Sunday Night Poker League Charter

Section 1. Definitions.

The following terms shall have the following respective meaning for all purposes of the League rules, such meaning to be equally applicable to the singular and plural forms thereof.

1.1 “Sunday Night Poker League”, “SNPL” or “League” refers to the league that these rules apply to.
1.2 “Player” shall mean any individual person playing in any one of our league tournaments.
1.3 “Points” shall mean the measurement by which overall league standings are determined.
1.4 “Tournament” shall refer to our weekly poker game.
1.5 “Cashes” shall refer to the amount of times a Player has finished in first, second or third places.
1.6 “League Pot” shall refer to the funds collected for the league.
1.7 “Definition” shall mean a sequence of words used to describe a different word.

Section 2. Arbitration.

While these rules will attempt to cover and regulate any scenario we may find ourselves in, there may occasionally be times in which a decision will require an unbiased independent third party. In these cases, Mr. Aaron Caine (herein referred to as “Commissioner Caine”, mostly because we all like alliteration…) will be the arbitrator. The question will be brought to him by a person not involved in the actual question. If no such person is available, we will use alphabetical order, starting with A, and the first person will act as messenger.

Once Commissioner Caine has objectively listened to the dispute in question and all pertaining details, he will make a binding non-negotiable decision.

Section 3. Ethics and Moral Code

All League players and bystanders must abide by the League Ethics and Moral Code. While there are cash payouts involved, our main goal will always be the pursuit of ‘good times’. We must always remember to treat each other, as well as all League activities, with the utmost respect.

Section 4. Dress Code.

‘Bottoms’ must be worn at all times.

Section 5. Cheating.

Cheating is not allowed under any circumstances. If caught cheating, you will shortly after regret having been a part of the aforementioned cheating in the first place. Cheating will result in the forfeiting of all Points.

Section 6. League Fees.

6.1 Every Player in the Tournament must pay a mandatory $2 (two-dollar) league fee.
6.2 In every Tournament, the 4th (fourth) and 8th (eighth) $10 (ten-dollar) re-buy will be added to the
      League Pot instead of the weekly Tournament cash payout pot.
6.3 All Players will have the option to pre-pay the $2 league fee in advance by giving the SNPL Treasurer       their money.
6.4 Rule has been removed.
6.5 Records pertaining to the League Pot will be available upon request from the league treasurer.
6.6 A Player does not have to pay the league fee if he or she is absent from an individual Tournament.

Section 7. Point Distribution.

7.1 The amount of Players awarded Points for each Tournament will be based on the amount of initial
      entries. (Re-buys do not count as additional entries.)
7.2 The total amount of Points awarded for a Tournament will be based on the amount of initial entries.
      (Re-buys do not count as additional entries.)
7.3 The amount of Points awarded to the various finishing places in the Tournament will be based on the
      official SNLP Point Algorithm (download Excel file).
7.4 When a Player who is being ‘posted & folded’ does not end up participating in the Tournament, his or
      her chips are forfeited and he or she does not constitute an initial with regards to Point distribution.
      This player does not have to pay the $2 league fee.
7.5 Deals or trades for Points are not allowed. Points are not transferable.
7.6 Points are only awarded for the official SNPL weekly Tournaments and cannot be awarded for other
      tournaments or poker games that may be played by League members.
7.7 In the event that a Tournament is forced to stop prior to its natural conclusion for reasons beyond our
      control, Players will receive Points based on their chip count standing at that given moment.
7.8 All Players start a new SNPL season with an “n/a” Point total. Once a Player has participated in at
      least one Tournament, his or her Point total will switch to 0 or reflect whatever Points the Player has
      accumulated.
7.9 In the event that two or more people are eliminated on the same hand, the player who had more chips
      going into the hand will receive the highest ranking and be entitled to the higher ranking’s amount of
      Points. The person with the second most amount of chips going into the pot will receive the second
      highest ranking. This pattern will continue until all eliminated players from that pot are assigned a
      ranking.
7.10 If the scenario in Section 7.9 should occur and multiple players have the exact same amount of chips,
      they will add up the amount of Points to be awarded for their finishing spots and divide it equally. The
      order the Player’s name appears in the standings for that week will be based on a rock-paper-scissors
      challenge (best 2 out of 3) with an uninvolved person to supervise. The supervisor’s ruling is final.

Section 8. Season Length.

8.1 There will be 3 seasons played each year.
8.2 Season 1 will be 17 weeks.
8.2 Season 2 will be 18 weeks
8.3 Season 3 will be 17 weeks.
8.4 The season numbers in rules 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3 are for reference purposes only as each subsequent
     SNPL season will receive a number increased by one of the previous season.
8.5 A season will not be complete under any circumstances until the required number of Tournaments have
     been played.
8.6 The final Point standings will be posted after the last Tournament for the season has concluded.

Section 9. Tournament Cancellations.

9.1 A cancelled tournament, regardless of reason, will be re-scheduled.
9.2 Rescheduling will be based on the criteria defined in section 10.

Section 10. Date Changes.

10.1 In the event a Tournament cannot be played on its regular day, as cited in the current season’s
      schedule, it can be rescheduled to a different day, provided at least 11 people who have played in a
      previous Tournament from that season can participate in the rescheduled Tournament.
10.2 If the first game of a season must be rescheduled, the rescheduled date must be suitable to at least
         11 Players who have participated in a previous season’s Tournament.
10.3 Rule has been removed.
10.4 Rule has been removed.
10.5 Any date changes will be posted on the SNPL website.

Section 11. End of Season League Pot Payouts.

