Ross Poker Tour Manifesto

The Ross Poker Tour started in January 2005.  It consists of a series of poker tournaments, held monthly around the third Friday of every month (please see the schedule section of the site for specific dates). Each tournament begins at 7:00 pm and lasts until one player has all the chips in the tournament.

Where: Locations vary for each event. Please see the schedule section of the site for upcoming locations.  If you are invited, directions will be included with the invitation.

When: Around the third Friday of every month at 7:00pm.  Please see the schedule section of the site for specific dates.  If a player states his or her intention to play and is late, his or her chips will be placed at his spot on the table. When that player is the blind, the appropriate amount will be posted and his cards will be folded until he or she arrives.

Buy-In: The buy-in for each tournament will be $30.  $20 of the buy-in goes to the current tournament.  Of the extra $10, $5 goes to the year-end pot where the top 8 point holders for the year play for this extra pot (see the "Final Table" section below). The other $5 goes towards food, beer, and soda for everyone.  The tournament administrator does not receive any money for facilitation of tournaments.  Even though the buy-in is $30, each player will start with $1000 worth of chips. This makes the layout much easier and should provide adequate playing time for all.

Rules: Basic rules of Texas Hold’em apply. For a detailed list of the rules, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_hold_'em#Rules. If there are any disputes on any particular hand, the players at the respective table not involved in the hand will settle the dispute. If the dispute is not settled in this manner, the tournament administrator will hear all witness accounts and make a ruling which is final.

Payouts: The number of players in each tournament will determine how the money is paid out. There will be pre-set percentages based on the number of entrants that will determine the amount of money that will go to the winner, 2^nd place, 3^rd place, etc. The payout percentages are listed below.

For any values which do not end in a 5 or a 0, we will round up or down so we can play with numbers that are easier to deal with. For example, if there are 10 players, the top three would place. First would get $100, second would get $60, and third would get $40. If there are 15 players, four would place. First would get $150, second would get $75, third would get $45 and fourth would get $30. If there are 24 players, five would place. First would get $215 (as opposed to $216), second would get $120, third would get $70 (as opposed to $72), fourth would get $50 (as opposed to $48), and fifth would get $25 (as opposed to $24).

Chip Denominations

Drawing Seats: We will have a drawing of numbers at the beginning of each tournament. Each number will correspond to a seat at one of the tables.  If technology permits, seats will be randomly generated.

Tables: The number of tables is largely dependant on the number of players. There will be a maximum of ten people at a table, and a minimum of 5. The players will be dispersed evenly at each of the tables. For example, if there are 17 entrants, there will be two tables to start with: one table having 9 seats and the other having 8. However, if there are 21 entrants, we will start with three tables with seven seats each.

Starting Blinds: When seated, one card will be dealt to every player at the table. This will determine where the dealer button will start. The high card will start as the button.  The blinds will be immediately to that player’s left. In case of duplicate high cards, the first high card will get the button. The small blind will be one spot to his left and the big blind will be two spots to his left.

Blinds: It is inevitable that the blinds will have to be raised due to the amount of money we are dealing with and the time constraints. So blinds will be raised every 40 minutes according to the following structure:

The blind structure is based on an 18 and greater tournament size.  Blinds can be amended in mid tournament to speed up play as long as all players and the tournament administrator agree to the blind adjustment.

Basic Play: The deal rotates around the table clockwise. We all deal, and we’ll have two decks on each table to speed up play. The next dealer will shuffle the deck not in play during the current hand. The small blind is immediately to the dealer’s left and the big blind is to the small blind’s left. Everyone is dealt two cards (starting with the small blind). Preflop betting starts with the player to the big blind’s left. The minimum raise is the amount of the big blind (If the blinds are 15-30, a player must raise to 60, he can’t just raise to 45). Of course, he may also just call the big blind, or if he only has 15 in front of him, he can raise all-in. Each bet must be at least the amount of the big blind as well.  The dealer then "burns" a card (discards it face-down) and deals the three card flop. All post-flop betting starts immediately to the left of the dealer (If the small blind is still in the hand, it starts with him).  When the flop is out, a player cannot bet $15 if the blinds are $15/$30. The minimum bet he must post is $30 in this situation. Burn another card, deal the turn card, another round of betting, burn another card, deal the river, another round of betting, and then show down the hands if necessary. Any subsequent raise on a given street must at least equal the first one (if the blinds are 15-30 and someone raises to a total of 60, a reraise must be to at least 120 or more). Once we are down to two players, the dealer will be the big blind and the other player will be the small blind.

Dead Button Rule:

The big blind is posted by the player due for it, and the small blind and button are positioned accordingly, even if this means the small blind or the button is placed in front of an empty seat, giving the same player the privilege of last action on consecutive hands.

For example, if the small blind is eliminated and is not replaced by a player from another table, the button moves to the now empty seat (the seat vacated by the eliminated small blind). The player who was the big blind now posts the small blind and the player to his left posts the big blind. Since the button is now located at an empty seat, the player who was the button will, in effect, be the button once again.

