Every Players Series event runs under one published ruleset.
The most recent Tournament Directors Association (TDA) rules are used at every Players Series event.
Where this page and the printed structure sheet at the desk disagree, the structure sheet governs that event, and the Tournament Director rules on anything neither covers. Conditions written for one event only are not here; they are on that event’s own page.
Every Players Series event runs under one published ruleset. The structure sheet at the desk governs its event, and the Tournament Director rules on anything neither covers.
Tournament Directors Association (TDA) rules will be used.
These rules apply to every event at every Players Series festival, in addition to any event-specific conditions printed on that event’s structure sheet.
The Tournament Director’s decision is final. A ruling may be appealed to the Tournament Director once, before the next hand is dealt; the Tournament Director may consult the floor supervisors and the players at the table before ruling.
Where the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) rules are silent, or where a situation is not covered by this page, the Tournament Director will rule in the interest of fairness and of the integrity of the game, and that ruling stands for the remainder of the festival.
English is the table language whenever a hand is live. Where the tournament staff at a festival are local, the local language may also be used at the table; the position for a given festival is published with that festival. Away from a live hand, any language may be spoken.
Players Series reserves the right to amend these rules during a festival. Any amendment is published on this page with its effective date and announced on the tournament floor before it takes effect.
Players Series uses the most recent Tournament Directors Association rules as published by the Association. Where a new edition is published, it applies from the first Players Series festival that begins after its publication.
Late registration, re-entry and multi-bullet events.
Unlimited re-entry is allowed before the close of registration.
No re-entry is allowed.
Registration and re-entry close at the end of the late registration period printed on the structure sheet. A player must be in their seat with their entry paid before the close; a player in the payment queue at the close is registered.
A player who busts before the close of registration may re-enter immediately, subject to the re-entry clause governing that event. A re-entering player receives a full starting stack and a new seat drawn at random.
Players have the option of starting with 1, 2, or all 3 bullets at once.
All bullets must be in play before the close of registration.
Bullets can only be redeemed before the start of a hand (20,000 chips per bullet).
This event is capped at a maximum of 200 players.
Where an event is capped, entries are taken in order of payment and a waiting list operates from the cap. A player on the waiting list is seated as soon as a seat is released and is entitled to a full refund if no seat is released before the close of registration.
An absent registered player is dealt in and posts blinds and antes from the start of play. Their stack is blinded off until they take their seat or are eliminated.
An event may be cancelled where fewer than four entries have been taken by the close of registration. Every entry to a cancelled event is refunded in full.
A satellite awards a seat only where paid entries cover the target buy-in and at least four players have entered. Where fewer than four have entered, the players may agree to play winner-take-all instead.
A player registering after cards are in the air is seated at the first available seat, receives a full starting stack, and is dealt in from the next hand where the table allows it.
In events that permit re-entry, a player may forfeit the stack in front of them and re-enter, provided they do so before the close of registration.
In a bounty event, a stack may only be forfeited during the final scheduled break before registration closes. The full value of the bounty attached to the forfeited stack goes into the general prize pool.
Level durations are set per event and printed on the structure sheet. The durations that recur across a festival are listed here. For one event’s exact ladder, open that event’s Structure tab.
Levels will be 10 minutes for the duration of the tournament until a winner is declared.
Levels will be 15 minutes for the duration of the tournament until a winner is declared.
Levels will be 20 minutes for the duration of the tournament until a winner is declared.
Levels will be 25 minutes for the duration of the tournament until a winner is declared.
Levels will be 40 minutes for the duration of the tournament.
All Day 1 flights will continue until 15% of the field remains.
The clock is the official timekeeper. A level ends when the clock reaches zero and the hand in progress is completed; the new level applies from the next deal.
A break is called at the end of the level shown on the structure sheet. Play stops when the hand in progress is completed. Chips may not leave the table at any time.
Chip-ups and colour-ups are announced before the break in which they take place. In a chip race, cards are dealt one at a time from the button clockwise and the highest card receives one chip of the new denomination; no player is raced out of the tournament.
