N.J. Admin. Code § 13:47-20.40

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 17, September 3, 2024

Section 13:47-20.40 - Rules of Texas Hold $DQ$em tournament

(a) The following words and terms as used for Texas Hold 'em tournaments shall have the following meanings:

"All-in" means a player bets all of his or her chips.

"Betting interval" means the period of play during which each player has an opportunity to bet, check, raise, call or drop (fold).

"Big blind" means a mandatory bet, typically twice the amount of the small blind, placed by the player to the left of the small blind position before cards are dealt.

"Board/community cards" means the cards dealt face up in the middle of the table that may be used by all players in constructing a standard five card poker hand.

"Burning" means discarding the top card from the deck face down.

"Call" means a player placing enough chips into the pot to make their contribution equal to, but not greater than, the contribution of any other player.

"Check" means a player remains in the round of play but does not place a bet. This may only occur if no previous player has made a bet during the betting interval.

"Dealer button" means an object used to designate the player in the dealer position.

"Equipment" means the standard 52 card deck of playing cards and chips used for betting during the conduct of Texas Hold 'em.

"Fold (drop)" means a player discards his or her hand and no longer participates in the round of play.

"Hand" means any combination of two pocket cards and/or five board/community cards that are used to create a standard five card poker hand.

"Hi/Lo" means a variation of Texas Hold 'em in which the highest and/or lowest poker hands split the pot.

"Pocket cards" means the two cards dealt face down to each player that can be used only by that player in constructing a standard five card poker hand.

"Raise" means a player places enough chips in the pot to call, plus one or more chips.

"Rake/cutting of pot" means that the entity holding a Texas Hold 'em tournament takes a portion of the pot as poker revenue.

"Re-buy" means the fee paid by a player to purchase additional chips.

"Round of play" means the period of play commencing with the first card dealt by the dealer and concluding with the awarding of the pot.

"Side pot" means a new pot(s) established by the dealer after a player has gone all-in and additional bets have been placed.

"Small blinds" means the mandatory bet placed by the player immediately to the left of the dealer button before any cards are dealt.

"Wild card" means a card that may serve as any other suit or value in making a poker hand.

(b) A Texas Hold 'em tournament shall be conducted with equipment that is owned by the licensee or rented from a casino equipment provider approved by the Legalized Games of Chance Control Commission and maintained in accordance with 13:47-20.15(a).

(c) In a Texas Hold 'em tournament, all players shall pay an established buy-in for the same value of chips; chips shall not have a cash redemption value.

(d) A Texas Hold 'em tournament shall be played at tables large enough to accommodate a dealer and up to 11 players in such a manner as to ensure that players may examine their cards without disclosing their value to other players.

(e) The method of play for a round of play in a Texas Hold 'em tournament shall be as follows:

1. The dealer shall manually shuffle the cards prior to each round of play;

2. Prior to the first round of play, the dealer shall place the dealer button in front of the player immediately to the dealer's left. The dealer shall move the button to the next player in a clockwise direction prior to commencing each subsequent round of play;

3. The player immediately to the left of the dealer button shall post the required small blind before the beginning of each round of play;

4. The player immediately to the left of the small blind position shall post the required big blind before the beginning of each round of play. When all but two players have been eliminated from the table, the player with the dealer button shall post the small blind and the other player shall post the big blind;

5. All cards shall be dealt clockwise beginning with the player immediately to the left of the dealer button;

6. The dealer shall commence betting interval one by burning a card and then dealing one card to each player face down, then a second card to each player face down;

7. Players may examine their pocket cards at any time;

8. Players shall keep their pocket cards face down in full view of the dealer at all times and shall ensure that they are examined in a manner that does not disclose their value to other players;

9. Betting interval one shall proceed as follows:

i. The player immediately to the left of the big blind position is the first to act and must call, raise or fold (drop);

ii. Betting continues in a clockwise direction until each player has had an opportunity to call, raise or fold (drop), with the exception of the player in the big blind position who may check if no other player has raised; and

iii. Raises are limited to three per the betting interval;

10. The dealer shall commence betting interval two by burning a card and then dealing three board/community cards face up in the middle of the table, commonly referred to as the Flop;

11. Betting interval two shall proceed as follows:

i. The player immediately to the left of the dealer button is the first to act and must bet, check or fold (drop).

ii. Betting continues in a clockwise direction until each player has an opportunity to bet, check, call, raise or fold (drop); and

iii. Raises are limited to three per the betting interval;