Dealer Rules: The dealer button will be passed to the left after every hand.  Two different color decks will be used at each table.  The deck not in play will be shuffled by the player to the left of the dealer as he will be dealing after the current hand.  The player to the right of the dealer will be offered the chance to cut the deck prior to deal.  There is never a rake.

In case of a dealer error, the following rules apply:

·        If the first, second, or third card dealt is exposed, a misdeal results. The dealer will retrieve the cards, reshuffle, and recut the cards. If any other holecard is exposed due to a dealer error, the deal continues. The exposed card may not be kept. The dealer replaces the exposed card with the top card on the deck, and the exposed card is then used for the burncard. If more than one holecard is exposed, this is a misdeal and there must be a redeal.

·        If the flop needs to be redealt because the cards were prematurely flopped before the betting was complete, or the flop contained too many cards, the boardcards are mixed with the remainder of the deck. The burncard remains on the table. After shuffling, the dealer cuts the deck and deals a new flop without burning a card.

·        If the dealer fails to burn a card before the flop, turn or river, the card will be shown to all players and then discarded, the next card will take its place.

·        If the dealer turns the fourth card on the board before the betting round is complete, the card is taken out of play for that round, even if subsequent players elect to fold. The betting is then completed. The dealer burns and turns what would have been the fifth card in the fourth card’s place. After this round of betting, the dealer reshuffles the deck, including the card that was taken out of play, but not including the burncards or discards. The dealer then cuts the deck and turns the final card without burning a card. If the fifth card is turned up prematurely, the deck is reshuffled and dealt in the same manner.

·        If a card with a different color back appears during a hand, all action is void and all chips in the pot are returned to the respective bettors. If a card with a different color back is discovered in the stub, all action stands. If two cards of the same rank and suit are found, all action is void, and all chips in the pot are returned to the players who wagered them. One or more cards missing from the deck does not invalidate the results of a hand. A card that is flashed by a dealer is treated as an exposed card. A card that is flashed by a player will play. A downcard dealt off the table is an exposed card. If you drop a card on the floor out of your hand, you must still play that card. A player must show all cards in the hand face-up on the table to win any part of the pot.

Your hand is declared dead if:

• You fold or announce that you are folding when facing a bet or a raise.
• You throw your hand away in a forward motion causing another player to act behind you (even if not facing a bet).
• The hand does not contain two cards.
• You act on a hand with a joker as a holecard in a game not using a joker.
• You have the clock on you when facing a bet or raise and exceed the specified time limit.
• Cards thrown into the muck may be ruled dead. However, a hand that is clearly identifiable may be retrieved at the tournament administrator’s discretion if doing so is in the best interest of the game. We will make an extra effort to rule a hand retrievable if it was folded as a result of false information given to the player.
• Cards thrown into another player’s hand are dead, whether they are faceup or facedown.

Betting:  All bets should be placed in front of the player until the round of betting is over.  At the end of each round of betting, the player deposits his bet into the “pot” located near the center of the table.  It is best to declare your intention whether that be checking, calling, raising or folding.  When raising, simply declare “raise” and then take your time in deciding the amount.  In addition, the following betting rules apply:

·        No string betting is allowed.  A string bet is a bet that is not done in one motion - it is "stringed out" or "stretched out" too long.  An example of this would be to say “I call your $100… and raise you $300.”  Another example is when a player does not declare his or her action but grabs enough chips to call and then goes back to grab additional chips to raise.  All betting must be done in a single motion.

·        If a player declares “raise” and does not declare an amount.  The raise must be done in a single forward motion.  Forward motion is placing chips far enough in front of a player as to deem itself a bet.  This is usually 12-18 inches from the player.

Elimination:  When you are eliminated from a Ross Poker Tour event, please notify the tournament director immediately.  You will then be asked to sign the sign-out sheet with where you finished in the tournament.  Failing to do so will result in points penalties.

Side Pots: These happen when there are three or more players in a pot and the short stack is all-in. Basically, the concept is that you can only win as much as you have in front of you from each player in the hand.

Example 1: Player A - 100, Player B - 80, Player C - 200

If these are the only three players in the hand and Player A goes all-in, Player B may call for his 80. Player C can call too for 100 if he wishes (he can’t really raise if there are no players left to act behind him, since there are no more chips to be won. If there are players to act, he could reraise his whole 200, and anybody wishing to call behind him must call for 200. If he has no takers, he simply takes back the extra 100 since nobody is in that pot with him.) In this case, the main pot would be for 240 which all three players would be eligible for, and the side pot of 40 would be just between Players A and C.

Example 2: Player A - 100, Player B - 80, Player C - 200, Player D - 40

Similarly, if all of these players were all-in (its rare that this many players would be all-in on the same hand but it’s possible. Main pot (A,B,C,D): 160, Side Pot 1 (A,B,C): 120, Side Pot 2 (A,C): 40. Even if player C won none of these pots, he’d still have 100 after the hand.

