to sort out.

The game is No Limit Texas Hold'em. Players will be dealt 2 face down cards, followed by a round of betting, then three community cards face up "the flop", followed by a round of betting, then a fourth community card face up "the turn" or "fourth street", followed by a round of betting, and then the fifth and final community card face up "the river" or "fifth street", followed by the last round of betting.

Before dealing "the flop", "the turn" & "the river", the dealer will "burn" a card. This means simply placing the next card face down in a discard pile making the next card(s), the cards that are used for play in that hand.

When the action is on a player, the player must VERBALLY ANNOUNCE their move; either "Bet," "Call," "Raise," or "Check" to the other players. If a player verbally announces a move then she will be required to play according to her verbal declarations - even if she hasn't moved her chips. If a player announces that they are raising, that player is required to make at least the minimum raise at that point.

It is the player's responsibility to make sure her hand is not visible to other players (players are allowed to lift their cards off the table to look at them but not lift them over the rail). Some people may argue that looking at other players cards is illegal. However, it is a players own responsibility to shield their cards enough so that other players don't see them. Looking at other player's cards is definitely immoral, but not illegal. Please use card guards or protectors to set on top of your cards while you wait to act. This lets other players know that you are still involved in the hand and prevents your cards from getting mucked by mistake by other players that may be collecting folded hands and burn cards.

A player must keep her cards on the table felt during play so that other players can see that they are still involved in a hand. You can pick your cards up to look at them, but you cannot take them out of view of other players (i.e. in your lap, resting them on the rail, hiding them in your hands, behind your arm, or chip stacks).

A players hand is declared dead if:

You make a physical or verbal fold.
If someone folds their hand due to another person's mistake and there is no question about which cards belonged to the player then the hand may be ruled to be alive. Also, a hand that is flipped face up but touches other cards will be considered a live exposed hand unless the player verbally declares that they are folding.
A hand purposely mixed with another players hand is ruled to be mucked
A hand that touches the muck pot MAY be declared dead. Use card protectors to prevent this from happening.
A player is not around when action is on them - see below rule #11

A player must be at the table to act on her have and keep it live. What this means is that a player must be in her seat to be able to act on her hand. If the player is not at the table, and the hand requires action, the dealer will muck the hand. A player does have the right to sit out as long as she wants as long as the appropriate blinds are still being posted. Another player at the table can post these blinds for the absent player.

At the showdown, if everyone checks, then everyone must show their hand in the order according to the button - left of dealer first. If there is betting on the final round, then the player who puts in the final bet has to show first and the callers show next in order according to the button - left of dealer first. If a player chooses not to flip her cards over then the hand is automatically mucked. You do not have to show your hand if you know it is not a winning hand. However, once you decline to show your hand, it is considered mucked even if it turns out to be the best hand. To clarify, in our league, a player does NOT have to show their cards if they deem them "non winning towards the hand".

There are two exceptions to the above rule. #1. If there is an all-in situation and there is no more betting, all players remaining in the hand must flip there cards face up before dealing continues. #2. If player B calls player A, player A is required to show her hand first, player B has the option to turn over her cards or muck them. (This falls under the old adage “paid to see it”.)

Maximum bet or raise is equal to all of your chips - "All-in". You may not borrow from other players. The minimum opening bet is the big blind. Remember that unless going all-in, any bet must be at least equal to the big blind and any raise must be at least equal to the previous bet or raise on that betting round. In an all-in situation, a player who has already acted and is not facing a full-size wager may not subsequently raise an all-in bet that is less than the minimum bet (which is the amount of the minimum bring-in), or less than the full size of the last bet or raise. There is never a limit to the number of raises that can occur during a round of betting.

If a player does not have enough chips to match the other players during a hand, a side pot will be formed. Additional chips bet during the hand will be awarded to the player with the best 5 card poker hand that contributed to the additional pot.

No string bets allowed. When raising, a player must either put the amount of the raise out in one motion or state the raise amount. If the raise is unannounced then the raise must be made in one motion. If the raise is announced but no amount is announced "I raise" then the amount of the raise must be in one motion. If both the raise and the amount are announced "I raise 600" then the player can make several motions to put chips into the pot since there is no question about the details.

No "splashing" (throwing your chips into the pot rather than placing them in front of you) the pot. If you splash the pot and any chip touches the other chips, those chips may be absorbed into the main pot and the player will have to put out more chips to cover their bet. Reasoning is because you cannot tell what might have gone into the pot and a player could potentially short the bet they have announced.

The best five card hand wins the pot. The cards speak - the value of a hand is what the cards show, not what the player announces. In the case of a tie, the pot will be split equally between the players. If the pot cannot be split equally, the extra chip will go to the player closest to the dealer button. If there is a split pot, the pots will be awarded accordingly.

A misdeal will be called if dealer errors are made.

In the case where the dealer misses dealing a player a card and all other players only have one card (and the cards cannot be backed up because someone has looked at theirs) the hand will be declared a misdeal. If it happens and other players have two cards already the dealer will give that player their second card after all other cards have been dealt out.
In the case where the dealer deals out one to many cards, and there has been no betting the hand will be declared a misdeal. If there has already been betting the card in question will become the first burn card. If someone sees this card, the whole table will get to see it as well. Show one, show all.
In the case where one of the first two cards dealt out are flipped up, the hand will be declared a misdeal
In any strange cases where there is question about the integrity of the hand due to dealer error and there has been no betting (i.e. pre-flop) that can’t be retraced back to each player, the hand could be declared a misdeal.
If cards are mistakenly dealt by the small blind (or any other player instead of the dealer), the hand will be declared a misdeal and all cards will come back shuffled and redealt.

