top of page

POLICIES & PROCEDURES

1.  We are a free poker league.  We play a 3-month season where each night we play one tournament at each venue where players are playing for points.  At the end of the 3 months, the top 3 players of each venue and the top 40 in the city will be invited to participate in our Finals.  

2.  The rules are the same at all JPA tournaments. Any cheating or suspected cheating will be dealt with severely & immediately, with disqualification & potential banishment from future play at all events. Excessive foul language (to include, but not limited to, "F" bombs), eruptive displays of anger (to include, but not limited to, throwing cards or chips) and derogatory remarks made in an abusive manner will not be tolerated.

3. Players must be a minimum age of 18 years old. Some locations require players to be 21 years old. Call the location for info.

4. New players will be assigned a valid player number by the Tournament Director when they arrive at the game location and will receive a bonus 500 chip. If an established player brings them, that player will also receive the 500 bonus. All players should have a valid player number. Players must have a number to participate in the major tournaments. New players must supply and email and phone number to qualify for points and large events.

5. All games must have at least 4 players to receive points.  Player start with 2500 in chips. Player may give an optional donation up to $5. If a player makes a purchase at the venue they will receive extra chips. These bonus chips must be awarded by the end of the 1st break. The player to receive the bonus chips may not be out of chips, all in, or in the middle of a hand. Bonuses may not be shared.

6. Games are played with blinds, not antes. The following structure will be used:

   

                                

                      25/50             20 minutes

                      50/100            20 minutes

                      100/200          20 minutes

                      200/400          20 minutes

                      500/1000         15 minutes

                      1000/2000       15 minutes

                      2000/4000       15 minutes

                      4000/8000       15 mins, Etc.

 

7. Players will receive points based on their finish each night at each location. These points will accumulate at each location & citywide. To assure proper credit of points, players should sign in and out with their Player Number. Failure to do so may result in a loss of points. Everyone that plays received a minimum of 1 point for participating. Players lasting until the 2,000/4,000 blind level will receive points based on how many players they outlast, for example if you outlast 20 players, you get 20 points. 1st place gets a bonus of 50 points, 2nd place gets a bonus of 30 points & 3rd place gets a bonus of 10 points. If there are only 4 players, the bonus will be 30 points for 1st and 10 points for second.  Ex. If 1st place outlasts 20 players you get 20 + 50 = 70 points. Players who end up 4th through 10th place will receive a minimum of 5 points.

The person with the highest hand of the game, will also receive points based on what the hand is: 

HOLD 'EM: full house - 10 points; quads - 20 points; straight flush - 30 points; and royal flush - 50 points.

DEALERS' CHOICE: full house - 5 points; quads - 10 points; straight flush - 20 points; and royal flush - 40 points

If a consolation table is played (rules to follow), it is worth 15 points.

8. All JPA Citywide Tournaments will be held at participating JPA locations.

9. JPA reserves the right to move points to another location in the event of cancellation during a tournament. If this occurs, then all points will be combined with existing points at that location.

10. Players who win $600 or more may need to show identification and tax information will be required. JPA will mail Tax Form 1099 to those players no later than January 31st of the following year.

11.  Protect your cards at all time. If your cards are accidentally mucked by another player or dealer, the hand will be considered dead if it is not 100% verifiable. 

12. All players in an all-in hand must show their cards.

13.  Breaking down and balancing tables will be handle by the Tournament Director.  All players will be moved to positions as close to their original position as possible.

QUALIFYING FOR TOURNAMENTS

1. At the end of 2 months, the points are tallied for the full session and the Top 40 players Citywide and the Top 3 players from each location will be invited to play in the Finals Tournament. Absolutely NO SUBSTITUTIONS are allowed for players unable to attend Finals.

2. In the event of a tie, both players will be eligible.

3. Games must have played at least 4 weeks. If it does not meet these stipulations, management reserves the right to move points to another location on the same day or may alter the number of players permitted to attend main tournaments.

2023 JPA Rule Updates and Clarifications

1. All TDs will use TDA rules for JPA Guidelines with TD discretion. https://www.pokertda.com/poker-tda-rules/

2. Finals tournament: starting stack will now be 10,000 chips. Anyone making finals will receive an extra 1,000 chip for “each” venue they are 1st place at. We will cap this at 3,000 extra chips.

