Tournament Rules¶

This section of the guide only describes Tournament rules and Tournament Types.

The Tournament rules as listed here are intended to complement the Terms of Service, not replace them. In the event of a discrepancy between the Tournament rules and Terms of Service, the Terms of Service shall take precedence.

General¶

25. Unibet will at all times consider the best interests of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can on occasion dictate that decisions in the interest of fairness take priority over the technical rules.

26. All tournaments will begin promptly at the scheduled time stated in the Full Tournament Lobby. Unibet reserves the right to delay or cancel a tournament without prior notice.

27. Important information about each tournament, including the blind structure, length of rounds, re-buy and break information, can be found in the Specific Tournament Lobby. Unibet reserves the right to change the parameters of any tournament at any time without notice.

28. Seats are assigned at random. Seat changes are not permitted. If a player registers for a tournament and is not logged in at the time the tournament starts – he/she will automatically be seated at a table. This player is then blinded-off until there are no chips left, or until he/she logs in to play.

29. The button will be positioned at the last occupied seat to start play

30. There is no limit to the number of raises permitted

31. Prizes will be awarded as stated in the Specific Tournament Lobby, except when the tournament is cancelled (see Unibet Tournament Cancellation Policy). Which prize structure is used depends on several factors including the number of entrants and the number of players per table. The prize structure is not finalized until registration has closed.

32. Late registration: Late registration is available in most tournaments. The length of the late registration period varies, but will always be shown in the Tournament Info dialog, which can be seen in the Full Tournament Lobby. Late registration time is measured in tournament levels. For example, if the lobby shows the tournament to have 4 levels of late registration, the late registration will close after 4th level in the tournament finishes. Late registration will close early if enough players are eliminated to begin payouts. Please note that players are only allowed to participate in a tournament once, unless re-entry is permitted, as specified in the Full Tournament Lobby. One player using multiple accounts to enter multiple times into a single tournament is not permitted, and may result in penalties including a warning, disqualification from the tournament (with partial or full forfeiture of winnings), and barring from Unibet.

33. Un-registration: Most tournaments allow un-registration until a few minutes before the event begins. The exact time at which un-registration closes is specified in the Tournament Info dialog for each tournament, and may vary from event to event. Players will be reimbursed for the tournament in the same payment method they used when registering, either money or tournament ticket. Players who have won their seats through a satellite may unregister if the event allows it. However, they will receive a Tournament Ticket in exchange for their seat. Note that some satellites will end after the start of the target tournament but during Extended Registration. In such cases, the satellite winners will be seated directly into the target event at the conclusion of the satellite.

34. Registration and un-registration times may vary between tournaments of different types. Not all tournaments allow un-registration – this information will usually be highlighted at the time of registration. Check the Full Tournament Lobby and Tournament Info dialog for the exact registration details for each tournament. Unibet reserves the right to alter registration and un-registration times without prior notice.

Buy-in Amount and Entrance Fee¶

The following rules apply:

35. There is a fixed buy-in amount and entrance fee for each tournament. The entrance fee is usually approximately 10% of the buy-in amount. A percentage of the cumulative buy-in amount from all players in the tournament may be pooled as the prize money.

36. Once the de-registration end time for a tournament has passed, or the tournament has started, players may not de-register. The buy-in amount and entrance fee are non-refundable.

37. Some tournaments may have a minimum registration requirement. If the registration does not meet the minimum requirements, the tournament is cancelled. If the tournament is cancelled, players are refunded their buy-in amounts and entrance fees.

38. Tournament chips have no value other than as counters in the tournament. Tournament chips have no cash-out value. Note: There is no buy-in amount and entrance fee in Freeroll Tournaments. However, there might be requirements for being able to enter into the Freeroll.

Prize Structure¶

39. Full information about a tournament’s prize structure can be found in the Specific Tournament Lobby. Unibet management reserves the right to alter the tournament schedule, structure and/or payout or cancel any tournament without advance notice.

Sitting Out¶

40. Unlike in a Cash Game, when a player sits out in a tournament game, he/she is dealt cards in every hand, and blinds and antes are posted from his/her stack like normal. A sitting out player in a tournament can be thought of as a player who immediately folds every hand when it’s his/her turn. If a player doesn’t return to a tournament, he/she forfeits all buy-in amounts and entrance fees.

Eliminations¶

41. Most tournaments end when one player accumulates all the chips in play, or when all remaining players will receive the same prize (for example, if the tournament awards five identical prizes to the top five, the tournament may end when there are five players left). If two or more players are eliminated on the same hand, a player with more chips at the start of the hand finishes higher than a player with fewer chips. If multiple players started the hand with an identical number of chips, their finishing order will be decided at random. During “hand for hand” play, two or more players eliminated during a single “synchronized” hand are treated as having been eliminated simultaneously, even if they are at different tables.