11.1 At the conclusion of an SNPL season, the League Pot will be awarded to Players based on their final
      standing.
11.2 The payouts will use the following structure: 1st Place = 40%, 2nd Place = 27%, 3rd Place = 18%,
      4th Place = 10%, 5th Place = 5%.
11.3 In the event of a tie, the tied Player with the higher number of Cashes, as displayed on the SNPL
      website under ‘Most Cashes Standings’, will be awarded the higher position.
11.4 If the tie-breaker in section 11.3 still results in a tie, all the players who are tied will play a sudden-
      death tournament to determine final ranking. The sudden death tournament will use the same rules as
      the weekly Tournament, but will not have an entry fee and will only be played by the Players who are
      breaking the tie. It is up to the Players’ sole discretion to initiate a ‘split’ of the prize between them
      instead of following the tie-breaker rules.

Section 12. Weekly Tournament Payouts.

12.1 The main pot (containing the initial entry fees) will be distributed as follows:
      1st Place = 50%, 2nd Place = 30%, 3rd Place = 20%.
12.2 The total amount of re-buys (not including the fourth re-buy that goes to the league, if applicable
      [Ref. Section 9.2]) will be distributed as follows:
1st Place = 60%, 2nd Place = 30%, 3rd Place = 10%.

Section 13. Re-Buy Rules.

13.1 Re-buys will be allowed up to the conclusion of the first round of blinds.
13.2 In the final 3 weeks of a season, Players will be allowed a maximum of 3 re-buys.
13.3 There is no limit to the amount of re-buys in all other weeks.
13.4 In the event that an accidental error occurs with respect to Rule 13.2 and a player in the final 3
       weeks re-buys more than 3 times, he or she shall be disqualified from receiving any Points in that
       week’s Tournament. If he or she finishes in a spot that would normally be awarded points, all people
       underneath him or her in the weekly results will move up one spot with respect to Point allocation.

Section 14. Seat Allocations.

14.1 There is a maximum number of Player entries that can be accommodated for each Tournament.
14.2 Seats will be allocated using a decision matrix that combines the sequence in which you requested a
      seat for a specific Tournament (ie. when you called to request a seat) as well as factoring in League
      seniority.
14.3 Participating in a League Tournament does not guarantee or imply that you will have a seat in future
      Tournaments.
14.4 Complaining, whining, moaning or any negative display as a result of not being allocated a seat in a
       weekly Tournament will only decrease your chances of being assigned a seat based on rule 14.2.
14.5 Once all seats in a Tournament have been allocated, additional Players can be added as Alternates.
      The number of Alternates cannot exceed an amount that is greater than 25% (twenty-five percent)
      of the original playing field.
14.6 All alternates will be assigned an entrance order for which they will take a seat in the Tournament.
14.7 As soon as a Player is eliminated from the tournament and does not re-buy or is unable to re-buy, the
      alternate that is next in the entrance order will take their spot.
14.8 The Alternate will enter the Tournament with a full starting stack of chips and all normal rules will
      apply.
14.9 If multiple Players are eliminated from the Tournament at the same time, then each available seat will
      be assigned a card from the deck. These cards will be placed face down on the table and each
      incoming Alternate will pick a card to determine their seat allocation.
14.10 At the time an Alternate is to enter the Tournament, they can choose not to play however that will
      result in them being forced to miss the entire Tournament. Alternates are not allowed to change or
      manipulate the entrance order that is assigned to them.

Section 15. Individual Players Missing A Tournament.

15.1 Players do not have to play in all League Tournaments to participate in the League.
15.2 It is expected that Players will miss certain Tournaments, in which case they will be awarded 0 points
      (which is equal to what half of the Players who did play in the Tournament will be awarded).
15.3 There is no minimum amount of Tournaments a Player must play in order to participate or win a
      season of the SNPL.

Section 16. Mid-Tournament Exit.

16.1 If a Player must leave in the middle of a Tournament, his or her chips will be instantly forfeited.
16.2 Another Player is not allowed to play the existing Player’s chips.
16.3 If the Player who is exiting is already within the amount of Players who are being awarded points for
      the Tournament, then he or she shall receive the amount of Points that her or she would be entitled
      to, as if the Player had been eliminated from the Tournament at that point.
16.4 A player who exits early will not have his or her league fee refunded.

Section 17. Standings Dispute Periods, Errors & Omissions.

17.1 While every effort will be made to ensure perfect accuracy, we are only human and there is,
      therefore, the possibly of a mistake.
17.2 An error in the League standings should be identified and corrected as quickly as possible.
17.3 The filing of an error can occur via an email, new post or post comment on the SNPL website. It is
      the Player’s responsibility to ensure that the filing of his or her error notification is acknowledged by
      someone who can take action to rectify the problem.
17.4 After 6 days have passed from the last Tournament of a season, the Standings will be deemed final.
       Even if an error is identified after the 6 day period, no changes or alterations will occur.

Section 18. Incentives, Coercion & Bribes.

18.1 Under no circumstances can one Player try to skew the League Point allocations or standings through
      incentives, coercion or bribes. (For example, the scenario of, “I will give you more money from the
      weekly pot if you lose the tournament so I can get more points”, is 100% prohibited.)
18.2 Players cannot make any deals that alter the final Point allocation outcome of a Tournament.
18.3 Players cannot trade Points.
18.4 Points cannot be bought or sold from other Players.

Section 19. The Rules.

19.1 The Sunday Night Poker League will follow the rules as discussed in this document.
19.2 The rules will be known as the “Sunday Night Poker League Charter”.

Section 20. The Blind Structure.

20.1 The following blind stucture will be used for all League tournaments:

Last Revised: May 5, 2008