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Cash Game rules

General Rules

  1. Poker Manager / Tournament Management - For the Poker Manager and his/her representative, consideration of fairness and the best solution in the interest of the game has the highest priority. Situations that are not mentioned in these regulations will be decided by the management or their representative in an appropriate manner and taking into account the circumstances. In the interests of fairness, exceptional circumstances may mean that a rule is not interpreted in its true sense. The decisions of the Poker Manager or his/her representative are final.
  2. Player Responsibilities - Players are expected to confirm their seat assignment, protect their cards, clearly state their intentions, follow the course of the game, act when it is their turn to act, defend their right to act, ensure that their cards are visible, stack their chips properly, remain at the table during a hand, speak up when they notice a mistake, change tables immediately when asked to do so, follow a hand, respect and abide by the rules, and generally contribute to the orderly conduct of the game.
  3. Language at the table - Only German or English may be spoken during the play of a pot.
  4. Official terms - For the various actions, simple, unambiguous, internationally standard active announcements such as bet, raise, call, all-in (betting all chips), raise pot (only for pot-limit variants), complete or passive actions such as fold or check are to be used. The use of non-standard announcements or gestures is at the player's own risk, as this may lead to a decision that was not intended by the player. It is the player's responsibility to clearly state their intentions.
  5. Electronic devices - The use of mobile phones, tablets, laptops, other electronic devices or objects during the hand will not be tolerated under any circumstances. The player must leave the table to make phone calls. Each player may place various devices next to the table. Mobile phones may be placed on the edge of the table with the display facing downwards. However, the game may not be interrupted or disturbed under any circumstances. In principle, the tokens and cards of the guests must be visible to the other players and the staff at all times and the game must run smoothly. Filming and streaming is not permitted and must be authorized by the tournament management.
  6. At the seat - Each seat where a valid table stake is placed receives cards. If a player leaves his seat, he will receive cards in any case, but the blinds are automatically retained by the croupier. Even if the player is not seated for several rounds, the blinds are retained for as long as a valid table stake is in place. When a table is opened, the blinds are only retained by players who have already played a valid hand. Stacks that are not active can be removed. The hand of a player who is not seated at the end of the deal is invalid.
  7. Pot size - In No Limit variants, the croupier does not provide information about the size of the pot at any time.

  8. Indivisible chips - All bets placed must be divisible by the ante or small blind and can be placed in all valid Casinos Austria chips. Exception: In the 2/5 limit, all bets placed must be divisible by the big blind.

    The player will be reimbursed for any resulting spike. If a pot has to be split between two or more players due to the equal value of the hands, in Texas Hold'em and Omaha the player sitting closest to the button in the betting order receives the non-divisible chip. In Seven Card Stud, the top hand goes to the player with the highest card (including suit priority) in their hand. A pot is only split up to the amount of the small blind or the ante.

  9. 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 realized, the faulty hand is declared invalid and the game continues as normal. A game can no longer be declared void after the flop.
  10. Unprotected hands - If the dealer folds an unprotected hand, the player does not get back the bet placed up to that point. Exception: A player has raised and his raise has not yet been paid by anyone. In this case, the player receives his raise back.
  11. Compulsory attendance - Players who are in a hand must remain in their seat. A hand may be declared void if the player is not at his seat during a hand.
  12. Changing tables - A player is not permitted to move to another table without permission from the floorman. In principle, a player may at any time request to be placed on a waiting list for another limit or another variant. If a table change is made in the same variant at the same limit, the full table stake must be brought into play at this table. The floorman is responsible for deciding whether and when a player may change.
  13. Deck of cards - The deck of cards can be changed at any time by the management or its representative. A player may not request a new deck.

  14. Game variants - All Texas Hold'em and Omaha games have variants of the game procedure.

    1. Double Board: The croupier deals two boards, each consisting of "Flop", "Turn" and "River". The pot is divided equally between these "boards".
    2. Flip: Each player bets an amount equal to the limit before the game and the croupier deals the "board" without another round of betting and there is an immediate "showdown".
    3. Bomb Pot: Each player bets an amount equal to the limit before the game and the croupier gives the "flop" without another round of betting and the game continues normally after the "flop".

  15. Must Move - the Must Move rule is used to protect the main table. The following rules apply to Must Move tables:

    The Must Move order is drawn at the beginning and/or corresponds to the waiting list

    Any new player who registers for the same limit will be placed on the waiting list and must start at the Must Move table.

    If a seat becomes available at the main table, the first player on the list will be asked if they wish to move. If the player says no, the next player in the order is asked and if everyone says "no", the first player must move to the main table.

