Terms and Conditions

 SKYCITY Auckland Satellite Poker Tournaments will be held from 2 July 2008 to 8 October 2008.

• Winners of the Satellite Poker Tournaments will receive automatic entry, either into other satellites that lead to the Main Event Tournament, or directly into the Main Event Tournament. (These dates may be subject to change).
• The Main Event Tournament will take place over 4 days 9 October 2008, which will play of for the inal on 12 October 2008. (These dates may be subject to change).
• There is a limit of 180 entrants per tournament.
• Registration is on a “first come, first in” basis.
• Registration must be made on the registration sheet.
• Registration Fees for the Satellite and Main Event Tournaments will be posted.
• Players may make multiple entries and advance entries for the Satellite Tournaments.
• A separate registration form is used for the Main Event Tournament.
• Only one entry per player to the Main Event Tournament will be permitted.
• Entries will only be valid on acceptance of full payment of registration fee.
• Entrants who are not present at the start of the tournament will forfeit the registration fee.
• As part of the first place prize, the winner of the Satellite Tournament will receive automatic entry into other satellites or the Main Event Tournament. Satellite winners must still register on the separate registration form used for the other satellites or the Main Event Tournament.
• Entries won are non-refundable but are transferable should a player win more than one seat.
• All SKYCITY Poker Tournaments are open to players 20 years of age and older. ID with proof of age is required on the day of the tournament.
• SKYCITY reserves the right to refuse entry into any tournament.
• Entries not submitted in accordance with the terms and conditions of SKYCITY Poker Tournaments will automatically disqualify the entrant from the tournament. Registration fees will not be refunded.

• Entry fees secured with credit cards will be charged to player’s credit card accounts AT THE TIME OF ENTRY.
• If a player reserves space in the tournament and secures it with a credit card, but does not show or cancel his/her reservation at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of registration, his/her credit card shall be charged the entry fee, which will be forfeited as a no-show fee. 
• If a player secures a space in the tournament with cash but does not show or cancel his/her reservation at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of registration, the prepaid entry fee shall be forfeited as a no-show fee. 
• No-show fees may be used to maintain the tournament prize structure.  

CANCELLATION AND REFUNDS

• To cancel a reservation, players may call the cashiers on +64 9 363 6315  or  +64 9 363 7021.
• Players who secure their reservations with credit cards or who have prepaid their entry fees in cash may be refunded provided they cancel their reservation at least 48 hours prior to the beginning of their scheduled registration. No-show fees may be used to maintain the tournament prize structure.
• SKYCITY reserves the right to cancel the tournament at its sole discretion and without prior notice.
• SKYCITY reserves the right to commence a tournament whether or not all 180 positions are filled.
• Participation in the SKYCITY Poker Tournaments confirms an entrant’s acceptance of the Terms and Conditions and to participate in any reasonable publicity that may be required by SKYCITY.
• In the event of a dispute, the decision by the Tournament Director is final. No discussion will be entered into. Subject to the New Zealand Gazetted Rules of Tournament Poker, SKYCITY reserves the right to alter any of the conditions of entry at any time without notice.
  

 ACCEPTANCE OF CREDIT CARDS

• SKYCITY may accept credit cards in exchange for chip purchase vouchers and fees for tournaments or promotional events.
• Only personal bank issued credit cards (i.e. Visa or MasterCard) will be accepted. Company or partnership account credit cards will not be accepted.The following limits will apply to all credit card transactions:
  
• For New Zealand resident customers who do not hold a Platinum or Gold Card - $500 maximum per day
• For customers visiting from overseas or New Zealand resident customers who hold a Platinum or Gold Card there will be no limit other than any personal limit imposed by the banking institution
• All credit card transactions will be made through the electronic banking system (i.e. EFTPOS) and each transaction will be approved accordingly. Application/entry fees for tournaments or promotional events may be processed manually.
  