Play continues past a scheduled finish time if the Tournament Director judges that a level or a stage is close to completing. Any extension is announced on the floor.
Hand-for-hand play begins when the Tournament Director calls it, and every table plays one hand and then waits for the rest of the field. Players remain at their tables during hand-for-hand play.
During hand-for-hand play, time is deducted from the level for each hand dealt, on the following scale: three minutes per hand where the level is 60 minutes or longer, two minutes per hand where the level is 20 minutes or longer but under 60, and one minute per hand where the level is under 20 minutes. The floor may deduct more or less according to the speed of play.
Events with levels of 20 minutes or longer also play hand-for-hand on the final table bubble, unless the event has not yet reached the money.
In an all-in and call situation during hand-for-hand play, players do not turn their hands face up until the Tournament Director asks for them.
A shot clock runs on almost every Players Series event. Two timing regimes are in use across a schedule and they are not interchangeable, so check which one governs your event.
Shot Clocks will be implemented throughout the tournament.
Each player has 15 seconds to act on all decisions.
Each player has 20 seconds to act on their first decision and 30 seconds on any subsequent decision.
Players receive 2 time bank cards worth 15 seconds each, then one additional time bank card at the end of every break.
Players receive 2 time bank cards worth 30 seconds each, then one additional time bank card at the end of every break.
Players receive 4 time bank cards worth 30 seconds each, one additional time bank card at the end of every break and one additional time bank card at the start of every subsequent day.
Each player has 20 seconds to act on their first decision and 30 seconds on any subsequent decision (15 seconds throughout for Turbo).
A time bank card is spent by placing it in front of your cards before the shot clock expires. Cards are spent one at a time and their value does not carry between hands.
A hand is dead if the shot clock expires and no time bank card has been placed. Where checking is free, an expired clock checks; otherwise the hand is folded.
Note: Unused time bank cards do not carry over to subsequent round(s).
A maximum of six time bank cards may be spent on a single decision.
Bagging your remaining time bank cards at the end of a playing day is your responsibility. Where cards are not bagged correctly, the Tournament Director decides what is returned to you.
How many players are at a table, when the room is re-drawn, and what happens when a table breaks.
Seating re-draws will be conducted prior to the start of the Final Table.
Play will move to 9-handed when play permits.
Play will be 8-handed for the duration of the tournament with a Final Table of 9 players.
Play will be 7-handed for the duration of the tournament with a Final Table of 8 players.
Play, where possible, will commence 9-handed and move to 8-handed on Day 2.
Seating re-draws will be conducted prior to the start of each day, unless the tournament is already at 24 players or fewer. In that case, re-draws will take place at 24 and 9 players remaining.
Seats are drawn at random at registration and at every re-draw. A player may not decline a seat or exchange one with another player.
When a table breaks, players draw new seats at random from the seats available. A player who draws the big blind position posts the big blind; a player who draws between the button and the big blind is dealt in from the next hand.
Seat and stack information published for a live event is a seating assignment only. Chip counts are never published as part of a seat draw.
At the start of an event, and at every re-draw, the button is set by a single high-card draw at one table, and the position drawn applies across the whole field.
Full-ring events are designed to be played eight-handed. Eight-handed play is guaranteed from one table off the money bubble onwards. Before that point the Tournament Director may seat nine or more. Games limited by the number of cards in the deck, such as six-card Omaha, are not affected.
Tables break in an order set by the Tournament Director down to the final five tables. From five tables, the table to break is drawn at random by a player still in the event.
In an event that is being streamed, tables break in an order set by the Tournament Director all the way down to the final table.
Every event re-draws for seats at the final table, and at the end of each playing day or flight.
An event designated as a Main Event also re-draws at three tables and at two tables. Either of those re-draws may be skipped where an end-of-day re-draw has already taken place within 50 per cent of that number of players.
A streamed event paying 16 or more places re-draws at three tables and at the final table. A streamed event paying fewer than 16 re-draws at the final table only.
Some events run more than one flight. These are the clauses that govern what happens between one day and the next.
