House Policies and Rules

House Rules
In all disputes in which a ruling, interpretation, clarification or intervention is required, all decisions made by PokerHeaven.com management are final and binding. Management has the right to close any game at any time.

Management has the right to remove a player for a time period to be determined by management for a violation of a house rule.

In the unlikely event of a software error which subsequently rewards a pot to the wrong player, PokerHeaven.com has the right to adjust players' account balances to correct any and all errors. PokerHeaven.com will contact all affected players and present a hand history and detailed explanation of the error within 48 hours.

If a player notices that an unlikely error of any kind has occurred during a game, the player is obliged to contact support services (pokerheaven@pokerresponse.com).

In the unlikely event of a server crash that removes all players from the table, the hand in play will be considered dead (void) and all monies will be returned after an investigation has been conducted.

In the unlikely event of an error, the hand will be dead. Please refer to "error" under our PokerHeaven.com General House Policies.

All players have the right to request a hand history in the event of a dispute.

Players may not act as a team. If team play (collusion) is suspected, pokerheaven.com has the right to suspend suspected accounts and funds while an investigation is conducted. Players found to have been acting, or reasonably suspected of acting as a team, will have their account privileges indefinitely terminated at all poker rooms operated by Boss Media. If warranted, pokerheaven.com has the right to confiscate any funds won while players were acting as a team. Confiscated funds will be distributed to victimized players.

No "board talk" is allowed. Players may not chat about a hand while it is in progress. Although some comments may be innocuous, the presumption will be that any comments about the play of a hand are in violation of our rules, and the burden of proof will be on the violating player to convince us otherwise. To be safe, avoid making jokes about the hand you are holding or how you intend to play during a hand. Players may not use chat to offer advice to another player during a hand, or urge a player to take a particular course of action (e.g., it is a rule violation to use chat to say "Call him, he's bluffing!").

Players may not chat about any folded cards they held during a hand.

Players may not chat about any current cards they are holding during a hand.

Only the English language may be written using chat.

Foul, abusive or threatening language will not be tolerated at the gaming tables. Players may lose membership privileges for any repeat occurrences.

The game is played for "table stakes" and as such, a player may not be forced out of hand for a lack of money. To complete the hand, a player will be allowed to go All-In.

If a player is disconnected during play for any reason, then he will be considered All-In if such player has any All-Ins remaining. In the event that a player does not have an All-In remaining, then the player will be folded and lose the funds contributed to the pot.

The All-In limit is two (2) per day. If a player goes through the two All-Ins in a day, he must send an email to customer service, asking that his All-Ins be reset, and explaining the reason for the needed additional All-Ins. Customers who abuse the All-In policy are subject to having their accounts closed.

A "cap" of three (3) raises is allotted per betting round.

If there are only two remaining players, playing "heads up," then raises are unlimited.

Players are allowed to Check and Raise.

The determination of which player's hand will and must be shown first during the showdown will depend on which player initiated the action and/or which player initiated the last bet, raise or re-raise.

Players who win a non-called pot are not obligated to show their cards.

Players may not fold a checked hand.

Cards "speak for themselves" when determining the winner of a pot. The universal poker hand rankings apply, and a list of these rankings can be found at the Poker Hand Rankings link.

If two or more players tie by holding equally-strong winning five-card hands, the pot will be split between the tying players. If there is an odd chip, that chip will be broken down to the smallest value chips in the game. If the amount to be split is still uneven, the player who was in earliest position gets the odd chip in flop games. In high-low games, the high hand gets the odd chip.

The house shall collect a "rake" not to exceed $5 per pot, except in games featuring stakes of $1-$2 or lower, where the maximum rake is $1. Please see "house rakes" on our website.

The Reserve-Seat and Sit-Out features are intended to allow a player to take a small break from the action without losing his or her seat.

Players must return to the game within 10 rounds. If a player fails to return to the game, then the player will be picked up from the table.

Short buys are not permitted. The only exception to this rule is if the player has already bought into the game for the acceptable minimum, and wants to add chips from his account, but does not have enough chips in his account to reach the minimum. That player will be allowed to add as many chips as he has left in his account.

Straddle bets are not permitted.

Membership to PokerHeaven.com can be revoked at anytime for any reason. The funds in a player's account will be returned unless the player has been found to have cheated another player or players, in which case some or all funds may be distributed to the victimized players. In no event will PokerHeaven.com simply confiscate a player's funds and retain them for PokerHeaven.com.


House Policies
See also our Fair Play Policy page and our Privacy Policy page.

All-in procedures:

What happens if a player runs out of money during a hand or is disconnected?
If a player runs out of money during a hand or is disconnected by his ISP or system, by no means does a player have to fold his hand: the player may go "all-in." This means that a player cannot be forced out of a hand if he/she doesn't have enough money to complete the hand he/she started. When a player runs out of money in a hand and wants to stay in, he/she places what chips he/she does have into the pot and the game computer automatically places him/her "all-in."

As an all-in player, he/she can only contend for the money in a pot that he/she contributed to. Using this kind of all-in does not use up one of your two daily all-ins; those all-ins get used up only when you fail to act in time, either because you got distracted from the game, or disconnected from the game. All other action of remaining "active" players goes into a "side pot" to be fought for by them.

How do you go all-in?
Players may go all-in for whole dollar amounts only. When you make a bet, call a bet or raise a bet that will reduce your balance to less than $1, you will be prompted to: "go all-in?" Yes or no?

