- New level - When the time limit for a round has expired and a new round is announced by the floor staff, the new limits apply to the next hand. A new hand always begins with the cutting of the cards.
At the seat - Each player must take their seat at the table as soon as the croupier has dealt the last card to the button. If a player is not at his seat at the end of the deal, the croupier immediately removes that player's cards from the game.
a. ) In Stud games after the last card revealed before the first betting round.
b. ) In order to request time, a player must be seated.
Misdeal - A misdeal occurs when:
a.) Two or more additional cards have been dealt,
b.) No cards have been dealt to a player,
c.) The first or second card has been turned up, If two or more active actions (bet, call, raise, re-raise, all-in,...) have already been made by the time the mistake is realised, the faulty hand is declared invalid and the game continues as normal. A game can no longer be declared void after the flop.
- Pot size - In No Limit variants, the croupier does not provide information about the size of the pot at any time.
- All-in - If a player is all-in, he must remain in his seat until the game is over.
Bets / actions in and out of sequence - If a player acts out of sequence and calls with an insufficient bet because he has not noticed a raise, he must complete his bet or lose all claims to his bets and the pot. A raise is no longer permitted. The FLM/LGS/Floorman can impose a penalty for repeated actions that do not correspond to the proper course of the game.
If a player makes a forward movement with chips towards the pot area that could cause another player to act, he may be forced to complete the action. The betting line is a visual guide but is not binding. The amount must be bet in one continuous movement without returning to the chip stack
If a player acts out of turn, their verbal and physical announcements or actions are only binding as long as the previous betting situation has not changed. A check, call or fold does not count as a change.
The FLM/LGS/Floorman will impose a penalty for repeated actions that do not correspond to the normal course of play.
Statements regarding the value of the hand are not binding. Deliberately false statements can be penalized.
The discarding (passing) of hole cards out of sequence will be penalized.
Raise - In Pot and No Limit variants there is no limit to the number of raises. The minimum raise is always as high as the previous raise. In split limit variants, three raises are allowed per betting round. If there are only two players left in the game before a third raise is made, the number of raises is no longer limited. In Pot and No Limit variants, there are three ways to make a valid raise.
a. ) The amount must be bet in one move.
b. ) The amount is announced before betting.
c. ) The player announces "Raise", bets the exact amount for the call and then the raise in one move. If a player moves an uncounted amount of chips towards the pot, it can be decided that the bet is the sum of all these chips. If a player bets a large number of chips, the chips are only counted by the croupier when the bet is called or the croupier is asked by a player to count them. If a player opens the betting round in Stud variants in the lower limit although a pair is open and a raise by the lower limit occurs, the same player who opened the betting round can raise by the upper limit.
Higher chip - If a player places a bet with a chip that is larger than the previous bet, this is only a raise if he also announces it. The announcement "Raise" must be made before the bet is placed. The raise corresponds to the value of the chip.
If a player bets two 500 chips with blinds of 300 - 600 before the flop or after a previous lead without announcing, this only counts as a call, although it is two chips. If "Raise" is announced, but a higher chip with a value greater than that required for a call is bet, but this does not indicate the amount of the raise, then the raise corresponds to the amount of the permitted maximum (in pot limit variants) up to the maximum value of the chip. If a raise is to be made with a higher chip, this must always be announced before the chip is moved towards the pot. After the flop, a bet with a higher chip without an announcement is always counted as a bet of the full value of the chip. In pot limit variants, a higher chip with the announcement "Raise" is always counted as the maximum permitted raise. Unless a raise has previously been announced, the reaction to a bet of several chips of the same value is considered a call if the removal of one of these chips results in the required call amount being undercut.
An example with blinds of 200/400: If player A bets 1,200 (a raise of 800) and player B puts two chips of 1,000 into the pot without announcing a raise, this bet is considered a call. If player B had bet four chips of 500 each, this would be a raise to 2,000 (another 800). If a player bets four chips of 1000 each with a previous betting sequence of 800 / 1600 / 2400 / 3200 without announcing, this is not a raise to 4000, but only a call on the last bet of 3200.
- Incomplete raise - If a player bets 50% or more than the previous raise without an announcement, but less than a complete raise, this action is considered a raise and he must supplement his bet to the minimum raise. If it is less than 50%, the action is only counted as a call. An all-in bet that is less than a full raise does not reopen the betting round for those players who have already acted. Betting a chip of greater value than the previous bet is only a raise if this is also announced. The "raise" announcement must be made before the bet is placed.
Showdown - In principle, showdown means that all hole cards are always placed on the table face up and recognizable to other players and the croupier. The player who made the last active action (bet, raise, re-raise or all-in) must start the showdown. If a player lays his cards face down in the showdown with a clear forward movement, they must be collected by the croupier and are always considered folded. If, after the croupier has called for a showdown, only one player claims the pot (the other player or players fold), this player wins the pot without a showdown. Playing guests who do not claim the pot or playing guests who have no opponents with a valid hand do not have to show their hand. Unless they are asked to do so by the floorman due to suspected collusion. The winning hand must show all hole cards or all seven cards.
a. ) Verbal announcements - The cards played are binding. Verbal statements about a guest's cards are not binding, but the tournament staff may, at their discretion, impose a penalty for intentional miscalls.
b. ) All-in - As soon as a player is all-in and all bets have been placed, all cards are revealed. If a player inadvertently discards their hand before the cards have been turned face up, the tournament staff has the right to put the cards back into play if they can be clearly identified. Players who deliberately discard their cards in an all-in situation may be penalized.
c. ) Side action - If several players are playing for the main pot with an all-in player, all players playing for the side pot in the showdown must also show their cards. If an all-in player is playing for one or more pots, no side pot player may fold their cards at the showdown. The croupier is instructed to show all hands.
d. ) If an obviously winning hand is mistakenly folded by the dealer after the showdown, it can still win the pot. In the interests of fairness, all players are requested to report a misunderstanding or an obvious mistake to the dealer immediately. The complaint must be made immediately before the next game has started, after which no correction is possible as the course of the game can no longer be tracked.
e. ) In order to be entitled to a share of the pot, a player must open his hole cards when "Playing the Board".
- Showing hole cards / discarded hands - If a player shows one or more of his hole cards before the end of the hand or the showdown, his hand is passive, but can also be declared invalid in the interests of fairness to other players. Intentional unauthorized opening of the hole cards during a game is punishable by a penalty. A hand is considered folded (discarded) if a player opens at least one of his hole cards in order to deliberately obtain a reaction from other players before declaring an action. If a player shows his hole cards to another player, he must show them to all players on request ("show one - show all").
- Bounty chip - If a bounty chip is used in bounty tournaments, this chip only has the value of the bounty amount. The betting of the bounty chip does not count as a bet or all-in.
Player Protection: 