Whilst these are not specific rules they are considered to be as important to the smooth running of the game and as such a breach of etiquette carries similar penalties to a breach of the rules.

Examples of poor etiquette include the following, but are not limited to;

·         Giving advice or criticising another player’s style of play, ability, or action in any given hand.

·         Asking for advice about a hand from another player or spectator.

·         Showing another player or spectator your hand.

·         Talking about a hand whilst it is in progress.

·         The use of bad language including any swear words either generally or aimed at anyone.

·         The use of personal devices that disrupt the game or other players.

·         While playing in a live hand, players must refrain from texting or having conversations on mobile phones or other electronic devices.

·         Any players holding phone conversations must remove themselves from the table for the duration of the call.

·         Soft play or not playing against another player because they are a friend.

·         Chip dumping either to benefit another player or in order to re-enter.

·         Touching other player’s cards or chips.

·         Continual breaches of the rules.

·         Disrupting the game or other players.

·         Inappropriate behaviour towards members of staff.

·         Continually holding back, the showing of a winning hand for effect or “slow rolling other players”.

·         Making statements or acting in such a way as to unfairly influence the course of play, whether involved in the hand or not. This includes talking about a hand.

·         Players causing the flight to stop by refusing to continue. If a situation occurs when players decide to stop playing after late reg has ended but before the flight has finished, each player will be penalised with one Small Blind, Big Blind and Big Blind Ante for every 5 minutes remaining in the flight. This will be deducted, and the remaining stack will be bagged by the supervisor. This rule will also be implemented if it is deemed that players are colluding to slow down the action to circumnavigate the above rule.

·       Players are required to make decisions within a reasonable timeframe.

·       Any player deemed to be deliberately stalling will forfeit their remaining time bank cards and will not be issued any further cards at any stage in the tournament.

·       In all tournaments, including shot clock tournaments, we retain the right to limit the time any player has to make a decision.

·          Poker is a competitive game and as such the “one player one hand rule applies” and soft play will result in a penalty.

·          High denomination chips must always be clearly on show. 

·          The right to dispute any given hand ends once the next hand has started.

·          Only English may be spoken at the table whilst a hand is in progress.

·          The show one shows all rule always applies.

·          Rabbit hunting is not allowed under any circumstances.

·          Repeated etiquette violations (see etiquette section) may result in penalties being applied.

·          The use of personal devices at the poker tables, such as Tablets and iPads are permitted provided it does not disrupt or slow the game down. Players are permitted to play online poker whilst playing live providing it does not disrupt the live game.

·          The use of all personal devices on tables where hole cards are being shown (on a delay) are not allowed under any circumstances.

·          Personal devices must be kept away from the playing surface (the cloth) of the table and must be restricted to either the arm rest or the player's lap.

·          Only chips or cards are allowed on the playing surface.

·          Any player at the table can “call for a clock” after a reasonable amount of time has elapsed without action. During hand for hand any player on any table may call for the clock. The dealer will then call for a supervisor and when they arrive at the table the player in question will be given one minute and will be counted down from 10 seconds, if the player has not acted by the time 0 is reached their hand will be deemed dead.

·          In Multi-way pots any speech play that does not influence the outcome of the hand is permitted.

·          The house has the right to prohibit any two players from playing on the same table (see also etiquette - soft play).

·          Players must not cover their cards with anything other than a recognised card protector that must be smaller than the cards themselves, the use of electronic devices is not permitted as a card protector.

·          Cards must always be visible to the other players and the dealer.

·          Spectators may be asked to move away from the playing area at any time.

·          The conditions of a game may not be changed without the express permission of the supervisor.

·          The supervisor has the right to reconstruct a hand and award the pot to the rightful player where possible.