3. Top 3 overall in city will receive a $75/$50/$25 in gift cards.

4. Top 9 at finals are “invited” to BPO event in Las Vegas. If attending BPO event they will have to pay for a seat. The seat is not included.

5. All players qualified for the JPA Finals are also “invited” to the $7,500 NO LIMIT Main Event WPB.

6. If a venue closes after 4 full weeks of play, then the points will count to qualify for the Main Event. The points will be transferred to another venue if there are 3 or less weeks of play.

7. JPA online game Thursday will be cancelled. Players will have the option to play NO LIMIT online.

8. Pot sweeteners: 500 chip for 1st 3 levels and then the 4th level will be 1000 chip and Bounty Card. No Bounty Cards were awarded to the winner of the game.

9. Weather: We “usually” can’t cancel until noon on the day of the event, and we will post on website and social media and try to notify players via text when we do cancel for weather.

10. Clock: We will avoid stopping the clock to combine tables or move people.

11. Break: there will be two 5 min breaks, 1 – after 200/400 level and 2- after 2000/4000 level.

12. Blinds: after 1st break the blind levels will be 15min not 20 min.

13. Food/drink chips to be given until break (80 min). 500 for Facebook share, 500 for thirty minutes early, 500 for food and drinks and 1500 for entrees and buckets up to a 3000 chip cap.

14. Late players- We suggest allowing players to play up to 1 hour Late. Encourage/remind players that they need to be notifying the TDs if they will be late. We should still allow them to play BUT strongly encourage communication. Late players will have less chips based on this formula: 0-20min=2575, 20-30mins= 2400, 30-40mins= 2200, 40-50mins= 2000, & 50-60mins= 1800.

15. If a player leaves for no reason and forfeits chips then they get 1 point.  If a player leaves and does not notify TD then we leave their chips in play for 2 blind levels, and then we remove chips from table.  If a player leaves for a good reason and notifies the TD, then they will get blinded out and receive appropriate points.

16. Special Events may be held throughout the season. These events will count toward citywide points.

17. At all locations players can reenter 1 time up until the 1st break. Reentries will get 5000 chips. Re-entry is a $5 recommended tip.

18. Rude/inappropriate players. Bad mouthing venues, dealers or other players should be shut down as soon as possible. Give 2 warnings then suspend 1 day. After suspending 2 days then suspend from 1 venue. After suspension from 2 venues then we suspend from all venues. JPA has zero tolerance for threatening behavior towards another player, venue staff or TDs.

19. Person(s) in charge in Carl’s absence will be Leilani (904)207-1336 and then Pam (904)755-6862

20. Any small gear is given 100 extra chips. A shirt or hat visibly worn is 500 extra chips. Players can get 1 small gear and 1 big gear for a total of 600 in chips.

MIXED GAME RULES (TWISTED POKER)

 

ANACONDA

  1. All players are dealt seven cards followed by a betting round.

  2. Each player chooses 3 cards to pass to your immediate left, followed by a pass of two cards two spots to the left, and a pass of one card three spots to the left.

  3. The high hand and low hand split the pot.

BADEUCY

     Badugi mixed with Duece to Seven Triple draw. The best Badugi hand has all low
cards of different suits with no pairs. Aces are considered low. The best Duece to Seven hand
would be all low
cards with no pairs, straights or flushes and ace is considered high. You have 3
chances to draw to a better hand, drawing no more than 3 cards per round with a betting round
between each.

 

BADUGI

   Badugi is a very unusual draw poker variation, unlike any other poker game. The first thing to note is that each player only gets 4 cards, and the second is that it is a poker game played for low, not high hands. The third thing to know is that like triple-draw poker, there are 3 drawing rounds.
  The final and most confusing thing is what makes a winning Badugi hand. The best Badugi hand is Ace-2-3-4 of 4 different suits. In Badugi, straights do NOT count against you for low, but matching suits does. We'll talk more about it when we get to the section on evaluating Badugi hands.
  Lets get started learning Badugi poker rules.

Here's How:

  1. Each player is dealt four cards face-down. After each player checks their hand, a round of betting occurs.

  2. After the betting is complete, each player is allowed to choose 0-4 cards to discard and draw new cards. In other words, players can exchange either all or none of their cards.

