Texas Holdem Home Tournament Rules

East Valley Poker Tour Rules

Have 'dealer buttons' available, one per table. You can buy actual dealer buttons, or just use something distinctive. These are used to keep track of the 'dealer'—which is important even if you use a single dealer at each table (check the rules of Texas Hold 'Em for more information). A tournament will usually end during a round when the big blind reaches 5-10% of the total chip count. For example, a 20 person tournament with each person starting with $5000 will have a total chip count of $100,000. The tournament should end when the big blind is between $5000 and $10,000. A 25 person tournament will usually last 3-4 hours.

This is the official East Valley Poker Tour (EVPT) Rules sheet.The EVPT will host a monthly Texas Holdem event, on either the first or second Saturday of the month.

Texas Holdem Home Tournament Rules

The tournament is not for serious gamblers, it is a friendly environment for people that love to play cards.The purpose of this rule sheet is to outline the blind structure, prizes, and point structure.If you want serious poker, go to the casino – this gathering is for a few drinks, laughs, and check-raising your buddies.

The invites for the EVPT will be sent via email using an online invitation tool and responses are required to hold a seat in the tournament. Responses should be given via the Website invitation tool.

Each month, the format will be a Texas Holdem elimination tournament that will follow the guidelines set forth in the following pages.All monies collected for the tournament will be paid back to the winning participants. (see Prize Structure for payout breakdown).

Buy-in, Rebuy and Add-ons:

The initial buy-in for the tournament is $25, which will be exchanged for $2000 in tournament chips.

During the first 3 rounds of play, if a participant’s chip stack is below $2000, they may rebuy for $20, which will be exchanged for $2000 in tournament chips.

At the end of 3 rounds of play, every participant, regardless of chip stack, is allowed to do a $20 “add-on” for another $2000 in tournament chips.

After the add-on period ends, there are no more rebuys or add-ons for additional chips.

[ Below Rule Added May 31st, 2016]

If a player brings one or more guests that have never played in the EVPT, each guest will receive an additional $2000 in chips added to their starting stack. The player bringing the guest(s) will also receive $2000 in chips for their starting stack. Even if a player brings multiple guests, the player will only receive a total of $2000 in additional chips.


Late Attendance:

In order to reward those that show up early and on time, the rules are as follows:

1) Cards will be in-the-air at 6:15pm

2)Players showing up before 6:00pm will receive an additional $1000 for their starting stack, for a total starting stack of $3000.

3)Players showing up after 6:00pm will receive the standard $2000 starting stack.

4)Cards will be dealt at 6:15pm, and players who have RSPVd but haven't arrived, will start being blinded off.

Tournament

5)Players who haven't arrived by the end of the 3rd round (approx 7:00pm) will have their chips removed from play


Prize Structure:

Each month, the buy-in, rebuy, and add-on money will be used for the prize distribution.

90% of the money collected each month will be used to pay-out the top finishers.

10% of the money collected each month will be set-aside for the “Final 10 Tournament”

The “Final 10 Tournament” is an end-of-year tournament to be played by the top 9 players with the highest point total at the end of the year.The point calculation is described in the next section.

The monthly prize pool will be split in the following percentages, rounding to the nearest $20.

Prize Distribution

Finishing place

% Payout

1

40%

2

25%

3

20%

4

10%

5

5%

Blind Structure:

Each round will last 20 minutes. The blind structure, along with break times are outlined in the table below:

EVPT Blind Structure

Round

Small-Big Blind

1

$25-$50

2

$50-$100

3

$75-$150

20 minute BREAK – Add-on opportunity - Remove $25 chips

4

$100-$200

5

$200-$400

6

$300-$600

7

$400-$800

15 minute BREAK – Remove $100 chips*

8

$500-$1000

9

$1000-$2000

10

$1500-$3000

11

$2000-$4000

15 minute BREAK

12

$3000-$6000

13

$5000-$10000

14

$7000-$15000

15

$15000-$30000

16

$20000-$40000

Any additional rounds will add $5000 to small blind and $10000 to big blind

*NOTE: At the end of the Round 7, when the $100 chips are going to be removed and raced off for $500 chips, there may be a case of a player not having at least $500 in chips. (This happened in January 2013). If this is the case, which would mean losing a race would knock the player out of the tournament, then no races will occur at any table. Every player at every table who has between $100-$400 in chips remaining after chipping-up their $100 chips will receive one $500 chip.

Point Structure:

Edited on April 12, 2015 - chopping points
Each month, there will be points distributed to everyone playing in the tournament.There will be an end-of-year tournament where the top 10 point positions will play for the 10% monthly pot that was set aside.

