Tournaments

MySportsbook.com is pleased to offer a wide variety of tournament formats and games available to you 24 hours a day! In addition to being a fun and exciting way to gain a greater all-round poker experience, tournaments are also a powerful way to build your bankroll and get a great return on a minimal investment. In a tournament, as opposed to a live ring-game, the most money one can risk is the Buy-in for that tournament. All players start with the same amount of chips and play continues until one player has won all the chips. Tournament chips have no cash value. Tournaments are available in all the poker games we offer; Hold’em, Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud and Stud Hi-Lo.

We offer Multi-table, Sit & Go, & Heads-up tournaments in various Freeze-out, Re-buy and Shoot-out formats. We also offer satellite tournaments to gain entry into much bigger events and freerolls that cost nothing to enter. Please see the tournament lobby for the exact details and rules for each tournament.

Tournaments Types and Features

Tournament Rules

1. All tournaments will be accessed via the tournament lobby.
2. All the features, details and prizes of each tournament will be posted in the tournament lobby.
3. All tournaments will begin promptly at the scheduled time stated in the Tournament Lobby.
4. Tournament seats are available on a first come first serve basis. All players are seated randomly at the beginning of all tournaments. The tournament starts with the "dealer button" positioned at seat 1 (Hold’em & Omaha). Players cannot change seats during a tournament. A player will change seat only when moved from a table to another table during a multi-table tournament.
5. The tournament is played until one player accumulates all the chips in play. Players may not acquire additional chips beyond the original Buy-in unless there are Re-buys and Add-ons. When a player loses all their chips they are declared out of the tournament and finish in the order they were eliminated. If the tournament is a satellite event, the tournament will end when all players have qualified for the target event regardless of the chip count.
6. If more than one player is eliminated in a hand, the player with more chips at the beginning of the hand is placed higher. In an instance where 2 players started the hands with an identical chip count, both players tie for that rank, and any prizes due to those players will be equally distributed between them.
7. If there is a split pot, not equally divisible by the number of player in the hand the extra chip(s) will be awarded to the player closest to the left of the “button”.
8. In Texas Hold’em or Omaha poker tournaments when the small or big blind is eliminated from a tourney, the blinds must be slightly re-positioned to account for the eliminated player. The rules pertaining to this event are referred to as the Dead Button rule. MySportsbook.com Poker Poker uses this format to be fair and to ensure that all players post their appropriate blinds without giving any advantage to one player over another. Due to this randomness, all players will have an equal opportunity to benefit from this scenario. When two players remain or in a Heads-up tournament, the button will post the small blind, and act first on the opening round.
9. Disconnects:
• The Internet makes playing poker online possible, but it can also cause issues. A player accepts the risk of Internet disconnection (please see disconnect policy for full details), due to the problems with the connection between their computer and the servers. Other issues, including a connection slowdown or some other problem in the player's computer may also arise. MySportsbook.com does not accept any responsibility for a player disconnect except in the case of a MySportsbook.com server interruption.
• While each user is responsible for his or her own Internet connection, MySportsbook.com makes every effort to protect players who are disconnected during the final stages of a tournament, by allowing Extra Time to reconnect.
• If a player times out during a hand, whether connected or disconnected, his or her hand will be folded unless the check option is available to them, at which point the player will auto check.
• If a player is not connected before a hand starts, he or she will be dealt cards, and a blind and/or antes will be posted automatically. Players can choose to sit out on there own, there is no penalty.
10. Poker is a game of integrity and etiquette. Each player should play with the same intensity against all other players. Unethical play, such as soft-play and chip dumping, may result in penalties, including seizure of funds from the offender's account and/or forfeiture of any prizes and/or termination of the account.
11. Each betting round consists of a bet and up to three raises. There is no raise cap in pot-limit and no-limit tournaments.
12. Level Structure: To ensure tournaments are completed within a reasonable amount of time, the blinds/antes increase during a tournament. When such increase takes place it is called a level. The level structure for a tournament can be found in the tournament lobby.
13. There will be a 5 minute break every hour in a standard multi-table tournament. There are no breaks during single-table tournaments.
14. MySportsbook.com will not assist in any deals among players during tournaments. Tournaments will continue until there is one declared winner, unless it is a satellite event, and the payoffs will be exactly according to the prize payout structure.
15. Extra time: Each player is given Extra Time, beside the normal time, to make a decision during a tournament. That Extra Time is limited and displays as a clock when activated. It decreases as it is being used and stops once a player acts. Extra Time will automatically be activated if a player has an active connection to the game, has money in the pot and does not act in time.
16. As players are eliminated from the tournament, the software will balance tables in an attempt to ensure that all tables have an equal number of active players. The balancing of tables is done randomly and, although rare, may result in a player having to post several big blinds in a row. When 10 players remain in a Hold’em or Omaha tournament or eight players remain in a Seven Card Stud tournament, all players are brought together at the "final table".
17. In the event of a server crash, the hands in progress at every table will be restored by rolling back these hands. Each player’s chip count will be reset to the amount at the beginning of the hand. In special circumstances, when a tournament needs to be cancelled because of a crash or some other reason, players will be compensated according to MySportsbook.com's tournament cancellation policy.
18. MySportsbook.com reserves the right to cancel or reschedule tournaments at any time, for any reason, with or without notice.
19. Tournament registration must meet minimum requirements for that event or the tournament will be cancelled. In the event of a tournament cancellation due to an insufficient number of entrants all buy-ins and entry fees will be returned to player’s accounts.
20. The prize pool payouts for all poker tournaments will adhere to the MySportsbook.com payout schedule.
21. Players, whether in the hand or not, may not discuss the hands until the action is complete. Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Discussing cards discarded or hand possibilities are not allowed. A penalty may be given for discussion of hands during the play.
22. Late Registration: Registration will terminate if all tables allocated at the time of seating are full, or once the first player is eliminated. Late registration is usually available for 10 minutes after the tournament start.
23. Unregistration: In most tournaments a player can unregister until ten minutes prior to the start of the event. Players who have won their seats through a satellite cannot unregister unless otherwise informed.
24. Any player found to be playing multiple accounts during any tournament will have their account closed and will forfeit any winnings that are found to be a result of these actions.
25. In the final stages of a tournament the prize money can jump significantly with each player eliminated. In these instances where there is more than one table remaining the tournament may be played "hand-for-hand". This means that if one table finishes its hand before the other table(s), that table waits for the other table(s) to finish before the next hand is dealt. During this hand-for-hand period, all bustouts during a "synchronized" hand (even at different tables) are treated as having happened on the same hand and chip stacks will be compared as in rule 7 above to determine the finishing order.
26. MySportsbook.com management decision will be final in all cases of disputes.

