Terms and conditions of the Black Ace Poker service

1. Acceptance of service terms and conditions

Matrix Consulting S.r.l. (“Matrix”) offers you (the “Customer”) a wide range of services going under the following showed terms which could be changed periodically and without warning by Matrix itself.
“Black Ace Poker” terms and conditions, that from now on will be referred to as “Terms of Service”, could be updated or modified by Matrix and they will be subdued to the following clauses.
Terms of Service’s integral parts will be: terms and conditions pointed out in this document, Matrix Privacy Policy and other rules and policy that Matrix itself could apply to any Service (including other future services too).
By accepting these terms, the customer declares that this document has been read and he/she will agree to all of its contents and he/she will be then tied up to the following rules.

2. Service description
At the present, Matrix gives the registered Customers (“virtual gamers”) a direct access to a “Texas Hold’em” game client, in order to be able to promote and improve uniquely and exclusively entertainment and creative activities.
This website and every page in it, activated and put on the Internet and available to the access and interaction of customers using their computers in the world internet network called World Wide Web,  will be referred to as Black Ace Poker and can be visited by going to http://www.blackacepoker.com web-address.
Customers agree that Matrix won’t be considered responsible if there is any problem regarding the connection or the access to the “World Wide Web”. Moreover, the customers have to be sure to have beforehand a Web access and every hardware/software that is required for a better use of all the website services. The Service will be totally free without any time limit for all the customers that don’t want to take part to the “Merit ranking”. Customers that will not sign any kind of subscription will take part to the Free Ranking.

2.1 Merit and Free rankings
Every player who logs in for the 1st time will get a 5.000 points credit and this credit could increase or decrease according to the player’s success in the game. Any time the player logs out, his/her credit will be saved in the official ranking so he/she could keep playing using that credit during his next log-in to Black Ace Poker. Player has to choose a “ROOM” before starting his/her game; every room contains games with identical features and they are grouped inside three main categories:

• Fixed Limit
• No Limit
• Pot Limit

Differences between these three kind of categories are explained inside the “Texas Hold’em Game Rules”.
After joining a room, the player can choose how much of his/her credit will be used during the game; anyway, the minimum used credit to start with must be at least the double of the “HIGH STAKE” on the table. When loosing all of his/her credit, the player will automatically cut out of the table and he/she has to withdraw more chips from his/her main credit. If no more chips are available on the player main credit, he has to wait at least an hour before the system will be able to add a standard amount of 5.000 points to his credit. Both Merit and Free rankings will be frozen every calendar-month’s end (Greenwich time 24:00) and a prize offered by Black Ace Poler will be given to the winner of the Merit ranking. Within 02:00 a.m. of each first day of the month, every players credit will be taken down to the default amount of credit of 5.000 points. Every player must have his/her subscription active during the last day of the calendar-month to be able to have a  place in the Merit ranking. Black Ace Poker assures the opportunity to everyone who has a basic 30 days subscription to play and win the monthly prizes at least one time.
Here is an example of how these rules will be applied: Mr. Giuseppe Rossi visits the Black Ace Poker website on May 15th 2009; after reading the “Terms and Conditions Documentation” and buying a Basic 30 days subscription, he will get the opportunity to play inside the Merit ranking that will be frozen and closed at 24:00 on May 31st 2009.
His subscription will be kept active for another 14 days and it will expire at 24:00 on July 14th 2009.
Black Ace Poker will then freeze his credit keeping it ready to be used again if Mr. Rossi pays for a new subscription. The 1st classified player in the Free ranking will get a Basic 30 days subscription as prize. Anyway, all the customers who want to play in the Merit ranking must have already a subscription that is active from a basic period of 1 month long to the largest period of 12 months. With a subscription, the player will then get the opportunity to win one of the monthly prizes.

2.2 Special ranking during the beta testing
During the period for the beta test of Black Ace Poker (which will be communicated through an official message on the site www.blackacepoker.com and via email to all the registered users), exceptionally subscripions won't be issued and all the users joining the test phase will enter a Special Ranking from the 12:00 a.m. of 05/10/2009 will terminate at 12:00 of 01/02/2010 or another date that will be communicated anyway both through an official message on the site www.blackacepoker.com or via email in the day the beta testing is actually over.
The first 3 users in the ranking at the end of the beta test will be given the following prizes offered by Black Ace Poker.