To qualify for the “Final 10 Tournament”, you must finish in one of the top 10 positions in points.Points are accrued in the following manner:

Texas Hold'em Poker Home Tournament Rules

-10 points for participating in a monthly tournament

-1 point for the position where you were knocked out of the tournament:

oe.g. If you are the first person knocked out, you get 1 point, second player, 2 points, etc.If you’re the winner and there are 20 players, you accrue 20 points.

- 1st through 5th places will get awarded a set bonus of 40, 25, 20, 10, and 5 points respectively (New Change).
o NOTE: If any chops occur, the money can be split disproportionately, but the finishing places will be determined by the chip stacks. Largest chip stack gets first place, etc.
As an example, if someone finishes in third place with 20 participants and wins $250, they will receive the following 48 points:

-10 points for participating

Texas Holdem Home Tournaments Rules

NOTE ON TIES: If there are ties for points at the end of the season, i.e. the players in 10th and 11th place both have the same amount of points, the first tie-breaker for a spot at the Final 10 table will be the most number of tournaments attended throughout the year. Whomever played the most monthly tournaments receives the spot. If there is still a tie, then the tie-breaker will be the player who had the highest scoring month.
Updated on 11/12/13 for 10 places at Final Table
Participants:
The 10 Players in the EVPT that have the highest point total at the end of the season will qualify for the Final10 Tournament. See 'NOTE ON TIES' in the previous section regarding tie breakers for points.
Updated on 01/07/2014 for 2014 Season:
There will be a best effort at getting the Final10 Tournament scheduled when everyone who has qualified can attend. If a player in the Top10 in standings cannot attend, the seat will go to the 11th Player in standings. If the 11th player can't play, it will continue to be offered to the next player in line in point standings, until Player 15. If no players from 11-15 are available, then nobody will fill the seat and the player who cannot attend will not receive any winnings. The Top10 player and their substitute will split any winnings 50/50.
- Anyone outside of Places 11-15 may not be offered the seat.
- This is to prevent bringing in a 'ringer' or bringing someone in who hasn't played in any of the EVPT tournaments
The blind structure for the Final10 Tournament will be the same as the standard monthly tournament.

Home Texas Holdem Tournament Rules

Starting Stacks:
The starting stack for each Final10 player will be $16,000
Re-buys/Add-ons:
There will be no Re-buys or Add-ons during the Final 10 tournament.

A rebuy in poker is buying more chips when you have lost your entire stack or have fallen to a short stack level. Depending on whether you are playing in a tournament or a cash game, there are different rules and procedures.

Rebuys in a Cash Game

In cash games, if you lose your entire stack or most of it, you may choose to rebuy back in with more cash and keep playing. In cash games, you can only rebuy when you are not in a hand. If you are running short on chips and are dealt a pair of aces but can't make the maximum bet you want, you can't rebuy at that point.

The rules for rebuys for cash games usually include a maximum buy-in, and your rebuy can't put you over that limit. There may also be a table minimum and you may have to make your rebuy enough to meet that minimum.

Rebuys in a Poker Tournament

In a poker tournament, there is often an option to rebuy to get back into a tournament if you bust out or your chip stack falls below a certain number. You may be allowed to rebuy only once during the tournament or you may be able to rebuy multiple or even unlimited times.

When a tournament allows rebuys for short stacks, such as when you fall below 500 chips for a 2500 starting chip stack, your rebuy will only bring you up to the original chip stack.

Tournaments limit rebuys to a designated period, such as until the first break. After that, it is a freezeout. If you bust out during the freezeout, you are out of the tournament. Always check the tournament rules to see when the rebuy period expires.

The effect of rebuys and reentries on tournaments is that they build the prize pool, leveraging the number of players who enter the game. You may start out with a small prize pool, but as players bust out and rebuy or reenter, the prize pool grows.

Budget for rebuys, reentries, and add-ons and decide on your strategy. A tournament that allows rebuys and reentries will often have looser play in the rebuy/reentry period. You can use that to your advantage. You may decide to play looser yourself in the early blinds or play aggressively when you are short stacked, knowing you can rebuy if you bust out.

Tournament Rebuy Compared with Reentry and Add-on

Some people confuse rebuys with a reentry. In a rebuy, when you bust out or your chips get low enough, you buy back in right there at the table. You even retain your same seat. In a re-entry tournament, you need to go back to the cage and buy a whole new entry and draw a new seat as if you were a brand new entrant into the poker tournament.

Rebuys are also different from add-ons, which allow all players to purchase additional chips, regardless of how many they still have. Usually, this is done at a specific time, such as at the first break. Add-ons usually have a better value, and you may be able to time it right to have both a rebuy and an add-on at the same time.

Edited by Adam Stemple