Tournaments Terms & Definitions

Add-on

The “Add-on” is the last opportunity a player has to buy additional chips in an attempt to better his/her chances to win a “Re-buy” & “Add-on” tournament. The Add-on is available for a limited period of time to players after the Re-buy period is over. The amount and time restriction can be found in the tournament lobby.

Buy-in

The registration cost for a poker tournament is referred to as a “Buy-in”. The “Buy-in” is the amount each player must invest to enter a tournament. The Buy-in amount for each tournament can be found in the tournament lobby. Total Buy-ins from all registered players creates the total prize pool for that tournament. Players are allowed to unregister for a tournament up to a deadline found in the tournament lobby.

Fee

The fee is the amount paid by the players to participate in the tournament. That is the amount paid to the site.

Hand-For-Hand

In the later stage of a tournament, when each position represents a substantial difference in prizes and there is more than one table remaining, the tournament may be played "hand-for-hand". This means that each table will play each hand at the same time until a player is eliminated. Table(s) may have to wait until all hands from the other table(s) are completed in order to start the next hand. Hand-for-Hand play may happen more than once during the same tournament.

If two or more players are eliminated from a different table during "Hand-for-hand" play, they are considered to be eliminated in the same hand regardless if one of the hands finished earlier than the other. Chips stacks will be compared to determine the finishing order.

Heads-up

When a contest is between 2 players only, it is referred to as "Heads-up". Heads-up Shoot-out tournaments are a good way to improve your winning game, as you will end up facing one opponent most of the time to win any tournament.

The rules are the same with "Heads-up" play with the exception that the player with the "dealer button" posts the small blind and will act first pre-flop then last for the remainder of the hand. The player who posts the big blind is dealt first.

In the Money

When a player has qualified for a prize in a tournament, it is called "In the Money". If a player is "In the Money" that means that he will win at least the minimum prize available for that tournament.

Prizes

The total prize pool and number of players being paid is determined by the number of registered players in a tournament. The more players that enter a tournament, the larger the prize pool will be and ultimately the more players who will receive prizes. The number of players, prize pool and prize distribution can be found in the tournament lobby. All monies paid from all Buy-ins account for the prize pool for each tournament.

Re-buy

When a player qualifies to purchase another “Buy-in” during a tournament, it is called a "Re-buy". A Re-buy allows for a player to continue competing in a tournament. Re-buys are available in a Re-buy & Add-on tournament only. The number of Re-buys, time restriction, amount and conditions for Re-buys can be found in the tournament lobby.

Round

A round is a term referred to in “Shoot-out” tournaments; it is like an individual “Freeze-out” tournament. Rounds have their own Level Structure and the winner(s) from each table per round advance to the next round.