2.2.1 Prizes for the special ranking  

• Ipod Shuffle 4gb Silver - New
• Fujifilm FinePix A100
• Philips - HeadPhone SHE8500 Auricolar IN-EAR"

2.3 Ethics

It’s STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to visit the http://www.blackacepoker.com website and try to use this game as a betting game to earn money and other kind of economic goods. Matrix authorize or allow no-one but itself to earn money incomes from subscriptions or virtual games. Matrix reserve his right to change game’s rules, scores and rankings to offer the best usage of his services. Redistribution of points among players could be also executed by Matrix to better balance the games and making them more playable by everyone.

3. Customer obbligations when subscribing

By using this service, the Customers agree to:

• give us true data about himself/herself, updated via the specific form (“Subscription Information”), as a active e-mail address and unique nickname and password.
• keep always these data updated.
• do not share inadequate data with other customers by using obscene language as dirty words which should be go against other customers’ goodness.

4. Privacy policy

Collection and usage of personal data
Matrix will collect customers personal information to provide some of its on-line services and, only if allowed by the customer himself, to communicate advertising messages.
Matrix will then use cookies and web-beacons, so that data like IP address, browser used and pages visited will be saved automatically.
This kind of information will be only used for the supply or management of its service in accordance with the rules above explained.
Communication and diffusion of personal data:
Matrix will not pass to third parts the information given by customers or make it public without a legal authority request.
Cookies and Web beacons 
Matrix can send cookies to customers’ machine and use them anytime freely. Matrix can use web-beacons, too.

Modifications to the present document
Matrix can change this document at anytime. Matrix will provide to inform and ask for an agreement again if some changes will be applied to  the treatment of personal information.

Personal data treatment
Matrix collect and use personal information of its customers according to the D.L. 196/2003.

Google Analytics
This Website uses Google Analytics, a web analysis service powered by Google, Inc. (“Google”).
Google Analytics uses “cookies, little text files with standard, limited information including your machine’s IP address, saved on your computer which allows us to observe how people use this website.
This data is retained in Googles server logs in the Usa.
Google will use these information to be able to analyse the way you use this website, to build up a report of all the website activities for its operators and to offer more features for a better use of both the website and the Internet.
Google should pass these information to third parts too if it becomes necessary due to law requirements or other Google usages. Anyway, Google will not associate your IP to others of its own information.
You can choose to disable the creation of cookies by selecting the specific option on your web browser, although you could be not able to access all the website services.
By using this website, you agree to Google treatment of your own data with the terms and conditions outlined above. For further information about the privacy, please read the Google Privacy Policy.
http://www.google.it/privacypolicy.html
http://www.google.com/privacy_ads.html

5. User account, password e safety
As soon as the log-in form will be filled out, customers will choose a password and a unique nickname and it will automatically become liable for everything that will go under his/her account starting from his nickname and password secret maintenance.
Customer agree to:

• communicate to Matrix any non-authorized usage of his/her password and nickname or every infraction of security that he/she could gain knowledge of.
• Log-out from his/her account after every game session and make sure that no-one else will log-in without his/her authorization. Matrix will not be considered responsible for every damage that should happen due to a bad execution of the rules just described.

6. User behaviour
Customer agrees that every information, or any other kind of material, passed through or received privately using the Black Ace Poker chat, will go under is unique responsibility. This means that every customer is totally responsible for every content that should be available from this service.
Matrix cannot trace and check out these contents then no guaranty can be given on their goodness.
By using this service, every customer agrees that he/she should come in contact with offensive, immoral and censurable material. It’s forbidden to use of this service for:
* sending, showing, transferring or, under any form, making illegal material public, including (but not limited to) that one which could insult people’s honour or could violate other people privacy;
* violating underage rights;
* sending, showing, transferring or, any under any form, promoting any kind of non-authorized commercial or entertainment material.
* secretly overseeing in any kind of way other people.

7. Service interruption
Customer agrees that Matrix could delete his/her account data and cut him/her off from the service if something wrong will happen during the usage of the service itself by going against the rules here pointed out.
Customer moreover agrees that the termination of his/her account due to the violation of the terms and conditions of the service could happen without any warning.
Matrix has the right to delete the account of any customer who will have a bad behaviour during the usage of the service by making it a bad experience for other customers; if it is necessary, Matrix will revoke any virtual credit or delete any kind of ranking due to a bad behaviour of customers.
Matrix services are only aimed to entertain its customers, so everyone that will try to go against this purpose will be banned without any money refund.

