Welcome to Lake Elsinore Poker Room where our priority is to consider fairness first when making decisions. We try to protect inexperienced players and those unfamiliar with our rules from honest mistakes. Our staff of Floorpersons make decisions based on the spirit of the rule and integrity of the game, rather than inflexible interpretations set forth by this guide. An unintentional error is less serious than a deliberate, calculated violation. The intent of an action will be taken into consideration when rendering a decision. The player acting improperly is the person who bears the brunt of the responsibility and will not be allowed to benefit from such errors. Although this set of rules and policies were designed to cover most situations, there may be times when the structure of the games varies. When this occurs, rules governing the game may be adapted to a specific game addressing a particular situation. In all circumstances, the main purpose of our rules and policies is to provide a guide for decision-making and a sensible framework for fair play.

I. House Policies:

It is the intention of Lake Elsinore Poker Room management to offer every customer a clean, friendly and pleasant environment in which to play cards. Lake Elsinore Casino is not responsible for the behavior of our patrons or for any resulting consequences thereof. Our guests are responsible for their own behavior while on Lake Elsinore Hotel and Casino property. However, Casino management retains the right to refuse service, the use of any or all of the facilities, to persons who do not conduct themselves in an appropriate manner. It is in this spirit that the following specific House Policies have been created:

A. Prohibited Behavior:

1) Verbally or physically acting in a threatening manner toward any patron or employee.
2) Using profanity or obscene language.
3) Creating a disturbance.
4) Destroying Casino property (tearing cards, etc.).
5) Willful defiance of Casino management, security or other such employees, who are charged with maintaining the proper playing environment.

B. Poker Etiquette:

1) Release or stack chips in the desired amount to be bet directly in front of your playing position without ‘splashing’ chips into the pot. In split pot games, such as Omaha high/low, it is desirable that players stack chips, neatly in increments, consistent with the game limits.
2) Agreeing to check down a hand by two or more players once an active player declares himself/herself ‘all-in’ is not in concert with the integrity of the game.
3) Deliberately exposing cards or making statements about one’s cards during action may unfairly influence other players.
4) When folding, players should provide mucked hands to the dealer in a controlled manner.
5) Player possessions at the table, including chips, must be maintained in a manner, which does not interfere or inhibit actions of other players or with the flow of the game.
6) Asking for ‘Time’ from the dealer is the proper method of gaining additional time in which to act on your hand
7) Players, dealers and floor personnel share an ethical obligation to point out errors during action which may incorrectly affect the outcome of play
8) English is the only language which may be spoken at the table during the play of a particular hand
10) Every player is entitled to a clear view of another player’s cards and chips.
11) Players may not see cards from the stub or muck (rabbit hunt), see Pot/No limit rules for exceptions to this rule.

C. All Poker Games Are Table Stakes:

1) Chips may not be passed between players while seated in a game
2) Pushing bets, (making saves or potting out) is not allowed.
3) Splitting of pots among players will not be allowed. All hands must be played to completion.
4) No player may play another player’s chips when there is an objection by a seated player.
5) No player may play over another player unless specifically approved by the Floorperson as clearly, in the best interest of the game, at that particular junction.
6) A player going ‘all-in’ must announce his/her action at that time.
7) Chopping or splitting the big and small blinds is permitted. The drop will be returned. If the Kill Button is neutral, it remains so.
8) Playing ‘behind’ will only be permitted for players who are processing a ‘cash-for-chips’ transaction and it is clear to the dealer that chips in the proper amount are forthcoming. Normally, the dealer will announce that a particular player/seat is playing ‘behind’ a particular amount until his/her chips actually arrive.
9) Players may not assume approval of check cashing, markers etc. in order to play behind. The ‘cash-for-chips’ criteria must be met in order to play behind.
10) A player may place chips off the table if requesting a color change or if he/she is quitting the game on his/her blinds. The chips remain in play.
11) Players must request chips before receiving any part of a hand in order for those chips to be in play for that hand. The dealer or a Floorperson must verbally acknowledge this request. Cash does not play at Lake Elsinore Casino

II General Rules:

A. Decisions:

1) The decisions of Casino management are final.

