Rules

Admission

1.1 Anyone and everyone is invited to join the league as long as they and other league members feel they are capable of abiding to all the rules and competing in the right spirit.

1.2 There shall be no initial entrance fee. For further details on payment, see: 3.

1.3 After the season has started, new players are welcome to apply to join. However, a two-thirds majority decision from existing members will be required for entrance to be granted.

1.4 All admissions shall be considered. An ideal number of players will be between 6 and 8.

Fixtures

2.1 Ideally, all members will be able to host a fixture.

2.2 If a fixture is arranged, ALL league members MUST be invited. This is to ensure that no divides develop in the league and that all players are given a fair and equal opportunity to compete for points and participate in their league. This rule is fundamental to the grounds on which the league shall be formed.

2.3 If a player agrees to attend a fixture, but then does not give 24 hours of notice that they will be absent, sanctions may be imposed. All cases shall be judged independently and voted on by the group as a democracy. For more information on Sanctions, see 8.1. For more information on democracy, see: 6.

2.4 Fixtures shall not be tactically arranged. This includes announcing fixtures too close to each other, purposely arranging fixtures where a rival member is unavailable to participate. All matters shall be considered individually.

2.5 A minimum of four players shall contest each fixture.

Money

3.1 All fixtures shall be contested for money.

3.2 Each member shall pay £5 to play each fixture. The fixture shall be contested for the combined total of this money.

3.3 Distribution of this money shall be agreed before play begins. First and second place finishers shall always receive at least their money back.

3.4 In addition to the £5 entry for each fixture, an additional £1 shall be paid each fixture, which shall be put towards the prize fund for the final table. This money shall be kept safe throughout the season. For more information on the final table, see: 9.

Game Play

4.1 All fixtures shall be played under standard Texas Hold ‘Em rules.

4.2 If a player has to leave early, they are not encouraged to tell anyone other than the host. This is to discourage negative tactics.

4.3 If a player needs to use the toilet, their hands will continue to be dealt, but will be declared dead after the dealing has been completed.

Points Distribution

5.1 For the purposes of starting chip count at the final table, a league table will be constructed and updated after each fixture has taken place.

5.2 Points shall be distributed as follows:
5.2.1 20 points shall be awarded for participating in a fixture.
5.2.2 20 points shall be awarded for each person a player finishes above.
5.2.2.1 For finishing 3rd, an additional 10% of the points gained in point 5.2.2 shall be awarded.
5.2.2.2 For finishing 2nd, an additional 30% of the points gained in point 5.2.2 shall be awarded.
5.2.2.3 For finishing 1st, an additional 50% of the points gained in point 5.2.2 shall be awarded.
5.2.3 5 points shall be awarded for each knockout that a player achieves.

Example:

A player finishes 1st in a 6 player game. They directly knock out each of the other 5 players. They receive:

20 points for participating.
20 x 5 points. The player finished above 5 other players, therefore receives 100 points.
50% of 100 for finishing 1st. 50 points.
5 x 5 for the five knockouts they have achieved. 25 points.
195 points in total.

Democracy

6.1 The league shall be formed as a democracy, with no authority figure(s).

6.2 All disputable matters shall be voted on. A 50% majority must be reached.
6.2.1 If the voting is concerning a decision that has to be made during the course of a fixture, the host will cast the deciding vote in the result of a tie.

6.3 In the unlikely event of a player’s place in the league coming into doubt, a unanimous decision from all the other players must be reached for them to be evicted from the league.

6.4 All rules are open to amendment. A two thirds majority must be reached for the amendment of a rule to be processed. Updates to rules will be published at www.fopole.blogspot.com

Cheating

7.1 There will be zero tolerance on cheating.

7.2 If a player is suspected of cheating, their case will be put in front of the other league members and a decision on whether the allegations are true or not will be made. For more information on democracy, see 6.

7.3 If a player is found guilty of cheating, sanctions will be imposed. For more information on sanctions, see 8.


Sanctions

8.1 Depending on the severity of the offence, possible sanctions include, but are not restricted to:

Formal warning.
Deduction in chips for next fixture.
Points deduction.
A fine, to be paid to the final table prize fund or to the victim(s) of cheating.
Expulsion from the league.

8.2 All sanctions will be voted for democratically. For more information on democracy, see 6.

Final Table

9.1 The final table will be the culmination of the season, where the prize fund is contested for.

9.2 Based on the league consisting of seven players, the starting chip count for each player will be calculated as follows:
9.2.1 25000 base chips.
9.2.2 Ranking based chips:
1st 6000
2nd 5000
3rd 4000
4th 3000
5th 2000
6th 1000
9.2.3 Points based chips:
5 x points total.
9.2.4 Appearance-based chips:
500 x number of appearances.

9.3 The prize money is to be distributed as follows, based on the results of the final table:
1st = 25%
2nd = 20 %
3rd = 15%
4th = 11%
5th = 9%
6th = 7%
7th = 5%

9.4 All prize money to be rounded down to the nearest pound, with any remaining prize money being equally shared between first and second place.

9.5 Total prize money will be calculated from the contents of the prize fund, plus £5 to be paid on the day of the final by each player. All players will make a profit on the day from the events of the final table.

9.6 A date for the final table must be arranged where all league members are able to attend.

9.7 The final table conditions are not finalised. They shall depend on how many league entrants there are and what other league members feel the allocations and distributions should be changed to. These matters will be voted on and confirmed before the first fixture.

General

10.1 The winner of the league will be crowned as the winner of the Folkestone Poker League and will be required to purchase a wooden spoon to be awarded to the player that finishes last in the final table.

10.2 The winner of the final table will be crowned the outright champion of the Folkestone Poker League.