Once a player is all-in:
The player receives all cards as usual.

The all-in player has no option to bet (obviously).

All other money bet after the player is all-in cannot be won by the all-in player and will be put into a side pot for all active players to win.

If the player who is all-in has the action, then the dealer will move to the next player clockwise. This will continue until an active player shows a better top hand.

The player may fold his cards only on the river and only after the side pot (if there is one) has been awarded to active players.

Other house policies

1. Server crash or game freeze:
In the event of a server crash that removes all players from the table or prevents the hand from continuing, the hand will be considered dead (void) and all monies will be returned to all players.

2. Errors that do not cause a dead hand:
In the event the game pushes the pot to the wrong player or misreads the winning hand, certified poker support service members will correct the error by adjusting the players' accounts within 24 hours.

3. Cheating of any kind:
If management suspects such an activity, the player(s) accused will be investigated. Players found to have been, or reasonably suspected of cheating in any form, will have their account privileges terminated throughout Boss Media's poker rooms indefinitely. Using the standard of "beyond a reasonable doubt" to indicate cheating, PokerHeaven.com has the right to confiscate any funds won while cheating. Confiscated funds will be distributed to victim players. Boss Media/PokerHeaven.com will never keep confiscated funds. Any player who has funds confiscated for cheating will be told the screen names of the players who have received their money.

4. Team play or collusion:
Team play or collusion is the act of two or more players "teaming up" to gain a competitive advantage by signalling card values or making raises and re-raises that are intended to force a victim player out of a pot. If customer service receives a complaint about such an activity or management suspects such activity, the players accused/suspected will have their accounts and playing activity reviewed by management. Players found to have been acting, or reasonably suspected of acting as a team, will have their account privileges terminated throughout Boss Media's poker rooms indefinitely. If warranted, Poker Heaven has the right to confiscate any funds won while acting as a team. Confiscated funds will be distributed to victim players.

Management will judge the severity of a violation. PokerHeaven.com has the right to suspend or revoke membership privileges.

Multi Table Tournament Rules
1. All Multi Table Tournaments will begin at the time stated in the lobby.
2. Registration times for all tournaments are shown in the lobby.
3. Seats are randomly assigned and there will be no changes allowed.
4. At the start of the tournament, players will be randomly seated on each table.
5. The tournament ends when one player wins all of the chips in play.
6. When a player loses all of their chips, they are eliminated from the tournament.
7. If two or more players are eliminated in the same hand, the player with the most chips at the start of the hand will be placed higher. If the chips are tied then the player closest to the button will be placed higher.
8. Raises are not capped in No Limit or Pot Limit tournaments but during limit tournaments there is a maximum of a bet and 3 raises before the pot is capped except when the play gets heads up.
9. When play is heads up, (only 2 players remain) the player on the button will post the small blind and be first to act.
10. Tables are automatically balanced during a tournament.
11. Players may be moved to other tables to maintain the balance. If the player is moved into the big blind position, this position is live and is in play immediately. Players who are moved into the small blind or button position will not be dealt into the hand until the button has passed them.
12. The button acts as a dead button when players are eliminated in blind positions and will not move until both blinds have been paid.
13. There are no deals between players allowed in any tournaments.
14. Hand for Hand dealing will be operated when player numbers approach the prize money positions, and for each subsequent change in the prize money until the final table is reached. This means that all hands will start at the same time and a new hand will not be dealt until all hands on all tables have been completed.
15. If a player has registered for a tournament and is not present at the start they will be blinded off and be deemed to have played in the tournament.
16. Players or railbirds (Observers) may not discuss hands until a hand is over. Anyone discussing their discarded cards or hand. possibilities may be subject to disqualification.
17. Soft playing, team playing or chip dumping will result in disqualification from the tournament, and possibly suspension from Poker Heaven with all funds impounded.
18. Normal tournament rules apply to all tournaments.
19. English is the only language allowed at the tables.
20. Players and observers are expected to use the chat feature in a courteous manner.
21. By participating in a tournament the player accepts the risk of Internet disconnection between their computer and the servers, or lag and freeze due to the player’s computer. Poker Heaven does not accept responsibility for any player disconnections except in the event of a server crash.
22. Poker Heaven reserves the right to cancel or reschedule tournaments at their discretion.
23. If in the event of a dispute, Poker Heaven management decision will be final.
24. Poker Heaven reserve the right to amend the Tournament Rules and Policies at any time without notice to the players.
25. A player who is disconnected during a tournament will be marked as sit out and blinded off until they reconnect to the tournament and uncheck the sit out box.
26. Our normal all in/ disconnections policy applies to all tournaments.
27. Players can only win one satellite entry to any tournament, there is no cash alternative and seats are not transferable. Should any player win two seats he or she will forfeit one of them. Should a player be unable to play for any reason then they will forfeit their entry. No refund will be given and players cannot transfer their entry to another date.
28. By participating in a tournament the player consents to be bound by the tournament rules

In the event of a server crash
In this instance, all current hands being played are cancelled and the players at the tables will have their chips returned to the balance at the start of the hand. The tournament will restart when the server is back up. If it is not restarted and is subsequently cancelled, then the following procedures will be implemented: If less than 20% of the field has been eliminated then all entries will be refunded. If 20% or more of the field have been eliminated then 50% of the prizepool will be split equally between the remaining players and the other 50% will be distributed in proportion to their chip balance at the time of cancellation. If the chip balances are unavailable then the remaining prizepool will be distributed equally between the remaining players.