8. Refunds
The Black Ace Poker subscription is a service and not a product so it is not refundable. Matrix then will not refund money after the subscription payment is executed.

9. Warranty limitations
Customer totally agrees that:

1. The service is used under his/her own risk. He will take this service “as it is” and no more guarantee than the ones pointed out here will be offered by Matrix itself. Matrix will not cover any final customer assistance.

2. Matrix cannot assure that:

• all the services will satisfy customer’s needs;
• that the service will be offered without any errors or interruption of the service itself
• that every final result of the service will be always right
• that the quality of the service itself will answer to his/her needs
• that every errors or problems will be solved

 

3. That every material obtained by using the service will go under his own risk; the costumer will be in fact the only responsible for every damage to his/her operative system and any data missing due to the download of this material itself.

10. Notice
Every notice to customers or Matrix will have to be sent via e-mail. The service could moreover communicate changes on his “Terms of Service” or any other information by sending messages or links to the Customer Service

11. General dispositions
“Terms of Service” is the fundamental agreement between Customer and Matrix and it will manage the service usage by Customer, substituting any other agreement previously taken between Customer and Matrix.

12. Infractions
Please communicate to us any ” Terms of Service” infraction by sending an e-mail to this address: info@blackacepoker.com.

 

Texas Hold’em official regulation

Phases

The Texas Hold’em Poker is played with all 52 cards of the deck. There are no limits in bet (within your own budget) and when every hand starts two blinds are expected.

On the table, the dealer is indicated by a small spot called “button”.                

Before the hand starts, the player to the dealer’s left sets the “small blind” and the next player to the left sets the “big blind”. Then every player is given two cards apiece, “hole cards”, which remain face-down and the game goes on with a round of betting.

After the first round of betting, three cards are dealt face-up and are in common for all players. A second round of betting takes place after the flop and it starts from the first active player to the dealer’s left. (Flop phase)

When every player makes his bet for the flop, one more card is dealt face-up on the table and a new round of betting is started by the first active player to the dealer’s left. (Turn phase)

After the “turn”, a fifth card is dealt face-up, the “river”. This is the last card of the hand and then there is a final round of betting.
When all the betting is over, it’s time for the “showdown” and the money in the pot goes to the player with the highest hand. Each player can calculate his own hand either by choosing the best possible combination  from his seven available cards or just using the five board cards if his two hole cards are useless.

In the case that more than one player scores the same hand, then the money in the pot is equally distributed.

After the winner takes his money, a new hand starts and the dealer button is passed to the player at the left of the previous dealer.

Scores

The following are all the possible combinations you can have in the poker, listed from the lowest to the highest value:

• High Card
• Pair
• Two Pairs
• Three of a Kind
• Straigth
• Flush
• Full House
• Four of a Kind
• Straight Flush
• Royal Flush

In the poker, no suit is worth more then any other suit. So, if two or more players have equal hands, the kicker card will be take into consideration. The kicker card is the highest card owned by each player.
The pot will be equally distributed to players if even the kicker cards match. 

Game modes

FIXED LIMIT
Maximum bet/raise
If you play with fixed limit, the maximum bet or raise a player can do for the first two rounds of betting is equal to the big blind amount. In the last two betting rounds, the player can bet or raise up to the double amount of the big blind.

Minimum Bet/raise
The minimum bet or raise a player can do is equal to the highest bet/raise of the active betting round. If there haven’t been bets yet, then the minimum bet or raise has to be equal to the big blind amount.

NO LIMIT
Maximum bet/raise
If you play with no limit, the player (at any point of the game) can bet or raise all the chips he has on the table, doing this way the so called “all-in”.

Minimum bet/raise
When every round of betting starts, the minimum bet or raise allowed is equal to the big blind amount. The minimum bet or raise a player can do is equal to the highest bet/raise of the active round of betting. If there haven’t been bets yet, then the minimum bet or raise has to be equal to the big blind amount.
If a player does not have enough chips to go on with a minimum bet/raise but he has more than he needs to call for a check, he just has the chance to bet an “all-in”

POT LIMIT
Maximum bet/raise
If you play with pot limit, the maximum bet or raise a player can do is equal to the amount that’s in the pot in that very moment. The maximum bet or raise allowed is the amount of chips that’s in the pot just before the player hand takes place.

Minimum bet/raise
The minimum bet or raise a player can do is equal to the highest bet/raise of the active round of betting. If there haven’t been bets yet, then the minimum bet or raise has to be equal to the big blind amount.