·          Players and spectators are not allowed to use charts, apps, or any other form of electronic assistance in the tournament room. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in a penalty up to disqualification for the player and removal from the tournament room for the spectator. Spectators are also prohibited from providing live assistance or coaching. Failure to adhere to this rule will result in a penalty for the player and removal from the rail for the spectator. If the player is playing a cash game they may be asked to cash out and leave the Casino.

·          The following are misdeals before any betting;

·          Failure to cut the deck.

·          Two or more dealer exposed cards on the initial deal.

·          Cards leaving table due to dealer error.

·          Starting the deal from the wrong position.

·          Any Players with the wrong number of cards will have their hand killed.

·          If the dealer exposes one card on the initial deal the first burnt card before the flop will replace it, this rule applies to any card exposed dealt from the first to the last card dealt. (If the dealer exposes more than one card on the initial deal the hand will be void rule 18).

·          The flop will be dealt in one action;

·          Should 4 cards be dealt in error, these will be chemmy shuffled after which the top 3 cards will be used for the flop, the final remaining card will be returned to the top of the deck and will become burn card prior to the turn card being dealt.

·          If a flop is dealt without a burn card, the three cards are shuffled, one becomes the burn (this is treated as an exposed card) and the current top card becomes the third card of the flop.

·          If a boxed card is discovered on the initial deal, it will be considered an exposed card and will be exchanged for the first burnt card;

·          A burnt card that is exposed will be announced to the table and then placed face down as the burnt card.

·          More than one boxed card renders the deal void.

·          If a boxed card is discovered after the initial deal all players will be made aware of the card and it will remain in the deck until it comes into play, at which point it will be shuffled back into the live deck. If the card does not come into play (including use as a burnt card) no action will be taken.

·          Players are responsible for their cards at all times and must take precautions to ensure that they are not removed from play;

·          If a dealer kills an unprotected hand that hand will be considered dead, and the player will have no claim on any pot in play

·          A player that has raised and had their cards removed by the dealer, protected or otherwise, will be permitted to retain their raise, however the call will remain in the pot and their cards will be considered dead.

·          If a player makes a bet that has not yet been called, and has their cards removed by the dealer, the bet will be returned.

·          A player’s hand remains live until it has touched the muck or burn cards. A live hand that is mistakenly released over the action line may be retrieved (provided it has not touched the muck or other closed cards) but the player will be penalised from making any further action for the remainder of the hand.

·          Prior to the completion of any betting round if the Flop/Turn or River is exposed in error by the dealer, it will be shuffled back into the remaining live deck;

·          As the three-card flop is dealt at the same time the whole flop will be replaced if a player facing a bet was not given the option to call or raise.

·          If a player was facing a check, then the flop/turn/river will remain, and the player will be deemed to have checked.

·          The muck and burnt cards are excluded and only live cards will be included in a re-shuffle.

·          All games are table stakes only, players who cannot cover the bet may not be bet out of a pot, they may call all in and a side pot will be formed.

·          String betting is not permitted; this is defined as a player going back for more chips or using the way they bet (looking for a reaction for example) to gain an advantage over other players.

·          Placing a single oversized chip in the pot will be deemed to be a call only, a raise will only be accepted where,

·          A player has said raise and stated the amount.

·          It is an obvious raise such as placing two chips in the pot when one would suffice.

·          Players use unofficial vocabulary and gestures at their own risk. These may be interpreted to mean other than what the player intended.

·          All bets or calls must be made in full, regardless of any misinformation giving out at any point during the hand by the dealer or floor.

·          Whenever a chip is placed into the pot accompanied by a declaration that can have multiple meanings: It will be ruled as having the smallest legitimate value. For example. Where the blinds are 100/200 and a player places a 5000-point chip into the pot and says “four” the bet will be taken as 400, where the blinds are 100/200 a statement such as 4.5 or four and a half is made this will be taken as 4500. The supervisor has the right to get clarification of the action from the bettor.

·          The 51% rule will apply if a player places the wrong amount of chips into the pot. This rule differs for cash and competition play see separate rules under cash and competition.