Day 2 will be 60-minute levels and will play 10 levels or to Final Table (whichever occurs first). The blinds for Day 2 will reset to the level at which the earliest Day 1 flight concluded.
Day 3 will be 60-minute levels and will play down to a winner.
At the end of a flight, remaining players count, bag and sign for their own stack under supervision. A signed bagging sheet is the official record of that stack and governs over any count published during play.
Chip counts published during live reporting are reporter estimates unless they are explicitly flagged as official. Official counts come from signed bagging sheets or from the tournament management system.
Players with multiple stacks qualifying for Day 2 will use only their largest stack.
Any additional stacks will be eliminated from play but still qualify for a minimum prize payout.
A player who qualifies for Day 2 and does not appear is blinded off from the start of play and is paid whatever their finishing position earns.
Best Stack Forward: unless the event mechanics say otherwise, a player who has already qualified for Day 2 from an earlier flight may enter a later flight.
In a bounty or mystery bounty event, a player who reaches the money with more than one qualifying stack plays their largest stack, receives a minimum cash payout for each stack removed, and is awarded a bounty for each stack removed.
How the prize pool is formed, what is withheld from it, and what happens when players reach a deal.
Approximately one in seven entries (15%) will be in the money.
Note: Players must make Day 2 to be in the money.
Four percent (4%) of the prize pool will be withheld to offset tournament staffing costs.
The prize pool is the total of all entries less the entry fee published for that event. The buy-in split is printed on every event page and on the structure sheet.
The payout schedule is published once registration closes and the final field is known. It is calculated on the number of entries, not on the number of players remaining.
A deal may be discussed only once the event has reached its final table, only while the players are seated at that table, and only with a Players Series representative present. Once a deal is agreed, its terms are made public.
If a deal has been made at any stage, the number of hands will be reduced to 15.
Prizes are paid at the cashier in the currency published for that festival, on presentation of photographic identification matching the registration. Prizes are not transferable.
The first 16 players to collect their starting stack and put their chips into play before the first hand is dealt will receive 50% cash back on the tournament fee.
Note: Event must start on time for the promo to apply.
Deals across more than one table are not permitted.
Deals in satellites are not permitted, including any arrangement to pay the bubble.
Where the players wish to continue playing for the trophy, the deal must leave approximately 10 per cent of the remaining prize money in play, calculated after every remaining player has been allocated the current minimum cash. That amount does not have to be winner-take-all and may be divided by agreement.
In a streamed event, play must continue to a conclusion and the trophy must be awarded, so a deal must always leave the amount described above in play.
In an event that is not being streamed, the players may distribute the entire remaining prize pool. Doing so ends the event, and the trophy goes to the player holding the chip lead at that moment.
Every player at the table signs the deal sheet before play resumes or the event is closed out. A deal is not in force until every signature is on it.
Once a deal is agreed and play continues, levels are shortened by up to 50 per cent, subject to a minimum of 15 minutes. Events already running levels of 15 minutes or shorter keep their existing levels.
Most events switch from a timed structure to a hands-per-level structure when the final table is reached. This is the single rule most often queried at a Players Series final table.
Upon reaching the final table, the tournament will transition from a timed level structure to a hands-per-level structure. This means each level will consist of a predetermined number of hands rather than a fixed time duration.
After completing the set number of hands for each level, the blinds will increase according to the published blind structure.
The number of hands to be played will be 30 when four or more players remain, and 15 when three or fewer players remain.
The hand count is kept by the dealer and displayed at the table. A hand counts once the first card is dealt off the deck.
The final table is re-drawn for seats before the first hand. Play is stopped for the draw, for the official photograph and for any broadcast requirement, and the clock is stopped with it.
Bounty, mystery bounty and satellite events run at every festival. Values and targets are set per event; the mechanics below are common to all of them.
Players who share a pot where a Bounty is won will split the Bounty.
Note: Placing a Bounty Chip into the pot signifies that the player is all-in.
