House Rules

Dedicated to the enjoyment and security of our Members, Free WSOP strives to maintain a safe, fair and friendly gaming environment. Ethical gaming practices and proper etiquette are our highest priority. In order to uphold these strict principles and the integrity of our games, Free WSOP operates under certain house rules (the "House Rules") as set out below. All Members are expected and required to adhere to these standards and practices.

Tournament Policy

All tournaments are free to enter and require no purchase.  To be able to participate in any tournament on this site you must be a natural person at least of age 21 or older.  All tournaments are only open to
legal US residents of the 50 states with an address and residing at such address in an eligible location at the time of entry.  Residents of South Carolina are  prohibited from participating in any play for fun games and from entering any tournaments.  Tournaments which offer a prize are subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations and are only open to legal US residents of the 50 states with an address and residing at such an address in an eligible location at the time of entry.  Ineligible locations for tournaments with prizes are Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Mississippi, California, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Vermont and persons located in these States are not eligible to receive any prizes offered in tournaments .   Eligible locations are subject to change and will be posted as soon as possible.  Valid proof of residency, such as government issued photo ID required. Participation constitutes entrant's full and unconditional understanding of and agreement to these terms and condition, which are final and binding in all matters relating to any and all tournaments.
An affidavit of eligibility may be required to receive a prize.   In the event a resident of an ineligible state wins a prize, the prize shall be forfeited and awarded to the next participant who qualified and is eligible.  If you participate in any tournament offered on the Site while residing in an ineligible state you will be in violation of these terms and conditions and any and all prizes shall be void.  

Posting Policy

A Member joining a Free WSOP table (with the exception of Seven Card Stud and Seven Card Stud Hi/Lo 8 or Better) is required to pay an initial fee (demo money) (Post), equal to that Table's Lower Limit Stake. The Post follows the same rules as the Blind Bets and allows the Member to Sit-in at the Table.
Members have the option of "Sitting Out", and waiting for the Big Blind before beginning to play. Posting ensure fairness to all Members, by preventing players from entering a Poker game in a "Late Position" in order to avoid placing Blind Bets.

Free Betting Rounds

Free WSOP's Poker games follow the conventional Poker Betting Round Structure. There are four possible Free Betting Rounds in Free WSOP's Poker games:

1. The first two Free Betting Rounds are set at that Table's Lower Limit Stake.

2. The last two Free Betting Rounds are set at that Table's Higher Limit Stake.

In keeping with conventional Poker rules, within each Free Betting Round there can be no more than one Bet and three additional Raises ("Raise", "Reraise" & "Cap"). Once a Cap occurs, the following Members will only be able to Call or Fold.

A Betting Round is concluded when:

1. All active Members have Checked in turn.
   or

2. All active Members have matched the last Member to increase the amount (Bet/Raise) to be placed in the Pot, during that Betting Round.
   or

3. All previous Members have chosen to Fold, leaving only one active Player. This last remaining player automatically receives the Pot. In this case both the Free Betting Round and game are automatically terminated.

Missed Blind Bets Policy

Occasionally, a Member may choose to temporarily Sit-out from a Table:

1. If, while Sitting-out, the Member misses their turn to place the Small Blind, upon re-Sitting-in that Member will be required to Post. This Post consists of a "Live" (active) Bet, equal to the Big Blind.

2. If, while Sitting-out, the Member misses their turn to place both the Small Blind and the Big Blind, upon re-Sitting-in that Member will be required to Post. This Post consists of a live Bet, equal to the Big Blind, plus an additional "Dead" (non-active) bet, equal to the Small Blind, which is "donated" by the Member directly to the Pot.

Play Time Limit

Free WSOP Members are permitted a maximum of 30 seconds to act while playing. This is enforced in an effort to maintain a reasonable speed of game play. Members who fail to act within the 30 second time limit will have their hand automatically Folded. The Member will forfeit the amount (if any) that he/she has previously Bet during that game.

Free WSOP'sAll-in Policy 

Free WSOP's All-in Policy has been developed to protect Members in the following circumstances:

1. A Member wishes to continue playing his/her hand in the current game, but has run out of Chips. 
   or 
2. A Member has been disconnected from the free.wsop.com Server in the middle of a game.