After at least three cards have been dealt out, if one of the player's hole cards is exposed by the dealer or is exposed due to player error, the deal continues. The exposed card may not be kept by the player. Instead, the turned card will be brought face up in front of the dealer and the hand will continue to be dealt out. The dealer will give the last card to the player whose card got flipped up. The card that was turned up is now the first burn card. The card will be shown to every player and then mucked, the next three cards are the flop.

In the case where the dealer exposes the flop, the turn, or the river prior to betting being completed those cards will get shuffled back into the deck. Prior to this, the dealer will place the next burn and turn cards (all face down) to keep them in order. After this, the exposed cards will be shuffled back into the deck and dealt back out.

Chips will be colored up at the blind breaks. This will normally happen when lowest denomination of chip in play will be removed from the table when it is no longer needed in the blind structure. When a color is being removed entirely from a table (i.e. RED chips after they are not needed any longer) players will stack their chips and allow the appointed person to handle their chips. If players have left over chips that can't be converted into a higher denomination those chips will be rounded up to the nearest denomination chip.

Players may not ask to be moved to a different table because of personality differences, attitudes, general skirmishes, etc. A player will only be moved as tables need to be merged down. A player may be moved more than once depending on the players that are eliminated and seats that need to be filled.

Players will be consolidated to fewer and fewer tables as the night progresses by random selection determined by the “Tournament Director” software. It is a player’s responsibility to announce that she has been knocked out, so that the “Tournament Director” software may continue to accurately consolidate tables, and record the proper number of points awarded to each player. When a player joins a new table she is not required to wait for the big blind to come around to start playing. However, a new player MAY NOT come in and start playing on the dealer button or the small blind. If a player joins a table and is next in line for the dealer button or small blind, the dealer button must bypass the new player and go to next player before a player can join - keeping the blinds and the dealer button together. A player can come in on the big blind and immediately start playing once they have posted this blind.

Players, in a hand or not, are not allowed to discuss hands until the hand is over. Talking (including whispering) about a hand can hurt other players still involved in a hand. Consistently breaking this rule may be cause for a penalty of having to sit out one complete round of dealing at the table. Please wait until the hand is over to make any comments about the hand. Remember, this is a game of information and anything you say or do could help or hurt another player, including yourself, in a hand. Please only speak English at the table to ease player's fears about collusion.

Absolutely no cheating. The league will have the right to kick anyone out of the tournament that was found to be cheating or acting in a manner that is unacceptable to other players. Players who are asked to leave the league will not be refunded their money to join the league. The following is some, but not ALL reasons for potentially being removed from the game.
Cheating in any form - including variations of the below or in other ways - will not be tolerated. If, after the situation is assessed and there is proof that a player is indeed cheating, that player will be asked to leave the table. Depending on the severity and/or frequency of the cheating, a player may be banned from the league entirely and/or lose their current standings.

Cheating is broken up into 4 main areas:

People: This is usually done 2 different ways: Collusion and chip dumping. Collusion is when 2 players conspire to play in a way to make it unfair for another player in the hand. It is essentially team play. Chip dumping is a result of 1 player purposefully getting into a hand that she is way behind in for the purpose of losing his chips to a player he prefers. These are the toughest forms of cheating to prove.
Chips: This is done when a player steals other player's chips or brings foreign chips into the game. This also applies if a player steals chips directly from the place that they are stored in.
Cards: This is done by marking the cards or, if dealing, dealing favorable cards to certain people. Also, when dealing, a player cannot look at the next cards off the top of the deck, including burn cards - even if the player dealing is already out of the hand.
Talking: Telling another player what your cards were if you folded, what they are if you are still in the hand or helping another player that is in the hand.
Aside from cheating or disregarding rules of that have to do with the game, these are guidelines that should be followed to get along with other players. Constant violation of these by causing issues at your table or making other players uncomfortable could be enough reason to ask you to leave. Please be considerate of your peers. Some examples are:

The last player with chips left will be declared the winner of that night. See the "points" section above under League Structure for the reward for placement.

TOP

Etiquette

In this section you will find etiquette guidelines to be used during league nights so that every player feels comfortable, safe, and has a good time.

Table talk is permitted while involved in a hand, but should be limited to the play at hand and not continually verbally attacking a player. This really should be more like asking a question like "how many chips do you have left?" or "What do you have, the King?". Please see above in the rules section about what is not appropriate to talk about.. Also see rules about cheating to see WHY table talk can be damaging.

Rude or obnoxious behavior should be avoided.

No damaging equipment
Throwing poker chips or other objects at another player
Continually belittling other players for a play you don’t agree with
Any personal insulting of a player.
Reading the board out loud - prior to the end of the hand.
Continually not being at your table when the action is to you.
Talking on a cell phone - limit this please.
Continually not paying attention to the hand when you are still involved.
Turning over another players mucked cards without her permission.

Avoid calling someone a malicious name or purposely being hurtful over a particular hand or style of play.

Avoid lingering too long or hovering over remaining players at the table after you have been eliminated.

Remember that there are different skill levels in players and that not everyone knows everything.

Stay out of other people's disagreements as much as possible if they do not pertain to you or a hand that you are in. If a situation arises, the last thing that is needed is another unsolicited voice to keep things heated. Offer only details to the person that is making the final call.

Keep the bar as clean and neat as possible so that we can maintain our good relationship with the owner of Kokopelli's so that we always have the option to play there.

Avoid being the "teacher" or "poker police" at the table (especially during a hand) to players that might not seem as knowledgeable as you might be about certain things. If you really want them to understand something, talk to them after the game or on a break in a nice manner.

Other than bad beats, no one should leave a WWP event feeling lousy.

Please be considerate of your fellow players, the equipment being used, the bar and staff.

Have fun!