FESTIVAL RULES

• Seats will be randomly assigned by a draw before the competition begins.
• A player must be seated in order to be eligible to play.
• If a pre-paid entrant is absent at the start of an event, a seat will be drawn by the Tournament Director and blinds will be posted. At some point an efort will be made to locate and contact the player. If the player requests the chips be left in place until arrival, the request will be honoured. If the player is unable to be contacted, the chips may be removed from play at the discretion of the Tournament Director any time after a new betting level is begun or a half hour has elapsed, whichever occurs irst.
• If a player is absent from the table, he/she will be dealt in and blinds will be posted as required.
• A player’s hand will be immediately declared dead if he/she is not seated once the initial dealing round is completed.
• The dead hand will be mucked.
• Players are prohibited from changing seats without the approval of the Tournament Supervisor.

• The dealer button will go to the seated player closest to the right of the Dealer.
• Once there are only two players remaining in the competition, the dealer button will go to the player who last paid the big blind. The small blind will be posted on the dealer button and the big blind will be dealt to first.
  

• A player is permitted at any time to bet their entire stake.
• The minimum bet after the lop is the amount of the big blind.
• A raise must be equal to or greater than the preceding bet or raise.
• A player who says raise but does not indicate the amount will be permitted to put out the amount of the call and then he/she will be restricted to putting out the raise in one motion unless he/she declares the amount of the raise.
• Once the amount of a raise has been declared, the player may make more than one motion.
• If a player is facing a bet and throws in an oversized chip, it will be restricted to a call unless a raise has been declared.
• If a player is not facing a bet and throws in an oversized chip, the amount of the bet will be held to the size of the chip.
• If a player announces raise, throws in an oversized chip and does not indicated the amount of the raise, the raise will be the value of the chip.
• A short all-in bet or raise is considered as  'action only'  and does not reopen betting to any player who has already acted on his/her hand.
• When a player who has multiple chips pushes all of them into the pot, they will be declared all-in regardless of the player's intention. 

• The minimum bet after the lop is the amount of the big blind.
• A raise must be equal to or greater than the preceding bet or raise.
• The maximum amount a player can raise is the amount of the pot after the call is made.  If a wager is made that exceeds the pot size, the surplus will be given back to the player as soon as possible and the amount will be reduced to the maximum allowable.
• A player who says raise but does not indicate the amount will be permitted to put out the amount of the call and then he/she will be restricted to putting out the raise in one motion unless he/she declares the amount of the raise.
• Once the amount of a raise has been declared, the player may make more than one motion.
• If a player is facing a bet and throws in an oversized chip, it will be restricted to a call unless a raise has been declared.
• If a player is not facing a bet and throws in an oversized chip, the amount of the bet will be held to the size of the chip.
• If a player announces raise, throws in an oversized chip and does not indicate the amount of the raise, the raise will be the value of the chip, allowable up to the pot.
• A short all-in bet or raise is considered as  'action only'  and does not reopen betting to any player who has already acted on his/her hand.
• When a player who has multiple chips pushes all of them into the pot, they will be either declared all-in, or if they exceed the maximum allowable, to raise the pot, regardless of the player's intention. 

• A player must show all cards in the hand face-up on the table to win any part of the pot.
• Cards speak (cards read for themselves). The Dealer assists in reading hands, but the players are responsible for holding onto their cards until the winner is declared. Although verbal declarations as to the contents of a hand are not binding, deliberately miscalling a hand with the intent of causing another player to discard a winning hand is unethical and may result in forfeiture of the pot.

• As players are knocked out (lose their stake) of the tournament, the number of players at the tables will decrease.  In order to maintain an equal number of players at each table or to consolidate the tables, the Tournament Supervisor will balance the tables by moving a player or players from a fuller table to one that is short-handed – down a minimum of 2 or more players.
• The player who would be required to post the big blind at the start of the next hand will be the person selected to move to the short-handed table. Players who are being moved will be reassigned to the big blind position or if this/her seat is not available, they will be seated at the irst open seat in front of the big blind.
• Players are obliged to promptly move to their new table/seats and required to use a chip rack to carry their chips.
• Players who intentionally dodge their blinds when moving to a new table will forfeit the amount of the missed blinds. The missed blinds will be placed in the next pot as dead money.
• As tables close, players will be given a  ‘marker’  button, indicating their new table and seat assignment.
• A new player will be dealt in immediately, unless his/her new seat is located between the dealer button and the natural small blind.
• All new players will assume any beneit or obligation associated with his/her new seat assignment, including coming in on the small blind, big blind or dealer button.

