Poker Faq

Can tickets for weekly tournaments be bought on the day of the tournament?
It may be difficult to get a seat on the tournament day, especially to Texas tournaments. We recommend that you purchase the ticket well in advance for any tournament on any day.

How can I know whether there are tickets left?
Tournament reservation status can be viewed at http://www.lippu.fi. This requires registration to the website.

Can I purchase a tournament ticket for my friend as well?
For weekly tournaments, it is still possible to buy a ticket for another person. Tickets for the international tournaments are personal. The ticket holder’s name must be known on purchasing the ticket as it will be printed on the ticket.

Are tournament tickets refunded?
Casino Helsinki and Lippupiste will not refund any tournament tickets.

What are the structures for weekly tournaments?
The structures are available at our Weekly tournament pages.

How long do weekly tournaments last?
It usually takes around 5–7 hours to finish the tournament, depending on the tournament and the number of players.

What does is cost to participate?
Check our page: Weekly tournaments.

My ticket says “varapaikka”. What does it mean?
“Varapaikka” is a pending seat used in Tuesday tournaments in which we book players in a queue. There are seven tables in use, which gives seats to 70 first participants at the beginning of the tournament (at 6.30pm). Players with ticket numbers 71–100 must wait for seats that become vacant as the tournament progresses. Pending players start the tournament with the same number of chips, although blinds may have gone up several times as they receive their seat.

How many players can participate in the tournaments?
On Mondays and Sundays there is room for 60 players
On Tuesdays the maximum number of players is 100 (70 seats + 30 pending seats).
On Wednesdays and Thursdays 48 or 54 players
On weekends there are 63 seats for the Omaha tournament and 70 seats for Texas.

What are the prizes in tournaments?

Ranking tournaments (Mon, Thu and weekends)
Players 0- 20		Players 21- 40		Players 41-
Place	%	Place	%	Place	%
1.	50	1.	39	1.	35
2.	25	2.	24	2.	22
3.	15	3.	15	3.	14
4.	10	4.	10	4.	10
		5.	7	5.	7
		6.	5	6.	5
				7.	4
				8.	3

One procent will be transfered to the rankingfinal prizepot of the year.

Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday
Players 0- 20		Players 21- 40		Players 41-
Place	%	Place	%	Place	%
1.	50	1.	39	1.	35
2.	25	2.	24	2.	22
3.	15	3.	15	3.	14
4.	10	4.	10	4.	10
		5.	7	5.	7
		6.	5	6.	5
				7.	4
				8.	3

How can I participate in cash games?
To sign up for cash games, contact the poker room supervisor who will put you on a queue. If you wish you can have a beeper that sounds an alarm when your seat becomes vacant.

What time do the cash games open and which games are available?
On tournament days the cash games open from 6.15 pm onwards, or when tournament tables become vacant. On weekends (Fri–Sat) tables open at 6.15pm. Normally we have daily 3-7 cash games open. No Limit Texas 50-200 € and 100-1000 €, and Omaha PL 100 € and 200 € are at the moment our most popular cash games.

How can the Bad Beat Jackpot be won?
A Bad Beat Jackpot is collected in poker cash games. Current Jackpot amount is shown on a screen in the poker room. The Jackpot is won with a hand fulfilling certain criteria, varying from game to game, when there are at least six players on the table.

JACKPOT WINNING CRITERIA BY GAME:

Texas Hold’em
A player must lose with a Full house with three Aces and a pair of Jacks or a better hand. The losing player must use both of his hole cards.

Omaha
A player must lose with a Four of a kind or a better hand.

Omaha 5
A player must lose with four nines or better hand.

Sökö (Scandinavian stud)
A player must lose with a Flush with King high or a better hand.

Seven Card Stud
A player must lose with a Full house with three Aces or a better hand.

Courchevel
A player must lose with four nines or better hand.

Jackpot distribution
The losing hand fulfilling the Jackpot criteria is paid 40 % of the current Jackpot amount. The winning hand fulfilling the Jackpot criteria is paid 20 % of the current Jackpot amount. 20 % is distributed among the rest of the players who participated in the round. The remaining 20 % is the base for the new Jackpot, which Casino Helsinki guarantees is a minimum of 1000 €.
The hands enabling the Jackpot to be won will be verified by a representative of Casino Helsinki. The best possible hand will be formed for each player. If more than two players have hands that enable the Jackpot to be won, two best hands will be considered the hands that won the Jackpot.

What is the Rake (house share) in cash games?
In cash games the casino collects a 5% share of each pot played, maximum 10 €/pot. In addition, if the flop or second face-up card is dealt, one euro is collected from the pot for the Bad Beat Jackpot. However, this only happens if six or more players participate in the game.  If the flop or second face-up card is not dealt, the charge is not collected.