B. Errors In General:

1) An error regarding a particular hand must be brought to the attention of the dealer immediately. Once the dealer has begun the first riffle of the shuffle for the next hand, it is generally considered, too late to point out an objection regarding the previous hand.
2) For the ‘integrity of the game’ and in the ‘spirit’ of fairness, if an error can be clearly demonstrated to the Floorperson, the Floorperson can, on their discretion, provide remedy to the wronged players, upon review.

C. Seating:

1) The first player to the table for a new game will have the first choice for seating, unless another player has locked up that seat upon signing in. Order of names on the board is used to settle seating disputes. If a player is involved in a pot in another game, he/she may have a seat locked up until that hand is finished.
2) A player already participating in the game has the first option on any seat when it becomes available. Normally, no change will be permitted after a new player is actually seated in a game.
3) Seat change buttons are used to determine order of change. Dealers will provide seat change buttons to those seated players desiring a change. A player may request to move to the next available seat or give up his/her right to move.
4) Dealers will high card for starting positions.
5) Blinds passed during the first round of a new game are considered missed blinds.
6) In the event of a broken game, players will high card for open seats in other games. Players not getting immediate seating as a result of the draw will be placed on top of the board in an order corresponding to the draw.
7) Players are permitted one move away from the blinds without posting. Subsequent moves require posting of blinds or sitting out a number of hands corresponding to the number of seats moved away from the big blind.
8) A player who ‘deals off’ (by taking his/her last hand on the button and then deciding to change seats) may allow the blinds to pass the new seat one time and re-enter the game behind the button without having to post any blinds.
9) When a player in a short game requests a seat in another game of the same limit, the Floorperson will ascertain the balance of players for the two games and conduct a high card draw as an act of fairness to the remaining players. For these purposes, five players or less is called a short game.
10) No player may take a seat in a game without the Floorperson’s permission.
11) Players changing tables may be required to move immediately if there is a board for either game, except when moving player is in the blinds or on the dealer button.

D. Buy-ins:

1) When a player is first seated, he/she must make a full buy-in for that game. A full buy-in will normally be five (5) times the biggest bet allowed in the game structure. Exceptions are made for Pot Limit and No Limit games. At the Floorperson discretion, a different buy-in may be determined for unusual circumstances as those circumstances apply to a particular game. For example, a $3-$6-$9 Omaha structure may still require a $30 buy-in which is five (5) times the second level. A stricter application of this rule would require a $45 buy-in.
2) A player may follow a full buy-in with a ‘short buy’. A short buy may be of any amount up to a full buy-in amount. Adding to your stack may only be done in concert with this rule. For example, you may not add chips to your stack following a short-buy unless you add at least the amount of a full buy-in.
3) A player who is forced to transfer from a broken game or a ‘must move’ game into a game of the same limit may continue to play the same amount of chips, even if it is less than the minimum buy-in. A player switching games voluntarily must meet the minimum buy-in standard.

E. Dead Hands:

1) If a player verbally announces that he/she is folding, this announcement renders that player’s hand dead.
2) If a player releases his/her hand toward the muck causing players behind to act, that player has rendered his/her hand dead.
3) If a player releases their hand toward the muck and it is considered by the Floorperson to be ‘not be retrievable’, that hand is dead
4) When, in games such as stud, a hand is dead when a player’s up cards and down cards have been mixed or switched and identity is not clear.
5) When a player has more than or less than the correct number of cards which is required for that particular game, the hand is dead and the player forfeits any monies in the pot if any action has occurred. It is the player’s responsibility to verify that they have the correct number of cards before action occurs.
6) If during the dealing of the hand, an error or dealing irregularity has occurred, the Floorperson has the discretion to declare a misdeal or declare a particular hand dead if the circumstances warrant doing so.

