Understanding and Abiding by the Rules

By entering a game, Players acknowledge that they have read, understood and agree to abide by the Standard Game Rules, and the individual Game Rules of the Poker Room.

The rules of Multi-Player Poker are divided into four groups.

These are:

•    Standard Game Rules

•    Tournament Rules

•    Promotion Rules

•    Bad Beat Progressive Jackpot Rules 

 Standard Game Rules

Alias

An Alias is the name that Players in the Multi-Player environment know each other by.

The following rules apply:

•    Players cannot have multiple Aliases. Each Player has only one Alias across all Poker Rooms on the Prima Poker Network.

•    No offensive Aliases are permitted. If you select an Alias that is considered offensive, your Alias is rejected, and you must select another Alias.

•    Players cannot change their Alias.

Please Note: These decisions are at the discretion of the House.

Chip Dumping

Chip dumping is not allowed, and may result in the following:

•    Players being disqualified and removed from the game.

•    Players forfeiting all buy-in amounts.

•    Players being permanently banned from the Poker room.

Please Note: These decisions are at the discretion of the House
 

Coffeehousing

Coffeehousing is not permitted.

The following rules apply:

•    No chat among Players, that could influence the play or outcome of the game, is allowed. This includes chat about the play of their hand, or their opponent's hand. Abuse of chat may result in the following:

•    Players being disqualified and removed from the game.

•    Players forfeiting all buy-in amounts.

•    Players being permanently banned from the Poker room.

Please Note: These decisions are at the discretion of the House.

Collusion

Poker is a game where Players play for their own interest. Partnerships or any kind of cooperation among Players is not permitted.

Collusion is not allowed, and may result in the following:

•    Players being disqualified and removed from the game.

•    Players forfeiting all buy-in amounts.

•    Players being permanently banned from the Poker room.

Please Note: These decisions are at the discretion of the House.

Dealer

To determine the Dealer in the first round, one card is dealt face up to all Players. The Player with the highest card by suit starts the game as the Dealer.

Please Note: Suits are ranked from low to high - Clubs, Diamonds, Hearts and Spades.

Disconnection

If a Player is disconnected from the system during play, the following rules apply:

•    If a Player is disconnected during the play of a hand and have placed a bet, they have thirty seconds to reconnect. If they do not reconnect within thirty seconds, the following happens:

•    If the Player can check, their hand is automatically checked.

•    If the Player cannot check, but has All-In's available, their hand is considered All-In.

•    If the Player does not qualify to check their hand, or be considered All-In, their hand automatically folds.

•    All-In's are not allowed for disconnections in Pot-Limit and No-Limit games.

•    If there is an issue on the gaming server preventing the completion of a game, the game play for the current hand is cancelled. And the player balance for the table is returned to its state at the start of the hand.

Please Note: The House monitors the circumstances and frequency of All-In's.

House Rules

The House reserves the right to do the following:

•    Disqualify any Players who do not follow Game rules, or that act inappropriately during a game.

•    Alter the rules and make final decisions on all game related issues as they occur.

•    All decisions are at the discretion of the House, and are final.

Individual Play

Poker is a game where Players play for their own interest. Partnerships or any kind of cooperation among Players is not permitted

Chat

The following Player chat rules apply:

•    Communication between Players at the table is in English or the allocated Table Language only.

•    No mention of or advertising for other Poker Rooms or Poker Casinos is permitted.

•    The sending of multiple and frequent messages to the chat window is not permitted.

•    No foul, abusive or insulting language is permitted. The use of such language may result in the following:

•    Player's chat feature being disabled.
•    Players being disqualified and removed from the game.
•    Players being banned from the Poker room.

Please Note: These decisions are at the discretion of the House.

Raked Hands

Raked Hands are accumulated as you play Non-Tournament cash games. Raked Hands qualify you to enter certain tournaments, such as a Freeroll Tournament. A Raked Hand which qualifies for a Freeroll tournament is a hand where the player is dealt cards and a rake of at least 25c is taken from the pot.

Sitting Out

The following rules apply:

•    Players can leave the table for a few hands by clicking the Sit Out button.
•    Players may be removed from a table if they sit out and have missed two rounds of blinds.
 

Slow Play

The following rules apply to slow play:

•    If the Player has not placed a bet in the hand, they have twenty seconds to respond. Failing this, the Player's hand automatically folds.

•    If the Player has placed a bet in the hand, they have twenty seconds to respond. Failing this, the Player's hand automatically folds or is considered All-In.

Please Note: Repeated instances of slow play may be grounds for a Player to be removed from the table. This decision is at the discretion of the House. There is a sit out option for Players that want to exit the table. Players must use this option to avoid the consequences.

Soft Play

Soft play is not allowed, and may result in the following:

•    Players being disqualified and removed from the game.
•    Players forfeiting all buy-in amounts.
•    Players being permanently banned from the Poker room.

Please Note: These decisions are at the discretion of the House.
 

Betting and Payout Rules

All-In

If a Player does not have enough chips to bet during a hand, they are not forced to place the full bet amount. However, the Player must put all of their chips into the pot - this is calling All-In. The game play that continues among other Players is put into a side pot. The All-In Player has no share in this pot.

The following rules apply:

•    There is a limit to the number of times that a Player can be All-In through disconnection in a 24-hour period. When this limit is exceeded, the Player's hand folds and any chips the Player contributed to the pot is forfeited.

•    Players must be aware of their All-In status. When a Player reaches the All-In limit, they must request that the limit be reset.

•    All-In's are not allowed for disconnections in Pot-Limit and No-Limit games.

•    Abuse of All-In protection, or suspicion by the House that a Player is purposely disconnecting from the Poker room, may result in the following:

•    Players being disqualified and removed from the game.

