Rules

Investment and prizes.  27 players each contribute $1,000 per season. The $27,000 season prize pool will be awarded as follows:

Winners must play in WSOP.  The first-place finisher must play in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas. All non-first-place winners must play in one or more  of the following WSOP qualified events in Las Vegas: $580 Main Event mega satellite, $1,100 Main Event mega satellite, and/or $2,175 Main Event mega satellite. If any winning player chooses not to attend the WSOP (for reasons other than health and/or family emergencies), the prize package will go to the next runner-up. If a non-first-place winner earns their Main Event seat through a mega satellite tournament but still has funds remaining from their original WSOP prize, they may keep the balance of those funds.

Splitting WSOP prize money.  If a winning player cashes in the $10,000 WSOP Main Event, the proceeds will be divided in two, with 50% of the proceeds going to the player and 50% of the proceeds split evenly among the remaining league players.

League structure and point system.  10 no-limit texas holdem tournaments will be played at a rate of approximately once per month from August to May. Points will be awarded to each player based on their placed finish each month—27 points for first, 26 points for second, and so on. If two players get knocked out of a given tournament with exactly the same chips, they will split a point (e.g., 8.5 and 8.5 points). Our league follows the standard WSOP $1,100 Mega Satellite structure. We each start with 10,000 in chips. The only difference is that our levels are 20 minutes in duration instead of 30 minutes. Each player will count their best 8 out of 10 tournament point scores toward the season total. In the event two players’ “Best 8” points tally are tied, the player with the most top-place finishes (excluding substitute player scores) will break the tie. For example, if two players are tied for third place and neither has a first-place finish during the season, the player with the most second-place finishes will break the tie.

Substitute players.  Each player may have up to two substitute players per season play in monthly tournaments in their place. However, only substitute players who have been pre-approved by the league commissioner may be used, and requests to use substitute players must be submitted to the league commissioner prior to play in any given monthly tournament. Scores earned by substitute players will count toward season totals, however substitute player scores cannot be applied toward season tie breakers. If a player cannot attend a given monthly tournament, and they fail to provide a substitute player or they have already reached the limit of substitute players, they will receive 1 point for each no-show. Of course, they may drop that month’s score as each player only counts their best 8 out of 10 month scores on the season. All other attending players will receive points based on their tournament finish regardless of the number of no-show players. For example, a given tournament may have three no-show players earning 1 point each, but if an attending player gets knocked out first, they’ll earn 1 point, as well, rather than 4 points.

Starting on time.  Play for each tournament will start at 6pm. If a player is late, their chips will be blinded off until they arrive or the end of the first scheduled break is completed—whichever comes first. If they don’t arrive before the end of the first break, their chips will be retired from the tournament and they will receive appropriate points as the next-place finisher.

Tournament cash prizes.  In addition to the $1,000 season fee, each player will invest $20 for each league tournament played. The spirit for this rule is to ensure that players always have something to play for—even if they’re mathematically eliminated from prizes later in the season. Each tournament cash pool should equate to $540 (27 players x $20). Each cash prize is “winner take all.”

TDA rules govern.  Each tournament will follow industry-standard rules published by the Poker Tournament Directors Association. Click here to download a copy of standard TDA rules. In the event of a discrepancy among two or more players, TDA rules will be consulted.