  3. After each player has received their new cards, another round of betting occurs. This is followed by a second round where players can draw cards, and a third round of betting. There is then a final round of draw and a final round of betting.

  4. Players reveal their hands and a winner is determined.

  5. What makes a Badugi Hand?
    The most important thing to remember when playing Badugi is that to make a 4-card Badugi hand you need to have 4 cards of different suits and ranks. In other words, if you have A-2-3-4 but the ace and 2 are both spades, only one of those cards will count -- your final Badugi hand would be just 3 cards: A-3-4. If you have A-A-2-3 of all different suits, the pair still counts against you and you can only use 3 of the cards for your final hand. So your goal is to get the 4 lowest cards of different suits possible. A 4-card hand -- known as a "badugi" -- always beats a 3-card hand, no matter how high the cards are.

  6. What beats what in Badugi: Examples

  • If both players have four-card hands, the player with the lowest "high" card wins. For example, player one has Ace of hearts, 2 of spades, 3 of clubs, and 10 of diamonds. Player two has 4 of spades, 6 of clubs, 7 of diamonds, and 8 of hearts. In this scenario, player two wins because their highest card is only an 8, while player one has a 10. 

What beats what in Badugi: More Examples

  • Scenario 2: Player one has 2 of hearts, 3 of spades, 4 of clubs, and 5 of hearts. Player two has 4 of spades, 6 of clubs, 7 of diamonds, and King of hearts. Player two wins because he has a four-card hand, albeit with a king, because player 1 has two hearts, therefore only has a final 3-card hand.

  • Scenario 3: Player one has 2 of hearts, 2 of spades, 4 of clubs, 6 of diamonds. Player two has Ace of spades, 3 of diamonds, 8 of diamonds, 9 of clubs. Both players here have 3-card badugi hands since player one has a pair and player 2 has two of the same suit. But Player one's 3-card hand is lower, since his highest card is a 6 to Player two's 9.

Tips:

  1. Remember that getting a four-card hand is better than any three-card hand, so think carefully about trading a high card in a four-card hand in hopes of getting a lower card, especially in later drawing rounds.

  2. By "staying pat" and drawing no cards, you will appear to have a "badugi" -- a four-card hand, which is a smart way to bluff opponents.

  3. The worst hand that is still a "badugi" is K-Q-J-10 of different suits. The very worst hand of all in Badugi is K-K-K-K.

CHOOSE YOUR OWN

     This is a seven-card stud based game. Start with two cards down and
one card up, followed by a betting round. The dealer deals out one card per player that remains
in the hand in the middle of the table. Aces may be player either high or low, but for the picking
round, they are considered high. The player that has the lowest hand showing chooses their
next up card from those cards, the second lowest picks next and so on. After each player has a
total of 2 up cards, there’s another betting round. This continues for 2 additional up cards. The
last card is dealt face down to each player follwed by another betting round and the showdown.
The game may be player high/low, high only or low only. If played low only, the high hand
showing would pick first and so on.

 

CRAZY PINEAPPLE

  1. Just as in Hold'em, the two players to the left post blinds before the deal.

  2. Now, the changes begin. In Pineapple Poker, instead of being dealt 2 hole cards as in Texas Hold'em, each player gets 3 hole cards to begin. After the 3 hole cards are dealt, there's a round of betting. 

  3. After the betting is complete, the flop is dealt, and another round of betting begins

  4. Here's where it gets "Crazy" -- after the second round of betting is done, all players remaining in the hand choose 1 card from their 3 hole cards to discard. So everyone now only has the regular 2 hole cards just like in Texas Hold'em again.

  5. From here, the game is identical to Texas Hold'em. The turn is dealt, a round of betting happens, the river is dealt, another betting round, and then there's the showdown. Players can use any combination of the 2 hole cards in their hands and the 5 board or community cards on the table to make the best hand, and the best hand wins the pot.

 

DEUCE-TO-SEVEN TRIPLE DRAW

  1. As the name implies, instead of each player only drawing once during a hand, each player gets to draw three times.

  2. After each round of draws, there is a round of betting

  3. The "deuce-to-seven" part of this game means it is played for low. But not the low of razz or or most hi/lo poker games, in deuce-to-seven, you want to make the worst hand possible without making a straight or a flush. In this game, straights and flushes do count against you, and aces are always high. 

