NZSOP Tournament Poker Rules

Code of Conduct

NZSOP will attempt to maintain a pleasant environment for all our players and staff. We have established a code of conduct for our poker nights to ensure this, and may deny entry or prize money to players who violate this code of conduct. The following are not permitted:
* Collusion with another player or any other form of cheating
* Verbally or physically threatening any player or staff member
* Using profanity or obscene language.
* Creating a disturbance by arguing, shouting, or making excessive noise
* Throwing, tearing, bending, or crumpling cards
* Destroying or defacing NZSOP or bar/pub property

Poker Etiquette

The following actions are improper, and grounds for warning, suspending, or barring a violator:

Deliberately acting out of turn.
Deliberately splashing chips into the pot.
Agreeing to check a hand out when a third player is all-in.
Softplaying by refusing to bet against a certain opponent whenever heads-up.
Reading a hand for another player at the showdown before it has been placed faceup on the table.
Telling anyone to turn a hand faceup at the showdown.
Revealing the contents of a live hand in a multihanded pot before the betting is complete.
Revealing the contents of a folded hand before the betting is complete. Do not divulge the contents of a hand during a deal even to someone not in the pot, so you do not leave any possibility of the information being transmitted to an active player.
Needlessly stalling the action of a game.
Deliberately discarding hands away from the muck. Cards should be released in a low line of flight, at a moderate rate of speed.
Stacking chips in a manner that interferes with dealing or viewing cards.
Making statements or taking action that could unfairly influence the course of play, whether or not the offender is involved in the pot.

Tournament Rules

Late Entry – Players will be allowed to join an NZSOP poker night up until the end of the first break (generally 40 minutes after play begins). If there are more players than seats a waiting list may be started by the Tournament Director. Admission to the waiting list, and the game itself, is at the Tournament Director’s discretion.
Blind Levels - The blinds will be increased at regular intervals by your Tournament Director. If the blinds-increase is announced and either small or big blind has been posted already then the blinds will increase on the next hand.
Betting/Raising - A player must either declare their intent to raise verbally before making any actions, or bring the amount of chips equal to the total amount of their raise into play at the same time. A player is not allowed to place chips, return to their stack and place more chips. This is known as a string bet, and is illegal. Any raise must be at least twice the amount of the previous bet.
All-In Bets -A player who declares himself/herself all-in plays for all of the chips in their chip stack. If the other player has more the first player is only entitled to an amount equal to his/her own stack. The same goes for an all-in player that has less than their required blind. They are only entitled to what they put in.
All-In Confrontations - When two players are all in and the action is completed both hands must be exposed face up before the rest of the board is run. A player is considered to be all in if they verbally state “all in”, if they call a bet larger than their own chip stack, or if they move their whole chip stack towards the centre of the table in a manner similar to a normal bet.
Multiple Busts - If two players go broke on the same hand the player with the greater amount of chips at the start of the hand finishes in the higher position.
Breaking Tables - As players are eliminated the tournament director will start breaking tables in a pre-determined order. If your table breaks you will be randomly assigned to an empty seat at one of the remaining tables. If only one player is required to move from a table then the player that is next big blind will be moved.
Joining A Table - New players to a table must take a hand, unless the seat they are taking will be the small blind. In this situation the player must wait for the dealer button to pass.
Table Rules - Chips are to remain on the table at all times unless the player is being moved to another table. Cards must remain above the table at all times. Any advice on a hand must come from the Tournament Director. No other players may give advice on how to play a hand.
Absent Players - All players must be dealt into the hand and their blinds forced into the pot whether they are at the table or not. If the player is not present by the time their second card is dealt their hand will be ruled dead, unless more time is allowed by the Tournament Director.
Hand For Hand Play - As play approaches the “bubble” (when the prize structure starts) play may go hand for hand. This means that all tables will deal a hand and the next hand will not be dealt until all tables are ready to deal.
Heads-Up - When two players are left you have reached heads up play. In this scenario the small blind is the button and acts first before the flop but last on the turn and river.
Misdeals - The following circumstances cause a misdeal, provided attention is called to the error before two players have acted on their hands: The first or second card of the hand has been exposed by a dealer error; two or more cards have been exposed by the dealer; the button was out of position; cards have been dealt to an empty seat or a player not entitled to a hand; a player has been dealt out who is entitled to a hand (this player must be present at the table or have posted a blind).
Folds/Mucks - Your hand is declared dead if: (a) You fold or announce that you are folding when facing a bet or a raise; (b) you throw your hand away in a forward motion causing another player to act behind you (even if not facing a bet); (c) if either of a player’s hole cards touches any card already deemed as discarded/dead.

It is up to you to know the basic poker rules when playing in a tournament. Not properly educating yourself can cause you to unknowingly commit an infraction and get penalized or even disqualified. For information on more detailed and/or obscure rules please see your Tournament Director.

If you are caught cheating you will be ejected from the tournament and may be permanently banned from all future NZSOP tournaments.

Your Tournament Director has final authority in all decisions relating to the poker tournament and how it is run.

NZSOP Points Structure

Each player will receive points based on their position at the end of the poker night. These points are aggregated on a venue leaderboard, and the top ten players (including 10th equal) after twelve weeks are invited to play in the NZSOP main event. The points are awarded as follows:
1st - 1000, 2nd - 800, 3rd - 600, 4th - 500, 5th - 400, 6th - 350, 7th - 300, 8th - 250, 9th - 225, 10th 200, 11th - 190, 12th - 180, 13th - 170, 14th - 160, 15th - 150, 16th - 140, 17th & below - 100 pts.