Tournament Information
To register for our online poker tournaments, log into the game and click on the “Tournaments” tab.
Poker Tournament Types
Play Money Buy-In:
A Play Money Buy-In is a tournament where the players buy-in with play money. Players are paid out in play money. These online poker tournaments will be indicated in the tournament lobby as Play Money.
Play Money Sit'n'Go:
A Sit'n'Go is a tournament with a predetermined number of seats that starts as soon as those seats are full. Sit'n'Go (SNG) tournaments are usually limited to one or two tables and run in various formats including Heads-up and 6 player tables. Unlike scheduled tournaments there are no breaks throughout the game, and the play money payouts are predetermined based on game type and number of seats.
Play Money Turbo:
A Turbo Tournament is an online poker tournament where the bet levels increase more rapidly than regular poker tournaments. Currently the levels in our Turbo Tournaments are set to increase every 5 minutes.
Play Money Private:
Private tournaments are poker tournaments designed in support of an affiliate, player, or cardroom, where the access to sign up is restricted to select group of players. Play money Buy-Ins and Payouts will vary.
Qualifier:
Qualifier tournaments allow players to gain entry into another event for a nominal amount; normally 1 token. The final event is closed to registrants other than those qualifying through a Qualifier tournament and qualifier winners are registered by the system. Qualifier tournaments are displayed in the tournament lobby as Qualifier or Qual.
Satellite:
Satellite tournaments allocate a portion of the prize pool equal to the buy-in for the linked higher buy-in tournament. The payout for a satellite tournament will indicate "Seat" when the payout qualifies as an entry into the linked tournament. The linked tournament is normally classified as a "Main Event" but can be another satellite tournament linked to the main event. Satellite tournaments allow players to buy in at lower limits to earn a seat in a higher buy in event. Players winning a Seat through a Satellite tournament are automatically registered for the linked tournament by the system and are not permitted to withdraw without operator invention. The Main Event tournament may or may not be open to direct registrations.
Online Poker Tournament Structure
Most online poker tournaments will start with an initial chip stack of 1500 chips. For special poker tournaments, the starting chip stack may be increased or decreased but will always be reflected in the associated information for the tournament at the registration pages. Bet limits, bet limit timing increases and payouts vary according to the poker tournament type but are fully described on the tournament information pages for each tournament.
As a norm, online poker tournament bet levels increase in increments of 10 minutes on single table tournaments and 15 minutes on multi-table tournaments, depending upon the tournament game type. In a poker tournament denoted as "Turbo", the bet level increase more rapidly; normally in 5 minute increments.
Online Poker Tournament Rules
By registering in poker tournaments, you acknowledge and agree to abide by these rules.
- Any registered player is eligible to play.
- By registering in any of these online poker tournaments, you agree to abide by these rules. You acknowledge that management reserves the right to amend rules and to make decisions in the best interest of the tournament, even if no rules applicable to a situation are defined.
- Rules and procedures covering regular ring games shall apply, except where superceded by those for these online poker tournaments.
- You may withdraw from the poker tournament PRIOR to the start time of the tournament by clicking on the "Withdraw" button. The buy-in and the entry fee will be refunded to your account at that time. Once the online poker tournament registration has closed, you will not be able to withdraw and will forfeit your buy-in and entry fee.
- Planet Poker is not responsible for your connectivity during the online poker tournament. There is NO all-in protection. If you are not present to call a bet, your hand will be folded until you are able to reconnect or you have no chips remaining and are eliminated from the poker tournament. Because of the nature of online poker tournaments, disconnections should be considered a bad break, like an unfortunate run of cards, and part of the luck of the game. We will not stop the online poker tournament to wait for a player to reconnect, even at the final table. The software will continue to collect all appropriate blinds and antes from you in your absence. After three hands if the player is still absent they will automatically post a big blind every hand unless they are in the small blind position. If an absent player is moved between tables within a tournament, they are granted an additional three hand grace period before the system begins posting big blinds on their behalf. If you run out of chips, you will be eliminated from the tournament. If you run out of chips as a finalist entitled to prize money, you will receive the appropriate prize money, even if you're not online at the time.
- Interruption of an online poker tournament for whatever reason, whether connection (Internet) or system related:
If an online poker tournament is interrupted, management will make the fairest decision possible with respect to the continuation or cancellation of the poker tournament, based on the best information available at the time. In some cases, the online poker tournament may be cancelled, and all buy-ins refunded regardless of player standings at the time of the failure. - Our software should summon a player from within the cardroom when the tournament is about to begin. The player is responsible for joining the tournament through either the summons, My Games window or double-clicking the tournament.
- The online poker tournament will continue until one player has all the chips. You may not purchase additional chips beyond the initial buy-in (no rebuys). As players are eliminated they will be removed from the table and placed on the spectator list.
- Tournament Chips have no monetary value and do not indicate the amount of the prize pool. They are used solely for the purpose of determining who wins which prizes. The Prize Pool is described in the client software for each online poker tournament.
- There is no rake collected in our poker tournaments.
- The limits, blinds, and the time between limit increases will be stated in the poker tournament information screen for each individual tournament.
- Each betting round consists of one bet, and up to a maximum of three raises for fixed limit events (4 bets total). This also applies when there are only two players remaining at the table. This rule does not apply for No Limit or Pot Limit games where the maximum number of raises is unlimited.
- If you lose all your chips, you are out of the online poker tournament and finish in the order you were eliminated. If two or more players are eliminated at the same time, the chip value at the start of the hand will determine the order in which they finish, with the highest value finishing ahead of the lower value.
- Players must play their hands independently and cannot tell opponents how to act. A player violating this rule will forfeit any winnings in that poker tournament.
- All tournament winnings will be awarded once the tournament completes.
- During the course of a tournament, a player may choose to Sit Out or may be absent for technical reasons. The player will be required to post any blinds in turn for the first five hands that they are absent. After five absent hands, the player will be required to post the Big Blind each hand by means of a penalty.
- In ante tournaments, players who fail to take their seat within 15 minutes of tournament start time will be removed from the tournament by the system to allow the other players to complete the tournament in a timely fashion.
- Management's decisions are final.
Good luck, and have a great time!