  4. The best low hand is 2-3-4-5-7, not of the same suit

 

DOUBLE DEAL HOLD'EM

   Double Deal Hold'Em poker is a variation of Texas Hold'em where you deal out two separate boards or community cards. Each player is still dealt out two hold cards to make their hands, but they will get to make two seperate hands to play, one for each set of community cards. 

  1. Deal each player their two cards, bet, then deal out two flops.

  2. Another round of betting, then deal two turn cards.

  3. Bet, then deal two river cards. 

  4. In the end, you should have ten cards face-up in two rows of five. Now each player makes his/her best hand for each row and the pot is split between the winning hand for each board. It is possible for one person to win both hands and scoop the whole pot, too. 

 

DOUBLE DRAW

   This game is almost the same as regular five-card draw, except everyone gets to draw new cards twice instead of the usual single draw. There’s also an additional round of betting following the second draw. 

 

ENGLISH STUD POKER

   This is dealt as standard seven-card stud with two down, four up, and one down.

  1. First two cards down and third card up are dealt, followed by a betting round.

  2. Fourth card up, followed by a betting round. 

  3. Fifth card is dealt face-up, followed by a "draw", in which each player has the option to discard one card from their hand for a new one from the deck. If the player discards one that was face-down, that player receives the new card face-down. If the player discards one that was face-up, that player receives the new card face-up. The draw is followed by a betting round.

  4. Sixth card is dealt face-up, followed by another draw of one card, and another betting round. 

  5. Seventh card is dealt face-down, followed by a final draw of one card, followed by the final betting round.

 

FIVE CARD DRAW (Single, Double or Triple Draw OR Just High, Just Low or High/Low)

  1. Players ante up (place a small bet in the pot).

  2. Starting with the player to the dealer's left, the dealer deals each player five cards, face down.

  3. Everyone picks up their cards from the table and checks out what they’ve got.

  4. There’s a round of betting, starting with the player to the dealer’s left.

  5. When the betting is done, those who are still in the hand get to trade in one, two, or three cards from their hand for new ones. If a player has an ace, he/she can trade in the other four cards in his/her hand, but usually has to show the ace.
    Note: You don’t have to trade any cards – if you’ve already got good hand, you’ll want to “stand pat” and keep the cards you were first dealt. 

  6. After everyone receives their new cards, there’s another round of betting, starting to the dealer's left.

  7. After the betting is completed, players show their hands and the best hand wins the pot.

JAMAICAN PINEAPPLE – Each players receives 5 cards. A regular hold ‘em board is dealt.
Players throw away a card after the flop, the turn and the river. Game may be played with either
one board or two.

 

LOWBALL

   Lowball (sometimes called California Lowball) is just five-card draw where instead of the highest hand winning the pot, the lowest hand wins it. The lowest hand, depending on what game you're playing may be defined two ways. Usually in games with a low hand, straights and flushes don't count against a hand being low, so A-2-3-4-5 is the lowest hand. The ace to five straight is also called "the bike" or "the wheel."

 

MEXICAN STUD (ROLL YOUR OWN)

   The theme of this game is that each player chooses which of their cards they will show to the rest of the table, while maintaining the format of three cards face-down and four face-up. 

 

  1. Each player is dealt three cards face-down.

  2. On the count of three, each player chooses which of the three cards they will turn face-up to the rest of the table. This is followed by a betting round, opened by the player with the highest card showing.

  3. Another card is dealt face-down to each player, and each player again must turn one of them face-up on the count of three. 

  4. After another betting round opened by the player with the best hand showing, this continues until each player has been dealt a total of six cards and there have been four betting rounds. At this point, each player has two cards face-down and four cards face-up. 

  5. The seventh and final card is dealt face-down, and the final betting round is again opened by the player with the best hand showing. Best hand wins.

 

OH, SHOOT (DOUBLE DEAL OMAHA)

   In this variation of Omaha five cards are dealt to each person with ten cards dealt face down on the table (community cards).  The game is played Hi/Lo. In Low hands, Aces are low and straights and flushes have no significance, so that the wheel A-2-3-4-5 is the best Low hand. Low hands have to be eight-high or better to qualify to win part of the pot.