·          Exposing cards

·          If a player shares the identity of live cards with another player, the player showing cards loses aggressive action for the remainder of the hand and the hand will be tabled at the hands conclusion.

·          A Player showing a card/s when facing a bet to gauge a reaction will be deemed to have folded.

·          A Player accidently tabling cards when facing a bet will not have their hand folded however they will lose aggressive action.

·          Any pot won by a player mis-declaring a hand, may be re-allocated to the correct player.

·          A statement of pot in no limit games is not a recognised term but any player stating this must make a bet.

·          All out of turn actions will stand. Action will then revert to the correct player;

·          If the correct player changes the action (Bets or raises), the out of turn bettor has their full bet returned and has the option to call or fold only.

·          If the correct player does not change the action (calls or folds), then the out of turn bet will stand.

In either case, if additional aggressive action is made behind the original out of turn bettor, all options are reopened to all players.

When heads up, if the in-turn bettor matches an out of turn bet, it must be taken as a call.

·          Players are responsible for following the action at their table and as such substantial action taking place may result in any player who misses their turn having their hand killed;

·          Pre-flop, if substantial action passes the players hand will be killed.

·          Post flop if substantial action passes whilst not facing a bet it will be deemed that the player’s intention was to check. However, if a player opens the betting and action returns to original player they can only call or fold.

Substantial action is defined as two actions in turn where one of the players puts chips in the pot OR three passive actions in turn. Passive actions are defined as a fold or a check.

·          If the button has been incorrectly placed and substantial action (rule 37a) has taken place the hand will be completed, and the button will continue from that position, the button can never move backwards.

·          Players deemed to have intentionally acted out of turn to influence the play, will receive a full round penalty unless they have been misdirected by the dealer. An out of turn fold is always binding.

·          In turn verbal declarations of “call, raise, fold, pass or all in” are binding. Verbal declarations out of turn revert to rule 36.

·          Under raises are only permitted if a player is “going all in”.

·          If a player is deemed to be in an “assumed all-in” situation. If in a tournament with shot clocks, no further time banks are permitted to be used. In a standard tournament the player will have 30 seconds to act.

·          In a showdown the player making the last aggressive action will be the player required to show their hand first. Where there has not been a bet on the last betting round, the player who made the last aggressive action in previous rounds will be the first to show.

·          At a showdown only, players with live cards can request to see the hands in play;

·          If the winning player requests to see other players passed (but not mucked) hand, the passed hand remains live.

·          If any other player requests to see the hand, the hand will be mucked before being shown.

·          To win a pot that is played to a conclusion the winning hand is not required to be shown, if that player is the only remaining player with live cards.

·          Too few or too many cards will render the players hand dead.

·          Players must comply with the table minimum and maximums for all games.

·          Cash can play but must be clearly announced to the table and will be changed for cash chips as soon as possible.

·          Chips or cash that are concealed in any way will not be allowed to play.

·          Foreign currency including euros is not allowed to play and must be changed for sterling.

·          When transferring from one table to another, players must continue to play with the same amount of chips that were in play at their previous table. Players may add to their chips but must not remove any chips.

·          The removal of money/chips whilst in play (weeding) from any cash game is not permitted (see also rule 51). Cash chips may be used to pay for casino provided F&B services (no greater than the table stakes of the game), including session charges only. Any player removing chips from play for any other reason will be assumed to have ceased playing and will not be dealt into any subsequent hands. Note also that any player returning to a game of the same type and size within 2 hours of finishing must return with at least the same amount of money/chips they left with.

·          Players may overplay with the permission of the existing player and the supervisor but must use a play over box to protect the existing player’s chips. The current active player may request via the supervisor a no play over up to 10min.

·          The conditions of a game may not be changed without the express permission of the supervisor.