12. The dealer shall commence betting interval three by burning a card and dealing one board/community card face up, commonly referred to as the Turn;

13. Betting interval three shall proceed as in (e)11 above;

14. The dealer shall commence betting interval four by burning a card and dealing one board/community card face up, commonly referred to as the River;

15. Betting interval four shall proceed as in (e)11 above;

16. Upon completion of the four betting intervals:

i. If only one player remains in the round of play (that is all but one player has folded (dropped)), the remaining player is not obligated to show his or her hand; or

ii. If two or more players remain in the round of play, the player who made the last bet shall show his or her hand first, or, if no player has placed a bet, all remaining players shall show their hands;

17. Any combination of a player's pocket cards and/or board/community cards may be used to construct a standard five card poker hand;

18. If only two players remain in a round of play, and one player does not have enough chips to call the bet made by the other player, then the player with the fewest chips may move all-in and the player with the most chips shall remove enough chips from his or her bet to make it equal to the bet of the player moving all-in. The round of play will then continue with no further betting;

19. If two or more players wish to bet more than the bet of another player moving all-in, the dealer shall establish a side pot;

20. The dealer shall declare the last remaining player the winner or determine the winning hand among the remaining players in accordance with the appropriate ranking of poker combinations consistent with (f) below;

21. In the event of a tie the high card not used in the poker combination shall break the tie;

22. If a tie cannot be broken the pot shall be split equally between the players who have the hands that are tied;

23. Pots shall be awarded to the player(s) with the winning hand; and

24. The dealer shall collect the cards and shuffle them prior to the next round of play.

(f) The ranking of poker hands, from highest to lowest, is as follows:

1. Royal flush;

2. Straight flush;

3. Four-of-a-kind;

4. Full house;

5. Flush;

6. Straight;

7. Three-of-a-kind;

8. Two pairs; and

9. One pair.

(g) In Texas Hold 'em, all suits have the same value. The rank of cards, from highest to lowest, shall be ace, king, queen, jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, except when an ace is used as a low card in a straight (ace, 2, 3, 4, 5).

(h) Re-buys are permitted. A maximum of three re-buys are permitted within the first hour of play.

(i) The order of finish for a Texas Hold 'em tournament shall be determined by one of the following methods:

1. If play continues until all but one player is eliminated, the order of finish shall be the order of elimination from last to first. The last remaining player shall be declared the winner; or

2. If play stops at a set time, the order of finish shall be determined by ranking the value of chips held by each player at the end of play from highest to lowest. The player having the highest value of chips shall be declared the winner.

(j) The following restrictions shall apply to the method of play:

1. Wild cards are prohibited;

2. Hi/Lo games are prohibited;

3. Rake/cutting of pots is prohibited;

4. A player shall not bet on more than one hand in any round of play;

5. Players are prohibited from exchanging information concerning their hand; and

6. Players that fold (drop) from the round of play shall not reveal their pocket cards.

(k) A player shall be eliminated from a Texas Hold 'em tournament when he or she has lost all of his or her chips and is not able to re-buy.

(l) Any dispute concerning a Texas Hold 'em tournament shall be referred to the licensed Class A Casino Night Operator for final determination.

(m) A casino night holder conducting a Texas Hold 'em tournament shall post the rules governing the tournament in a conspicuous manner. Such posting shall include:

1. Buy-in and value of chips received;

2. If the holder permits re-buys, a statement that includes:

i. The number of allowed re-buys (maximum of three);

ii. The purchase price for each re-buy;

iii. The value of chips received with each re-buy; and

iv. The period of time during which re-buys are permitted (limited to, at most, the first hour of play);

3. The time that the tournament will end or a statement that the tournament will continue until all but one player is eliminated;

4. The amount of blinds and the progression of increase in the blinds;

5. A statement that raises are limited to three per betting interval;

6. The prize payout schedule; and

7. Any other information essential to a player's understanding of how the tournament will be conducted.

(n) No casino night holder shall conduct more than six Texas Hold 'em tournaments in a calendar year.

(o) A casino night holder shall conduct a Texas Hold 'em tournament only when at least one other casino night game authorized by 13:47-20.4 is being played.

N.J. Admin. Code § 13:47-20.40

New Rule, R.2011 d.122, effective 4/18/2011.
See: 42 N.J.R. 2584(a), 43 N.J.R. 1032(c).