•    Players forfeiting all buy-in amounts.

•    Players being permanently banned from the Poker room.

Please Note: The House monitors the circumstances and frequency of All-In's.

Antes, Bring-ins and Corresponding Limits

For Stud games, the antes, bring-in bets and corresponding bet limits are not increased every few hands.
 

Bet Limits

The following rules apply:

•    Players cannot bet less than the minimum, or more than the maximum amount displayed. For example, in a R10 / R20 game, the minimum bet limit is R10 and the maximum bet limit is R20.

•    Bet limits are determined by the House per game and per table.

Bets and Raises

The following rule applies to Fixed-Limit games:

•    The betting is capped at four bets - one bet and three raises, per betting round. When the betting is capped, Players may only call or fold.

The following rule applies to Pot-Limit and No-Limit games:
•    There is no limit to the number of raises per betting round

Blinds and Posts

The following rules apply:

•    In Texas Hold 'em and Omaha blind bets are used to start the game play. The Player to the immediate left of the Dealer posts the small blind. The next Player to the left posts the big blind. The small blind is half of the minimum bet limit. The big blind is a full bet at the minimum bet limit. For example, in a R10 / R20 game, the small blind is R5 and the big blind is R10.

•    When new Players enter a game they are given a choice to post now or wait for the big blind. Players that decide to wait, receive no cards until it is their turn to post the big blind. Players that decide to post, bet the equivalent of one big blind and receive cards immediately.

•    Both the big blind and the post are considered live blinds. This means that Players on the big blind and Players that posted can raise their own blind bets.

•    Players that sit out, miss one or more blinds, and then sit in again, must either wait for the big blind to reach them again before receiving cards, or post both a big blind and a small blind to receive cards immediately.

Please Note:
When posting both blinds, only the big blind portion of the post is live. The small blind portion of the post is placed in the pot. The Player is penalized the equivalent of a small blind.

•    Blinds and Bet Limits are increased every few hands, up to the maximum set for the game.

•    If the Player on the small blind or big blind is eliminated, the dealer-button moves and the blinds skip a Player for that round.

•    When a Player is seated at a cash game and does not have enough chips to post a blind, he can not play the hand. However, if the Player is in a Tournament, the residual chips are automatically posted to the required blind.

Buy-in

The following rules apply:

•    There is a minimum buy-in amount for each game.

•    The minimum buy-in for any game is ten times the minimum bet limit. For example, the minimum buy-in in a R3 / R6 game is R3 x 10 = R30.

•    The buy-in amount from all Players in the game is added to the pot.

Checking and Raising

Check-raising is permitted in all games.

Pot

The following rules apply:

•    The pot accumulates as each Player antes, bets, calls and raises.

•    The pot goes to the winner of the hand.

•    If two or more Players have the same winning hand, they split the pot equally.

•    The House takes a small percentage of the pot. This is known as the rake.
 

Table Stakes

All games are played Table Stakes. This means that if a Player does not have enough chips on the table to complete or call a bet or a raise, the Player may bet or call All-In for the number of chips they have left.

Please Note:
To begin a hand, a Player must have enough chips remaining to place an ante or a blind bet, and a bet. Calling or betting All-In applies only when the hand is in progress. All-In cannot be used to post a short blind or ante.

Game Rules

All Actions Stand

The Player determines the action they want to perform in a game by clicking the appropriate Action button. Once a Player has selected an action, it is final. Players must ensure they select the correct action.

Poker Rules

All the basic rules of Poker and the specific game rules apply.

Joining a Game

A minimum of two Players are required to start a game.

Leaving a Game

If a Player leaves a game and returns to that game in less than sixty minutes, the Player must rejoin that game with the same number of chips they had when they left.
If a Player leaves one game to play in another game and loses, the Player may return to the first game and play at a lower bet limit.

Player Elimination

Players are eliminated from a game when they lose all their chips.
 

Playing at more than one Table

Players may play at more than one table at the same time.

Please Note: This is at the discretion of the House.

The following rules apply:

•    The House monitors Players that are playing at more than one table at the same time. This is to ensure that multiple-table play is not causing slow play. If the House determines that slow play is a result of playing at multiple tables, the Player is forced to play at one table only.

•    Players may not allege distraction or confusion as an excuse for errors made when playing at more than one table at the same time. Players are urged to consider the risk involved in playing at multiple tables at the same time. Errors that occur because of multiple-table play are strictly the Player's responsibility.

Showdown Rules

General

The following general Showdown rules apply:

•    The last Player to bet during a hand has to show their cards at the end of the hand.

•    If no Players have bet or raised in the final round, the Player who started the action in each round has to show their cards at the end of the hand.

•    Any Players who win any part of the pot show their cards automatically.

Please Note: Players that have uncontested wins can choose to show or muck their cards.

All-In During Showdown

The following additional rules apply when one or more Players are All-In:

•    When there are Players that are all-in during a Showdown, side pots exist. The showdown order starts with the last side pot then the previous, until it gets to the main pot. The Showdown order of play for each pot is clockwise.

•    If there are no more bets or raises until the end of the hand, for example when either there is only one Player left who is not all-in so the hand plays to the end, or all other Players check until the end of the hand, the Player who went all-in must show their cards and do not get the option to muck.

•    If there are more bets or raises by other Players after a Player went all-in and the Player who went all-in does not have a winning hand, the Player who went all-in has the option to muck.

Uncalled Bets in Showdown

If the last Player to bet, Player A was all-in, and one of the remaining Players, Player B, bet or raise and all other Players fold, then Player B's bet is returned as no Player called his bet.

Player A is considered the last player to bet, so Player A must show their cards.