·          The 51% rule will apply if a player places the wrong amount of chips into the pot without comment as follows;

·          A player that places an amount into the pot which is 51% or more of the total bet they are facing will be deemed to be a call, the player may make up the bet or forfeit the amount bet so far. At the conclusion of any round of betting if the action causes other players to reveal their hand this will automatically be taken as a call.

·          A player that mistakenly places an amount less than 51% of the total bet they are facing may either, fold and take back the amount accidentally wagered, or they may call any outstanding amount and continue in the hand.

·          An amount thrown into the pot that includes a full call and an additional amount of 51% or more of the last bet/raise will be deemed to be a minimum raise; the player must make the bet up to the correct minimum raise amount. If the additional amount is less than 51% then the player is deemed to have called only and the excess chips will be returned to the player by the dealer.

·          After any round of betting, if any amount put into the pot causes other players to reveal their hand, this will automatically be taken as a call.

·          At the start of any tournament position for the dealer button will be decided by a draw. The draw will be made on a table and will apply to all tables; The dealer will shuffle the deck and deal one card face up to each position (seats one to ten) on the table, the first highest card (ace high) will then be designated as the position for the dealer button on all tables. The Supervisor must announce this to the room and all dealers will move the dealer button to this position.

·          The hand will be deemed to have started once the riffle shuffle has started.

·          Players, who are away from the table, must be in position by the time the first card is dealt. If the first card is dealt and the customer is not sat in their seat, their hand will be dead.

·          In an all-in situation, on any street, all live cards must be turned face up on the table (Tournaments only).

·          When heads-up if the small blind is on the button, they will be the first to act pre-flop, after the flop the action starts off the button.

·          Spectators may not sit behind players in a competition area and must remain an appropriate distance away from the tables.

·          Competition play will use a dead button.

·          The house reserves the right to alter the published blind/ante structure if required.

·          Players attempting to lose all their chips by mucking their hand and looking to re-enter will not be allowed to re-enter and this will be considered as chip dumping

·          A player may surrender their entire stack and re-enter the tournament if they wish. They do not have to have less than starting stack to surrender.

·          There is no stack surrendering in Bounty Tournaments

·          The 51% rule will apply if a player places the wrong amount of chips into the pot without comment as follows;

·          In competition play any amount placed into the pot up to the call amount will be deemed to be a call, the player may make up the difference and continue to play or pass and forfeit the amount already placed in the pot. At the conclusion of any round of betting if the action causes other players to reveal their hand this will automatically be taken as a call.

·          An amount thrown into the pot that includes a full call and an additional amount of 51% or more of the last bet/raise will be taken to be a minimum raise; the player must make the bet up to the correct minimum raise amount. If the additional amount is less than 51% then the player is deemed to have called only and the odd chips are returned to the player by the dealer.

·          Where house dealers are not provided for competitions, the cards will be shuffled by the player to the left of the dealer and cut by the player to the right, there must always be 3 people involved in the deal.

·          The initial deal may be dealt from the hand, provided a cutting card is used to protect the bottom of the deck, but after the initial deal the cards must be spread on the table and dealt from the table.

·          Cash games must always be dealer dealt; self-deal cash games are not allowed.

·      Subject to the rules above penalties may be applied in certain situations.

·      Those penalties will depend on several of the criteria as follows;

a)   The severity of the action by the player concerned.

b)   Whether it is considered a mistake on the part of the player (particularly relevant to new players).

c)    Whether or not it is a repeat offence.

·      The penalties available to the supervisor/manager are;

a)   A warning.

b)   Dealt out for two hands.

c)    Dealt out for one complete round.

d)   Dealt out for two complete rounds.

e)   Disqualification or removal from the game (decision to be made in conjunction with the duty manager).

f)     Membership cancellation (General Managers decision only).

·          The supervisor can be asked at any point to clarify any rules or actions available to all.

·          The supervisors’ decision is final.

Grosvenor Casinos may alter these rules if it deemed to be for the best interests for the game and where it is deemed appropriate without prior notice