2. Seats are assigned at random. Seat changes are not permitted.
3. At the beginning of a tournament, the position of the dealer button is determined for each table by dealing one card face-up to each player. The player who is dealt the highest card is the dealer for the first hand. In the case of a tie, the player who was dealt the first of the two high cards is awarded the button.
4. A tournament ends when one player accumulates all of the chips in play. If the tournament is a satellite event, it ends when all players have qualified for the target event (i.e., if the tournament awards five seats, it will end when there are five players remaining).
5. If two or more players are eliminated in the same hand, the players’ final positions are determined by who had the largest number of chips at the start of the hand. If the players started the hand with an identical number of chips, they finish in a tie and any prizes are equally distributed between them.
6. World Poker Exchange uses the same procedure for blinds in tournaments as in our ring games. We move the dealer button after every hand and attempt to ensure that no player misses posting his/her blinds. However, there are occasions on which a player may hold the button twice consecutively, or on which the button is at an empty seat. As these are basically random occurrences, no player will receive any long-term advantage, and this format is fair for all players.
7. When two players remain, the button posts the small blind and acts first in the opening round.
8. Disconnects:
- By participating in a tournament, a player accepts the risk of Internet disconnection due to problems with the connection between his/her computer and the server, lag, freezing, or other problems with the player's computer. World Poker Exchange accepts no responsibility for player disconnects, except in the case of a server crash.
- If a player times out during a hand, whether connected or disconnected, his/her hand will be folded.
- If a player is not connected before a hand starts, he/she will be dealt cards and his/her blind and/or ante will be posted. There is no rule against choosing to sit out; a player doing so will continue to have his/her blinds and antes posted and cards dealt.
10. In structured-limit tournaments, a bet and three raises are permitted in each round. There is no raise cap in pot-limit or no-limit tournaments.
11. As players are eliminated from a tournament, our software may move players to other tables to ensure that all tables have as close to an equal number of active players as possible. Such “balancing” of tables is done randomly, and may in rare cases result in a player having to post big blinds in consecutive hands. When 10 players remain in a Texas Hold 'em or Omaha tournament, or eight players remain in a Seven-Card Stud tournament, all players are brought together at the final table.
12. Prizes will be awarded as specified in the tournament lobby.
13. In the event of a server crash, the hands in progress at each table will be restored by rolling such hands back. Each player's chip count will be reset to the amount at the beginning of the hand. Under special circumstances, when it is impossible to restart a tournament following a server crash, the tournament will be cancelled and the unclaimed portion of the prize pool will be equally divided among all remaining players.
14. Players and observers are expected to use the chat feature in a courteous manner.
15. Regardless of whether they are involved in a hand, players may not discuss a hand until the action is complete. Players are obligated to protect the other participants at all times. Discussing discarded cards or hand possibilities is not allowed. A penalty may be imposed for discussing a hand during play.
16. Late registration is normally possible for 10 minutes after the start of a tournament. However, registration will terminate once all tables allocated at the time of seating are full, or the first player is eliminated.
17. For most tournaments, a player can unregister up to 10 minutes before the start of the tournament.
18. In cases of disputes, decisions of the World Poker Exchange management are final.
The minimum number of registered players required for any MTT to start is currently set at 10. If the minimum number is not reached by the start of a tournament, the tournament will be cancelled and the buy-in amount will not be deducted from any player's account. Unless otherwise noted, except in the case of certain promotional tournaments, the minimum number of registered players will remain at 10.