 

  1. Deal each player their four cards, bet, then deal out two flops

  2. Another round of betting, then deal two turn cards.

  3. Bet, then deal two river cards. 

  4. In the end, you should have ten cards face-up in two rows of five. Now each player makes his/her best hand for each row.  Players must use exactly two cards from their hand together with exactly three community cards, all from the same row, to make their high or low hand. The pot is split between the winning hands for each board. It is possible for one person to win both boards and scoop the whole pot, too. 

 

PASS 'EM POKER

  1. Deal three cards face down to each player.

  2. Each player must then give one card from his hand face down to the player on his left. These cards are passed simultaneously: they are picked up only after each player has passed on his "gift" to the next player. After all have received their card there is a round of betting.

  3. After this three shared cards are placed one at a time face up in the middle and a new of round of betting takes place after each new card is revealed. 

  4. At the showdown a player may use either two cards from his hand and all three from the table or all three from his hand plus two from the middle to make the best 5-card hand.

 

PAI GOW

   This is not actually a Stud poker game, but is hard to classify anywhere else. Seven cards are immediately dealt face-down to each player. Each player divides their hand into one five-card hand and one two-card hand.  
  The five-card hand will play as a regular poker hand, but the two-card hand will play as a Two-Card Guts hand, consisting of either a pair, or a high card. The stipulation, however, is that the five-card hand must be of equal or better value than the two-card hand. For example, if the two-card hand consists of a pair of Jacks, then the five-card hand must consist of at least a pair of Jacks or better.
  A betting round is made immediately after the deal. At the same time, all players reveal their two-card hands face-up. This is followed by a second betting round. All players then reveal their five-card hand. The best two-card hand collects half of the pot, the other half going to the player with the best five-card hand.

PSYCHO

     5 Card Draw turns into 7 card stud – Deal 5 cards to each player followed by a
betting round. Players may exchange up to 3 cards or 4 if they have an ace for new card. Then,
each player flips up 3 cards followed by a betting round. They receive one more card up and
one more card face down with a betting round between each. Best 5 card hand wins. May be
played high/low, high or low.


ROPE

     This is not a poker hand ranking game. It’s a points game. Aces are 1 or 11 points,
Face cards are 10 and numbers are what they are. You want to end with the highest or lowest
point values. The board is 6 cards d
ealt one at a time with a betting round between each. If the
card flipped is in your hand, you discard it face up in front of you and it does not count for you
hand value any longer. If a card on the board pairs up, it is disregarded and a new card is
flipped. If at anytime, a player gets rid of all of their cards, they win the full pot.

 

SAME'EM

  1. Three cards are dealt to each player and there is a round of betting.

  2. A three-card flop is dealt, followed by a second round of betting.

  3. A fourth card is dealt to each player and a fourth card (the turn) to the table, and there is a third round of betting.

  4. A fifth card is dealt to each player and a fifth card (the river) to the table, and there is a fourth and final round of betting.

  5. Each player in the showdown makes the best possible 5 card poker hand out of the 10 available cards (five in hand and five on the table).

SEVEN-TWENTY SEVEN (or 11/33)

     This is not a poker ranking game. It’s points based. Aces are 1 or 11, face
cards are one half and number cards are what they are. Players are dealt 2 hole cards and 1 up
card to start. Players can take an unlimited number of additional cards with a betting round
between each. Once a player has stopped taking cards, their hand is locked in and they may
not change and take another card. Players want to be the closest to 7 or
27 (or 11 or 33).

 

SEVEN-CARD STUD (Just High, Just Low or High/Low)

  1. All players put in an ante. 

  2. Starting to his/her left, the dealer deals each player two cards down (called hole or pocket cards) and one card face-up.

  3. Everyone looks at their hole cards.

  4. The player with the lowest card showing face-up has to put in a small bet called a "bring in." Then betting continues to that low-card player's left. Each player can call, raise, or fold their cards.
    After the betting is completed, another card is dealt to each player face-up. This card is also known as "fourth street" or "the turn."

  5. Another round of betting occurs, starting now with the player with the highest cards showing. From fourth street on, the player with the highest cards showing will continue to be the first to bet. 

  6. After betting is complete, the fifth card (fifth street or the river) is dealth face-up. More betting occurs, then the sixth card is dealth face up. More betting. 

