Tournament Poker Rules

These rules provide a standard framework for running a home poker tournament — from seating and starting chips through the final hand. Adapted from Robert Ciaffone's tournament rules, simplified for home play. Print them out or read them aloud before you start to avoid disputes.

Seating and Starting

1. All players draw for seats at the start of the tournament. Seat assignments are random unless agreed otherwise, and after play starts, seats change only when the director reassigns them.
2. All players start with an equal number of chips. The starting chip stack and blind structure should be agreed and announced before play begins.
3. A player who is absent is always dealt a hand, and their stack posts blinds and antes as scheduled until they arrive or are eliminated — but the hand of a player not at the table by the time everyone has a complete starting hand is dead.
4. Players may not remove chips from the table (going "south") at any time during the tournament.

Blind Structure

5. Blinds increase at set intervals (e.g., every 20 minutes). The schedule should be posted or announced before play begins.
6. When the blinds increase, the new level takes effect at the start of the next hand after the clock expires.
7. Antes may be introduced at higher blind levels. The modern standard is the big blind ante: the player in the big blind posts one ante for the whole table each hand — much faster than collecting from everyone. Traditional per-player antes remain standard in Stud games. Our blind structure tool supports both.
8. When the smallest chip is no longer needed in the blind or ante structure, small chips are changed up and the odd ones raced off. A player can never be eliminated by the chip race — a player left with no chips receives one chip of the new denomination.

Player Elimination

9. A player is eliminated when they lose all their chips. Eliminated players receive a finish position based on order of elimination (last out = highest place).
10. If two players are eliminated on the same hand, the player who started that hand with more chips finishes in the higher position. Players who started the hand with equal stacks finish equal and split the prize money for those places.
11. Absent players continue to have their blinds posted until they are eliminated or return. An absent player who loses all chips to the blinds is eliminated.

Table Balancing and Redraws

12. When playing with multiple tables, tables should be kept as balanced as possible — move the player due for the big blind to the short table as players are eliminated.
13. When a table is broken, its players are assigned to the empty seats at the remaining tables. A full redraw for seats happens when the field is down to the final table.
14. Hidden chips do not save an all-in loser: a player who declared all-in and lost, then finds chips that were hidden from view, is still eliminated if the opponent's stack covered them. The director may award the found chips to the pot winner or remove them from play.

All-In Rules

15. A player may go all-in at any time for the amount of chips they have in front of them.
16. When a player is all-in, a side pot is created for bets beyond the all-in amount. The all-in player can only win the main pot.
17. All hands are turned face-up whenever a player is all-in and all betting action is complete — even if only one player is all-in and the rest just called. The remaining board cards are run out with no further betting.
18. A player cannot be forced out of a hand for lack of chips. They may play for the portion of the pot they are eligible for.

Behavior and Penalties

19. Excessive talking about the current hand, showing cards to non-players, or acting out of turn is prohibited.
20. Showing cards from a live hand during play injures the other players still competing. A player in a multi-way pot may not show any cards during a deal; heads-up, cards may not be shown unless only two players remain in the tournament. Deliberately showing a card may be penalized, but the hand is not ruled dead.
21. In no-limit play, a raise must be made with a verbal statement of the amount or by moving the chips in a single motion — anything else is a string bet.
22. A player who intentionally miscalls their hand at showdown to induce an opponent to muck may be penalized or disqualified at the director's discretion.
23. Abusive, threatening, or disruptive behavior may result in a penalty (sitting out one or more hands) or disqualification.
24. A player who is penalized and sitting out must continue to post blinds and antes as scheduled.
25. Electronic device use at the table should not slow the game. Consulting strategy apps during a hand is unethical and may be penalized.

Deck and Card Rules

26. A standard 52-card deck is used. No jokers unless specifically announced.
27. A card found face-up in the deck (a boxed card) is treated as a meaningless scrap of paper: it is set aside and the next card takes its place. Two or more boxed cards make a misdeal.
28. An incorrect number of cards dealt to a player is a misdeal if called before two players have acted (in Hold'em, one extra card dealt to the first player is simply returned to the deck and used as the burn card). Discovered after action, a hand with the wrong number of cards is dead.

Button and Blind Rules

29. The button moves clockwise after each hand.
30. Every player must post every blind, every orbit. Tournaments use a dead button to guarantee it: the big blind is posted by the player due for it, and the small blind and button are positioned accordingly — even if that parks the button at an eliminated player's empty seat for a hand.
31. A player moved to a new table during balancing is dealt in immediately — no posting is required in a tournament — unless they land in the small blind or button seat, in which case they wait until the button has passed them.
32. In heads-up play, the small blind is on the button. When play first becomes heads-up, the player who most recently had the big blind takes the button.

Rebuy and Add-On Rules

33. Whether rebuys and add-ons are permitted must be announced before play begins.
34. If rebuys are allowed, they may only be made during a designated rebuy period (e.g., the first hour or the first four blind levels). A player who announces a rebuy before the cards are dealt is playing behind and is obligated to make it.
35. A rebuy is only available to a player who has chips equal to or less than the starting stack (or is eliminated, if re-entries are allowed).
36. An add-on, if permitted, is available to all players regardless of chip count at the end of the rebuy period.

Showdown Rules

37. At showdown, the last player to bet or raise must show first. If there was no bet on the final street, the first active player to the left of the button shows first.
38. Cards speak: the best five-card hand wins regardless of what the player announced. Players and the dealer are responsible for reading hands correctly.