1. If a Member finishes his/her Chips in the middle of a Poker game, but does not wish to Fold his/her hand, the hand will be automatically considered "All-in":
   1. The All-in hand will remain live for consideration during the Showdown and the Member will no longer be required or able to take additional actions throughout the rest of the hand.
   2. The Table's Pot will be automatically split to visually demonstrate the All-in status.
      1. A Texas Hold'em Poker game can have as many split All-in Pots as there are active Members, minus one.
      2. In the event of additional All-ins, the Pot will continue to be split accordingly.
      3. A maximum of 5 split All-in Pots are visible on the free.wsop.com Texas Hold'em Table, but the Pot will continue to be split additionally as necessary.
   3. All-in hands will be eligible for consideration during the game's Showdown.
      1. If the All-in Member's hand is of the highest value that Member will receive the total amount of the Table's Pot, up until the time that he/she was All-in and the Pot was split.
      2. The remainder of the Table's split Pot (after the time that the highest valued hand was All-in) will be presented to the Member holding the second highest valued Poker hand (if this Member is also All-in, see Free WSOP's All-in Policy section 1-c-i, above).
2. If a Member is disconnected from the Free WSOP Server in the middle of a Poker game, they will be automatically considered All-in:
   1. The Member's hand will remain live for the rest of that game and its status will be that of All-in (see Free WSOP's All-in Policy section above).
   2. Members are permitted a total of no more than 2 All-ins due to disconnection within any 24-hour period.
   3. If a Member has utilized all of their remaining All-ins and is disconnected from the Free WSOP Server, their hand will be automatically Folded and they will forfeit the amount (if any) that he/she has previously placed in the Pot during that game.
   4. Thereafter, Members will not be permitted to utilize either type of additional All-ins until this 24-hour period has expired.

Auto Muck Losing Hand

Members participating in the Showdown, whose hands are of a lower value than an already showing hand, are offered the option to not show ("Muck") their losing hands to the other participants at the Table. The automatic Mucking of non-winning hands protects Members from unknowingly revealing his/her hand to the Table’s other participants.
If a Member checks the "Auto Muck Losing Hand" box, his/her non-winning hand will automatically be Mucked, if there are higher valued hands already showing.
A Member's hand of cards that wins any portion of the Pot will automatically be revealed to the other participants at the Table. If a Member wins a hand by virtue of being the only remaining active Member, he/she has the option to choose "Show Hand" or "Muck" by default.

Free WSOP's Non-Collusion Policy

Collusion is a historic bone of contention between Poker players. How many saloon gunfights have been the byproduct of Collusion, or at the very least accusations of Collusion? Collusion exists when two or more players at a Poker Table attempt to gain an unfair advantage by sharing knowledge of their cards or other information. Even though Free WSOP offers free, demo play games, Collusion or other forms of cheating will not be tolerated. Members found acting in Collusion or cheating will be permanently banned from Free WSOP.

Free WSOP's1-on-1 Poker Tables

Free WSOP is pleased to offer its Members 1-on-1 Poker Tables. In 1-on-1 Poker all regular game rules apply, with the following exceptions:

1. The Dealer posts the Small Blind.

2. The other Member Posts the Big Blind.

3. In the deal of the Member's Pocket Cards, the Dealer receives the first card.

4. The Dealer initiates the first Betting Round. 

5. There is no Posting in 1-on-1 Poker.

Free WSOP Disconnection Policy

While rare, the potentiality of a server crash exists at every Internet Website and in every Internet application. In the extremely unlikely event of a server crash at Free WSOP, all Poker games in progress are automatically cancelled from the point at which the server crashed and Members were disconnected. Members who are disconnected in the middle of a game due to a server crash will be automatically refunded the amount of their Chips both in and out of play at the table. This amount will be returned to their Free WSOP Bankroll.

Table Etiquette

Free WSOP believes in the Golden Rule—treating others as you would like to be treated. Therefore, the normal courtesies extended at traditional Poker Tables are also expected at our Poker Tables. Please see the list below for Free WSOP’s etiquette guidelines:

1. Think it. Say it. Don't type it!

2. Intimidation or harassment of other Members at the table will not be tolerated.

3. Congratulating a winning Member is always seen favorably.

4. Do not engage in "shouting matches" with other Members at the Table. 

5. Lagging is a natural occurrence on the Internet. As it is unavoidable, please be polite when notifying a Member who is lagging.

PLEASE PRINT OFF AND RETAIN A HARD COPY OF THIS AGREEMENT FOR YOUR RECORDS.