Bounties will come into play after registration has closed AND upon reaching 20% of the field (rounded up at 0.5). If, at the close of registration, the field is already at 20% or fewer, bounties will take effect immediately.
Bounty value is set per event and is printed on that event’s page and structure sheet. Where a bounty is stated to be removed from the regular prize pool, the event page says so.
Mystery Bounties will come into play once players have reached ITM (in the money).
Players can only draw Mystery Bounties during any scheduled break unless they have been eliminated.
All unclaimed Bounties must be redeemed before the Final Table begins.
At the Final Table, Mystery Bounties will be claimed as soon as a player is eliminated.
Players must accumulate 50,000 chips (the milestone equivalent of five starting stacks) to win one (1) seat to the target event.
Once a player reaches 50,000 chips or more, the player, along with all of their chips, will be removed from play and awarded one (1) seat to the target event. Tournament Floor staff will verify that the milestone has been achieved prior to removing the player and chips from play.
Note: A player may win a maximum of one (1) seat. Even if a player accumulates 100,000 chips or more in a single hand, only one (1) seat will be awarded.
Note: Tickets are non-transferable. Exceptions are made for any player who already has an entry to the target event.
Any remaining money will be awarded as a single cash prize.
A seat won in a Players Series satellite is not transferable and must be played.
A player who wins more than one seat to the same event is paid the value of the additional seat or seats in cash.
What is expected of a player at a Players Series table, and what a floor supervisor will act on.
One player to a hand. A player may not discuss a live hand with anyone, may not show a hand to another person while it is live, and may not receive assistance of any kind.
Cards are kept on the table and in view at all times. A hand that leaves the table is dead.
Action is binding. A verbal declaration in turn is binding, and chips pushed forward past the betting line are committed to the pot.
Etiquette is enforced. Persistent slow play, abusive language, throwing cards or chips, and any conduct that a floor supervisor judges to be disruptive attract a warning, then a one-round penalty, then longer penalties at the Tournament Director’s discretion, up to disqualification.
Mobile phones may be used away from the table and at the table while not in a hand. A phone may not be used to record, transmit or receive anything relating to a live hand, and headphones must be removed when a player is heads-up in a pot at the final table.
Real-time assistance software, solvers and any form of external advice are prohibited for the duration of an event, whether or not the player is in a hand.
Players Series operates a zero-tolerance policy on collusion, chip dumping, soft play and any attempt to influence a result. Suspected breaches are investigated by the Tournament Director and may result in disqualification and forfeiture of prizes.
Entry is restricted to players aged 18 or over who are not excluded under local law or by a self-exclusion arrangement. Photographic identification may be requested at any point up to and including the cashier.
By entering a Players Series event a player consents to being photographed and filmed on the tournament floor and to that material being used in coverage of the festival.
An electronic device may not be placed on the playing surface at any time without our permission. Devices may be placed on the rail, and the floor may ask for any device to be moved or put away.
A device may not be used at all while you are in a hand. This includes phones, tablets, laptops, watches and camera-equipped eyewear, and it applies whether or not you are using the device for anything related to poker.
Calls are taken away from the table.
Broadcasting from the tournament floor while play is in progress is not permitted, on any platform. Recording for later publication requires our written permission in advance.
Where permission to record has been given, you may record your own play and your own cards. A camera may not be positioned so that it can see another player's hole cards, and the comfort of the other players at the table comes first.
No electronic device of any kind is permitted at a streaming table.
A player in a streamed event cooperates with the production crew, and shows their hole cards to the card reader when asked. Declining may attract a penalty.
A player at a streaming table does not leave their seat for the rail while they hold live cards and action is still pending. Once an all-in has been called and all action is complete, a player may go to the rail with their cards face up.
Smoking is not permitted in the tournament area, and a player who smokes at the table receives a penalty. Electronic cigarettes are governed by the venue's own rules.
Tournament chips stay visible on the table at all times. Chips may not be pocketed or carried out of the playing area. Chips found to have left the playing area are forfeited and removed from play, and the player may be disqualified.
Every game variant and format on a Players Series schedule.