• The following penalties will be utilised by the Games Supervisor when necessary:  Verbal Warning, 10-minute time-out, 20-minute time-out, and disqualiication. Players who are disqualiied will not be entitled to a refund.
• The Penalty Clock will start at the beginning of the next hand.
• Players who receive a time-out penalty will be required to leave the table and not be allowed to return until the clock has expired.
• The player in time-out will be considered  ‘absent from the table’  with all applicable rules.

• Their top priority when making a decision will be to protect the integrity and fairness of the game. By taking a seat in the tournament, players agree to abide by the rulings made by the supervisor.

• Before the tournament begins, all entrants must show ID (proof of age-20 years or older) that matches the name on the tournament entry form.
• All registration fees must be paid in full before the start of the tournament.

• Tournaments are played using non-value chips that are used solely to determine the outcome of the competition.
• Tournament chips must be kept in plain view at all times.
• The largest denomination of chips must be kept in the front of the player’s stack.
• Players will be required to give an accurate count of their chips when asked to do so by another player or Tournament Supervisor.
• At no time will a player be permitted to conceal tournament chips on his/her person or inside an object.  Any player doing so will forfeit all of the concealed chips.
• At no time will a player be permitted to take tournament chips out of the Poker Zone, i.e. toilets or other casino areas.
• The odd chip in a split pot will go to the player with the highest value hole card and where two players have hole cards of the same value then by suit.

• Players seated to the left of the dealer button will post the blinds
• Blinds will be increased according to the tournament playing structure.
• When time has elapsed and the new blind levels are announced, the new limits apply to the next hand.  A hand has begun with the irst rile.
• Players are entitled to receive action on their entire stake (all-in), regardless of the amount of chips. Players cannot be forced out of contention based solely on their inability to post a blind or to make a full bet or raise.
• No player is permitted to call a short all-in big blind, unless they are heads-up. All players retain their right to fold and the irst active player who wishes to play the hand will be required to either come in for the full amount of the big blind or come in for a full raise.

• As the blinds increase, smaller chip denominations will become redundant.
• Dealers will require players to  ‘colour up’  all of their smaller denomination chips for chips of a larger denomination. Players must conirm that the colour up is correct.
• The Tournament Supervisor will collect and remove the redundant chips.
• Leftover smaller denomination chips (odd amounts that cannot be coloured up) will be spread in front of the respective players.
• Starting with the player to the immediate left of the Dealer, the Dealer will give each player one card for every leftover chip – e.g. 3 leftover chips = 3 cards
• The Dealer will then collect all of the leftover chips and colour them up for an equivalent amount of larger denomination chips. 
• If a player had no chips other than the odd amount of leftovers, his/her player will be given one larger denomination chip immediately. The player’s cards will be mucked.
• The Dealer will then give the player with the highest card one of the larger denomination chips. The next larger denomination chip will go to the other player (no player in the race of should get more than one larger denomination chip) with the next highest card and the process will be repeated until all of the larger denomination chips have been exhausted.

• A player is not permitted to make a speciic comment about the content of another player’s hand.
• Players are not permitted to make speciic comments about the content of their hand.
• A player is not permitted to advise other players on how they should play their hand.
• A player is not permitted to either ask for and/or receive assistance on how to play his/her hand. However, once the action is completed and a player has tabled his/her hand, any player may assist in the reading of the hand.
• Players are expected to vigorously play their hands at all times. A player should never check in an efort to keep from eliminating or winning chips from another player.
• Players are not permitted to request to view burn cards or cards from the deck.
• Players who fail to move (balancing tables) without delay will be penalised.
• A player who intentionally releases his/her cards in such a way as to cause them to go of the table will receive a penalty.
• A player is not permitted to expose his/her down cards.  The exception is heads up play.
• English is the only language permitted during the competition regardless of whether the player is in the hand or not.
• The use of electronic devices is strictly prohibited.
• Spectators are not permitted to sit at an active table or sit behind another player.
• Disruptive or abusive behaviour towards a player or employee will not be tolerated.
• Cards and chips must be kept in plain view at all times.

 
Tournament Terms & Conditions