  7. The 7th and final card is dealt face-down to the players remaining in the hand. A final round of betting occurs.

  8. The players show their hands at the showdown. The player who can make the best five-card hand from the seven they were dealt, wins.

 

 

SEVEN-CARD STUD HI-LO - 8 OR BETTER

  1. The dealer deals each player two cards down (called hole or pocket cards) and one card face-up. This is known as the "door" card.

  2. The betting begins with the player with the highest card showing face-up.

  3. After the betting is completed, another card is dealt to each player face-up, followed by another betting round. This card is also known as "fourth street" or "the turn.” 

  4. After betting is complete, the fifth card (fifth street) is dealth face-up. More betting occurs, then the sixth card is dealth face up. More betting. 

  5. The 7th and final card is dealt face-down to the players remaining in the hand. A final round of betting occurs.

  6. The players show their hands at the showdown. The player who can make the best high five-card hand from the seven they were dealt wins one half of the pot, and the player with the best low five-card poker hand wins the other half.  The low hand cannot have a card higher than 8 in it. In other words, if you have Ace-2-4-6-9-10-10 as your final 7-card hand, you don't have a low, because the best low hand you can make is Ace-2-4-6-9. There may not be a qualifying low hand, in which case the high hand "scoops" or wins the whole pot. 

  7. The most important thing to remember when beginning to learn this game is that you get 7 cards to pick from to make your final 5 card hand, and you can use two different sets of five cards to make a high hand and a low hand. In other words, if your final seven cards are Ace-Ace-2-3-4-6-6, you would have a high hand of two pair: Aces & 6s, and a low hand of Ace-2-3-4-6. 

 

SIX-CARD STUD

   Six cards are dealt to each player: one down; four up; one down. There is a betting round after each. Players make their best five card hand with the six cards.

 

 

TAHOE

  This is played the same as Texas Hold 'Em, with the two exceptions. Each player is dealt three cards at the beginning of the game instead of two, but can only use two of their three hole cards in their final hand.

 

THE DECK

  1. The dealer deals a card face-down to each player, and then exposes the top card off of the deck. The first player to the left of the dealer has the option of either choosing the exposed card or a blind one from the top of the deck. Whichever choice the player makes, that player receives the card in his hand face-up. If that player chose the exposed card, then the dealer replaces it with the next card off the top of the deck and gives the same choice to the next player. If that player chose a blind card, then the next player is given the option to take the exposed card or a blind one. The exposed card is not replaced until it is either chosen by a player or the dealer turns it down. Once the dealer turns it down, the round of dealing is over, followed by a betting round.

  2. When the next round of dealing starts after the betting round, whichever card was exposed is placed at the bottom of the deck, replaced by a new card from the top of the deck. This continues until each player has one card in the hole and four cards face-up. There is a final betting round and the best hand wins.

TRAIN  

     Each player receives 5 cards. The board consists of two vertical “tracks” of 4 cards
with two “train cars” between them. One card from each track are flipped making sure that no 2
of the same horizontal row are flipped at the same time. Then, each of the “train” cars are
flipped with a betting round between each. Players may use any of their 5 cards, either “train
car” or any horizontal line of tracks to form their best hand. It is a high/low split.


WAGON WHEEL

     Each player receives 5 cards. The board is 2 cards for the “hub” and 5
“spokes” consisting of 2 cards. Each “spoke” is flipped with a betting round between each,
followed by the “hub”. Players may use any of the hole cards, the “hub” and any one “spoke” to
form their best 5 card hand. It is a high/low split.

 

VANCOUVER STUD

  1. Each player is dealt 2 face down cards. There is a round of betting.

  2. After the first round of betting, each surviving player is dealt one face up card of their own (counting only toward their hand) and one community card is dealt (counting towards everyone's hand). There is a second round of betting.

  3. Each surviving player is then dealt a face down card that counts toward their hand only, and a second community card is dealt face up. There is a third round of betting.

  4. Each surviving player is dealt another face up card, and another community card. At this point, active players should have five cards each - three face down and two face up, and there are three face up community cards in the middle. There is a final round of betting.

  5. In the showdown, the person with the best 5-card hand wins. This hand can use 2, 3, 4 or all 5 of the player's own cards together with some, none or all of the community cards.

bottom of page