F. Cards Speak:

1) Hands are to be shown beginning with the player initiating the last action
2) The best hand(s) will win the pot regardless of verbal declarations to the contrary, with the provision that any other rule violations are not withstanding.
3) Verbal declarations with regard to the content of a player’s hand are not binding.
4) A player miscalling a hand with intent to manipulate other players into discarding his/her hand may forfeit all rights to any of the pot.
5) No pot will be awarded until all losing hands have been killed/mucked. The winning hand is to be left face-up until the pot is awarded.
6) In order to be awarded any of the pot, the winning hand(s) must a) show all cards dealt, face-up, except discards in draw games; and b) have the correct number of cards in that hand.
7) Any player in a game, where the board may be played, must show all of their cards face-up in order to receive any part of the pot.

G. Betting and Raising

1) Check-raising is permitted in all games, except certain forms of lowball.
2) In limit poker, a bet and three (3) raises are permitted.
3) In ‘heads-up play’, there is no limit on the number of raises
4) A verbal statement denotes a player’s action and is binding. If, when it a player’s your turn, he/she verbally declares a fold, check, bet, call or raise, the action stated becomes mandatory.
5) Rapping the table, or making a similar motion, will be considered a ‘check’.
6) String bets or raises are not allowed. A player must announce ‘raise’ or place 1/2 or more of the appropriate chips in the pot to constitute a raise. Putting less than 1/2 the raise without saying, ‘raise’ before going back to your stack is considered a string raise. Dealers do not call string raises; only players dealt in may call a string raise on another player.
7) If a player goes ‘all in’ for 1/2 the required bet or more, any player acting subsequent to the ‘all-in’ play may either call the bet or raise the full amount of the limit. If a player goes ‘all-in’ for less than 1/2 a bet, another player may call or complete the bet.
8) Players are encouraged to announce their intentions to call or raise for their own protection from string raising and in order to keep the game running smoothly and efficiently.
9) If a player makes a forward motion with chips in his/her hand toward the pot, another player involved in that particular action may invoke this forward motion rule and the player making the motion will be forced to bet. Dealers may not call forward motion on a player.
10) If a player puts a single chip into the pot that is larger than the bet, without announcing a raise, that player is assumed to have ‘called’.

II. Irregularities:

A. Dealer Errors:

1) If the flop, turn or river card in Hold’em or Omaha is exposed by the dealer, before action is complete, unless circumstances dictate otherwise, the Floorperson will direct the dealer to complete action, reshuffle the exposed ‘up cards’ into the remaining deck (excluding burn cards) and reflop ‘turn’ or ‘river’ card as appropriate.
2) If too many cards are ‘flopped’, ‘turned’, or ‘rivered’, those cards will be shuffled into the remaining deck and redealt. Burn cards are not included.
3) If the deck is mucked prematurely, and is retrievable, the Floorperson will try to settle the matter by having the players involved, split the pot. If that is not satisfactory to the players involved, then all cards (including the muck, but not the burn cards) will be reshuffled.
4) If a player’s hole card is exposed or flashed due to dealer error, he/she may not keep the exposed or flashed card. After completing the deal, the dealer will exchange the exposed card with the ‘top card’ on the deck. The exposed card will be used as the burn card after all action before the flop is completed.
5) A card placed face-up in the deck (boxed card) shall be treated as a scrap of paper and will be replaced by the next card below it in the deck.
6) A joker, when playing in a game that does not use a joker, is a scrap of paper and will be replaced by the next card below it in the deck unless it is dealt to a player as a down card. In this situation, it will be replaced after that round of cards has been dealt. If a player does not call attention to the joker among his/her down cards before acting on his/her hand, and the hand is fouled, the player forfeits all rights to the pot.

