Tournament Rules

1. Poker tournaments begin at the time designated. A minimum of 5 players is required for any multi-table tournament to start, unless otherwise noted in the Lobby.
2. Seats are randomly assigned. You cannot choose or change seats.
3. Late registration periods vary from 10 to 60 minutes depending. For details, check the specific game on the Tournament Schedule in the Lobby or contact Customer Service.
4. Players may cancel their registration in a tournament up to 3 minutes before it starts.
5. The position of the button is decided with a deal at the start of the tournament. High card deals for the first hand.
6. The button moves clockwise so no player has the button twice in a row. A player gets the button without playing the blinds if other players have been eliminated. This is caused by the software itself and is not uncommon in online tournaments. It can happen to any player at any time and creates no long term advantage.
7. If 2 players are eliminated at the same time, the player with the largest stack at the beginning of the hand finishes higher.
8. When it comes down to 2 players, the button will post the small blind and be first to act in the initial round. The big blind will then be first to act in the rounds that follow.
9. The tournament ends once a player has won all the tournament chips and is declared the winner.
10. In an online poker room Internet connection issues and disconnections are a reality. We will do our best to limit interruptions during a tournament, however we do not assume responsibility for problems not related to game server performance. Certain Internet issues may be unavoidable, that's why we and give players disconnection protection in the form of extra time to reconnect when players are in the last rounds of a tournament. If players choose to sit out or are unable to reconnect, cards will still be automatically dealt to them and blinds and antes posted. Players that are unable to reconnect during the allotted time will have their hands automatically folded. If a player is disconnected during a hand where the action is checked to them, the hand will be checked unless a specific action is needed by the player.
11. In the event of a server interruption all hands will be rolled back to the start of the interrupted hand, and all chip stacks returned to their original status: the amounts before the hand started. If the tournament must be canceled, participating players will be compensated based on our Tournament Cancellation Policy.
12. Any player that acts unethically, by being involved in team play, soft play, or chip dumping, for example, will be disqualified from the tournament.
13. As players are eliminated from the tournament, tables are consolidated and filled. Players arriving at a table may have to post blinds. Table reassignments are an inherent and random part of tournaments, and apply equally to all players.
14. Players and observers are asked to use the chat function considerately. At no time are players and observers allowed to discuss or comment on live hands.
15. All prizes will be distributed as specified by individual tournament details. Find all the details for each tournament in the Lobby.
16. All decisions made by Bovada regarding any aspects of a tournament are regarded as final.