Keeping even tables: We would like to be in a situation where all tables have an even number of players. This is so the blinds do not come around more times on some tables than they do on others. For this reason, we will be shifting players if need be. If there is a one player difference at the tables, than there will be no switch but if the difference is two or more, then there will be movement to even the tables. For example, if Table 1 falls down to 6 players and Table 2 has 7 players, no one will switch tables. But if Table 1 loses another player to fall down to 5 players, one of the players from Table 2 will move to Table 1. The players will move tables based on position, not stack size. For example, if the player busts out one position before the blinds would have reached him, we will take the player at the other table who is one position before the blinds. This is done so that no one unfairly gets more or less blinds than anyone else. 

Table Consolidation: At times throughout the tournament, it will be necessary to lower the number of tables. This will happen when the number of players left falls down to another multiple of eight, or if space allows, 9 or 10. For example, if the tournament starts with 21 players, when the 5^th person busts out and there are 16 players left, we will move from 3 tables to 2. In these scenarios, we will scatter the remaining players from Table 3 randomly among the seats that are open at Tables 1 and 2. (The players will draw cards to determine their new seats.)

"Ross Poker Tour Player of the Year" Point System: To create a competitive atmosphere, we will be awarding points after each tournament and track them over the course of the year. Depending on where you finish in a particular tournament, you are awarded points for how many contestants you outlast. For example, if there are 20 people in the tournament and you finish first, you are awarded 20 points. Conversely, if you are the first person out in a 20 person tournament, you receive one point.

In the November tournament, I will review the point standings and deduct the two lowest scores from everyone’s totals. This will excuse some individuals who were unable to attend every tournament but not penalize those that did attend every event. Once the two lowest scores have been removed, new totals will be produced and the top eight points leaders will be invited to the December "Final Table" event to compete for the "Player of the Year" money pool. In the event of a tie in points, the cash winnings will be the deciding factor. If there is still a tie, the higher point totals of the three previous tournaments will decide the placement. You will be given an amount of chips representative of your placement in the top eight. This chip reward system is to maintain competition throughout the standings, from outside as well as within the top eight. The chip breakdown is shown in the figure below:

The same play rules apply, with the blinds increasing on the same schedule as the other events. We encourage all of the other players throughout the year to attend the event and participate in side cash games.

There is no buy-in for the "Final Table" event and the top 5 will be in the money with a cash disbursement listed below. The cash pool is an aggregation of all player’s $5 dollar fees during the year’s tournaments minus any administrative expenses incurred for managing to tournament (i.e. website).  Also, the first place finisher in points will be deemed the "Ross Poker Tour Player of the Year" and will be awarded a  watch in honor of his or her accomplishments:

Alternates: As the monthly tournament moves from location to location, the capacity for players may change as well. For example, if location A can host 16 people, location B can host 24 people, and location C can host 18 people, it will be important to handle who gets first priority of the available seats. To address this, first priority is given to those individuals who have attended the most tournaments. Second priority is based on the combined agreement of the tournament host and the tournament administrator.  If seats are still available, the available seats will be filled by alternates. Alternate priority is given on a first-come, first-serve basis. Spouses/Significant others are allowed to act as a proxy for requests on the alternates list. Alternates that do not make the tournament are encouraged to attend anyway in case of an emergency absence and to join the side games as participants exit the tournament.

Other Rules:

• Always do your best to act in turn. Plays out of turn may not be retracted. If a player repeatedly bets out of turn, he will not be invited to future Ross Poker Tour events and will forfeit his points and seat at the “Final Table” (if applicable).
• Cards speak. It is not what you say you have but what you show that counts.
• Only English will be spoken during play at Ross Poker Tour events.
• If you are not at your seat, the dealer will muck your cards and place your blinds.
• Only one player to a hand.  Any encouragement, advice, or information given by players that are not part of the hand is subject to a warning and possible banning from the Ross Poker Tour.
• Don't touch any mucked (folded) cards. This includes current players and bystanders.
• Do not splash the pot.
• It’s a good idea to protect your cards (cover with a chip, etc.) if you are still in a hand, so it is not accidentally mucked.
• Display of your pocket cards before an action is declared (e.g. call, fold, etc.) is strictly prohibited and will result in a folded hand.
• Under no circumstances will there be any “chasing rabbit cards” at the Ross Poker Tour.  This is not allowed at casinos and will not be allowed at any RPT event.

Grounds for Dismissal from the RPT:

It is important to remember that this event is by invitation.  There is limited favoritism over who attends and who does not.  The basic rule is that if you are a decent person and can get along with the other players; you will always have an initiation.  The rules below apply to specific circumstances:

• Fighting and/or destruction of property will not be tolerated.  Players will be immediately banned from all future events.
• Cheating will not be tolerated.  Any player caught cheating in any way (collusion, marking cards, stealing chips, etc.) will be immediately expelled from the tournament and banned from all future events.
• Any declared intention of attending a RPT event and a no-show without warning before the tournament begins is grounds for dismissal from the Ross Poker Tour.  Excuses will be weighed by the tournament administrator and a final ruling will be made on the player’s continued status at the RPT.

Please RSVP via the monthly evite. Please RSVP as soon as possible. The last day to RSVP will be the morning of the tournament date.  The purpose of the RSVP is to ensure there are enough chairs and tables to accommodate everyone. If you bust out early, do not worry. Bring extra money because there are usually side games.

For any questions or comments, please email or call Brian.