B. Misdeals:

1) The dealer inadvertently exposes one of the first two cards off the deck, during the deal.
2) Two or more cards have been exposed, during the deal, by the dealer in Hold’em or Omaha.
3) Two more extra cards have been dealt past the player who should have received the last card
4) An incorrect number of cards have been dealt to one or more players and the Floorperson feels it in the best interest of fair-play to redeal
5) A button was out of position.
6) The first card was dealt to the wrong position
7) Cards have been dealt out of the proper sequence
8) Cards have been dealt to an empty seat or to a player not entitled to a hand.
9) A player has been dealt out who is entitled to a hand. The player must be present at the table or have posted a blind or ante. A player away from the table must be acknowledged verbally by the dealer in order to be dealt in.
10) If a card of a different back color or two cards of the same rank and suit appear during a hand, all action is void and all money in the pot is returned to the players involved. If an irregular card is discovered in the stub, all action stands. If, however, a player bets a fouled hand, the hand is dead and the player relinquishes all claims to the pot. The pot is then awarded to the next best hand.
11) One or more cards missing from the deck do not invalidate the results of a hand

C. Player Errors:

1) If a player drops a card out of his hand onto the floor, at the discretion of the Floorperson, the card will play open.
2) If a player shows any cards to anther player at the table, any other player seated in that particular game, may request that the shown card(s) be exposed to all players.
3) If it is a player’s turn to act and there has been a bet, if the player puts chips in the pot, he/she may not change their mind and take the chips out. If a player acts behind him/her, the player must complete the call. If no one acts behind him/her, that player has the option to complete the call or forfeit the hand and all chips placed into the pot to that point. If a player was unaware of a raise and there is no action behind, he/she may take their money out of the pot.
4) If it is a player’s turn to act and there has not been a bet, if the player puts chips in the pot, it is a bet and must be completed. A player may not change his mind whether or not there is action behind.
5) Players must protect their hands at all times
6) Only one player may play a hand.
7) If a player mistakenly bets the lower limit on an upper limit bet, and it is discovered before the round of betting is completed, all bets must be increased to the proper size.
8) If a player plays a hand without looking at all his/her cards, that player assumes the liability of having an irregular card or an improper joker.

D. Miscellaneous

1) Clear racks are permitted on the table

2) Once a pot is out of play, a Floorperson may render ‘no decision’.
E. Kill Pots:

1) Two or more consecutive wins in Hold’em kill games and a qualifying scoop in Omaha kill games require the player to ‘kill’ or double/increase the betting structure to a predetermined amount and betting limits for the next hand.
2) The ‘killer’ who meets the criteria above must post the required amount of chips on the ‘kill’ button prior to the deal.
3) The player killing the pot will have last action on the opening round of betting.
4) Kill pots must be played in the seat in which the kill button was received
5) Live straddles are not permitted in Kill pots.
6) A player who leaves a game temporarily with a ‘leg-up’ will retain that ‘leg-up’ upon returning to the game.
7) The kill button for Hold’em will remain neutral if:
a) It is the first hand of a new game
b) The winner of the previous pot has quit the game.
c) The previous pot was split and none of the players involved in the split had a ‘leg-up’.
d) Blinds are chopped

F. In a game in which the dealer button has passed every seat at least once, a new player may come in behind the blinds and dealer button without having to post blinds.

G. If a player leaves the table for any reason and the blinds pass his/her position, he/she may resume play by posting the total amount of blinds for the game or wait for the big blind. He/she may choose to post the total amount of the blinds, in which case the large blind is live and small blind goes into the pot and is not live. If only the small blind is missed, the player may post a live small blind upon return. If a returning player chooses to ‘live straddle’, all chips are live.

H. The maximum time a player may be away from the table with a live board, is three (3) missed blinds unless it is a dinner or other requested break which has been acknowledged by a Floorperson. A player may return to a game as a new player after forty-five (45) minutes.

I. A player, who has been dealt-in, upon request, may see any hand that is played to completion.

J. ‘Must move’ games are those where management deems it appropriate to start another game of the same type and limit. In order to protect the main game, a ‘must move’ condition may be applied. Players will be called to the main game based upon board order. Players are agreeing to move by accepting seating in the ‘must move’ game.