Stakes

  1. Table Stake - All bets placed must be divisible by the ante or small blind and can be placed in all valid Casinos Austria value chips. The player will be reimbursed for any resulting spike. Players may not remove any chips from their playing capital at the table unless they end their game. It is possible to increase the gaming capital at the table between games, but never during a single game. If a player ends their game with a table stake above the table's minimum buy-in, they cannot continue to play with a smaller table stake at the same limit on that game day. Cash does not count towards the table stake. If a player uses banknotes to either buy in or increase his table stake, he must immediately hand them over to the croupier for exchange.
  2. Limits - - The type of limit is determined before the game begins: Split Limit / Pot Limit / No Limit. The limit specifies the amount of possible bets and determines the size of the blinds or ante. A maximum permitted buy-in can also be set.
  3. Buy-in - In order to participate in the game, a player must place at least the agreed buy-in in chips face up on the table. To be able to participate in the coup, he must be able to bring at least the big blind or ante. The buy-in is always set before the start of the game and can only be changed in consultation with the floorman.
  4. Blinds - A new player does not have to post a blind until it is his turn. All blinds are always collected from every active table stake and thus brought into play - even if the player is not present. This means that there is never a missed blind. A player who comes from a broken table or is asked by the floorman to change tables does not have to post a blind. If a player moves away from the button by two or more seats (occupied by active players) in a clockwise direction, they must post the big blind. In pot limit variants, the blind brought in counts towards the pot.

Actions

  1. Straddle - In Hold'em variants (e.g. Pot Limit Omaha) there is the possibility of one or more additional live straddles. A straddle is a voluntary additional blind that is posted after the big blind and is double the big blind. A distinction is also made between the following straddle variants: Button straddle, the straddle is made by the player on the button and the action starts to the left of the "dealer button". Mississippi Straddle, the straddle can be made in any position, the action starts to the left of the straddle. The straddle option can only be used in consultation with the floorman and when the table is open. The live straddle always has priority over other straddle variants. New players must be informed of this before starting to play.

  2. Bets / actions in and out of sequence - If a player acts in sequence and calls with an insufficient bet because he has not noticed a raise, he must complete his bet or forfeit all claims to his bets and the pot. A raise is no longer permitted.

    If a player makes a forward movement with chips towards the pot area and this 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.

    The floorman may impose a penalty for repetitive actions that do not comply with the proper course of the game. If a player acts out of turn, his 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 floorman will impose a penalty for repeated actions that do not correspond to the normal course of the game. Statements regarding the value of the hand are not binding. Intentionally false statements can be penalized. The discarding (passing) of hole cards out of sequence is penalized.

  3. 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.

  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. All-in - If an all-in bet or raise was called as the last possible action, the player of the all-in or raise must start the showdown. If the player does not claim the pot and gives up his hand without a showdown, the opponent wins without having to show his hand.
  7. Side pots - Each pot is always split and valued separately.

  8. Run It Twice - In Run It Twice, the river card, the turn and river card, as well as the entire board can be dealt twice if,

    a.) no more action is possible,

    b.) all players declare themselves clearly,

    c.) there is at least € 500 in the pot,

    d.) the floorman has been informed or

    e.) the floorman is present at Run It Twice with more than two players. If the main pot was not approved for Run It Twice but only for the side pot, the main pot may not be used for Run It Twice in the showdown under any circumstances! Please note: If cards have been dealt to nine players in Pot Limit Omaha and the board is required to be dealt twice, the three burn cards with the remaining eight cards are shuffled again after the first regular board before the second board can be dealt.

    f.) The odd chip always goes to the worse position (clockwise from the button on the left).
  9. Showdown - Basically, showdown means placing all your hole cards face up on the table in a way that is recognizable to other players and the croupier. The player who made the last action (bet, raise, re-raise or all-in) must always 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 and the other player(s) have discarded their cards, this player wins the pot without a showdown. Players who do not claim the pot or players who do not have an opponent with a valid hand do not have to show their hand. The winning hand must always show all hole cards or all seven cards face up in the showdown. If an obviously winning hand is mistakenly withdrawn by the croupier 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 immediately. The complaint must be made immediately before the next game has started, after which no further corrections are possible as the course of the game can no longer be tracked.
  10. 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 the 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 another player before he has declared his intention to act. If a player shows his hole cards to another player, he must show them to all players on request ("show one - show all").

Penalties and labels

  1. Consideration - Players are obliged to show consideration for the game and their fellow players, even if they are not participating in the game. They are not permitted to pass on information about active or discarded cards, to analyze the game or to reveal the hand of a fellow player before the showdown. Players are obliged to protect their hand. It may not be viewed by anyone. Statements regarding the value of the hand are not binding.
  2. Breaches of etiquette - The management reserves the right to exclude a player from the game in the interests of the casino, the guests or the players in the event of repeated breaches of etiquette. For example, for touching other people's cards or chips, delaying the game, deliberately making false statements, acting out of turn, revealing hole cards during an ongoing game or improper behavior.
  3. Foul language - Insulting other players, tournament staff or venue staff will not be tolerated. Foul, obscene or insulting remarks against a player or staff member will be penalized. Repeated indirect foul, obscene or offensive language may result in ejection from the game.
  4. Penalties - Penalties are generally imposed by the Poker Manager or floor staff and may result in a verbal warning, a time penalty or exclusion from the game.