Table Balancing¶

The following rules apply:

42. Table balancing occurs as players are eliminated from the tournament. Remaining players are moved and tables are consolidated, until only one table remains in the tournament. A message is displayed to players notifying them that tables are being consolidated. The poker system randomly selects the player to move from one of the tables with the most remaining players. The player is moved to one of the tables with the least remaining number of players. The player that is moved is seated at the new table as far away from the Big Blind as possible, according to the available seats.

Hand for Hand¶

43. At certain stages of the tournament (for example, where the prize money jumps significantly with the next few players eliminated) and when there is more than one table remaining, the tournament may be played “hand for hand”. This means that if one table finishes its hand before the other table(s), that table waits for the other table(s) to finish before the next hand is dealt. During this hand for hand period, all eliminations during a “synchronized” hand (even at different tables) are treated as having happened simultaneously, for purposes of determining finish order. Finishing order is then based on comparing stack sizes, not on who lost their chips earlier.

Tournament Winnings¶

44. All winnings are deposited to the player’s account as soon as they are knocked out of the tournament (or when the tournament finishes in the case of the player(s) who wins)

House Rules¶

45. The House reserves the right to do the following:

• Disqualify any players who do not follow tournament rules, or who act inappropriately during a tournament;
• Take further action against those players if necessary, including confiscating funds and/or barring them from the site;
• Change any tournament time, guaranteed prize, or tournament, without prior notice;
• Alter the rules and make final decisions on all tournament related issues as they occur;

All decisions are at the discretion of the operator, and are final.

Button Rule¶

46. In tournaments Unibet uses a button rule that ensures that every player will get the Big Blind exactly once per orbit. The Big Blind will never skip over a player, and never fall twice in a row to the same player. When players are eliminated, this rule will sometimes result in a hand missing the Small Blind, or button getting stuck in the same position for multiple hands. We feel that the Big Blind position has the most drastic effect on players’ tournament lives and thus this system ensures maximum fairness. When two players remain at the final table, the button will post the Small Blind, and act first on the opening round.

Synchronized Breaks¶

47. Tournaments with synchronized breaks will go on break at 55 minutes past the hour. For example, a tournament which begins at 07:25 will go on break at 07:55, 08:55, 09:55 and every hour thereafter until the tournament ends. Tournaments of this type can be identified by the phrase “The tournament goes on break at 55 minutes past the hour”. In all cases, the tournament will wait for hands at all tables to complete before the break period begins. This means that at some tables, the break will last slightly longer than at other tables. If a tournament is in its first level at 55 minutes past the hour, it will not go on break, regardless of whether it uses synchronized breaks or not.

Disconnects and Sitting Out¶

48. By participating in a tournament, a player accepts the risk of Internet disconnection due to problems with the connection between their computer and the servers, lag or freeze or some other problem in the player’s computer or the Internet:

• Unibet does not accept any responsibility for a player disconnect except in the case of a server crash
• While each user is responsible for his/her own Internet connection, Unibet makes an effort to protect players who are disconnected during the final stages of a real money tournament, by allowing extra time to reconnect
• If a player times out during a hand, whether connected or disconnected, his/her hand will be folded if facing action, or may be checked if facing no action
• If a player is not connected before a hand starts, he/she will be dealt cards, and a blind and/or antes will be posted. There is no rule against a single player choosing to sit out. The player doing so will continue to have blinds and antes posted and cards dealt. Two or more players may not make any agreement to sit out simultaneously, whether at the same table or different tables.

Unethical Play¶

49. Poker is an individual (not a team) game. Any action or chat intended to help another player is unethical and is prohibited. Unethical play, such as soft-play (playing less aggressively against a partner) and chip dumping (intentionally losing chips to a partner), may result in penalties, including seizure of funds from the offender’s account and/or termination of the account. Unibet routinely reviews game play to look for violations of our rules and to ensure the integrity of our games. It may be necessary to withhold player winnings until the completion of game play reviews.

Server Issues¶

50. In the event of a server crash, the hands in progress at every table will be restored by rolling back those hands. Each player’s chip count will be reset to the amount at the beginning of the hand. In special circumstances, when a tournament needs to be cancelled because of a crash or some other reason, players will be compensated according to Unibet Tournament Cancellation Policy.

Understanding and Abiding by the Rules¶

51. By entering a tournament, players acknowledge that they have read, understood and agree to abide by all Rules. Unibet reserves the right to change any rules without prior notice.