Airport Poker Rules

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1.  The poker game starts at 1:00 PM EDT and ends at 6:00 PM EDT (1700z to 2200z) on Saturday, July 19, 2008.

2.  The game is only a mock poker game.  The VATUSA Boston ARTCC, VATSIM and its affiliates do not condone gambling in any way.  This game should not be seen or construed as a gambling event.

3.  Pilots are encouraged to prefile an hour before departure with the VATSIM Flight Plan Filing System to expedite the departure process.  All pilots who choose to participate are agreeing to abide by the rules set forth for this event. 

4. The game rules may be modified for clarity or other reasons without prior notification to participants. Please refer to this page for any updates.  No rules changes will be made within 48 hours of the event start.

5.  After time has expired, the winners will be the players with the best poker hands.  Refer to the table below for information regarding winning poker hands.

6. The winner(s) of the game will be determined within 24 hours after the event ends.  The final determination of the winner(s) will be made by the Event Director.  All decisions made by the Event Director will be final.  The players with the winning hands will receive PRIZES TO BE DETERMINED (see sponsor list on previous page).

7.  Members of the Boston ARTCC are not allowed to participate as pilots in this event for the purpose of competing for prizes.

8.  Pilot entries will be tracked by VATSIM ID, NOT BY CALLSIGN.  ServInfo and the VATSIM "Who's Online" page will be used to verify pilot information. When you land you will be asked for your CID.

9.  At the start of the game, entrants' landings will count toward cards.  This means that a pilot can be in the air prior to the start of the event and have his/her landing count (within the confines of the game's rules). A pilot will be dealt two cards on his first drawing and one card on each subsequent drawing.

10.  Tracking of pilot cards will be conducted offline and information will be entered by designated event officials.  Cards that each pilot has in his/her possession will remain unknown to all other pilots until the event is complete.  A pilot may verify their card holdings with the Event Director (if online, he will have the callsign ZBW_EV_DIR) via private text message, all replies to card verification requests will be returned via private text message. If the Event Director is not online, the pilot should ask any controller and that controller will try to assist, workload permitting.

11.  Trading, exchanging or transferring of cards between or among pilots is not allowed at any time during the event.

12.  All flights must terminate within the Boston ARTCC's airspace.  Flights can originate from anywhere of the pilot's choosing.  A pilot will be dealt two cards on his first drawing and one card on each subsequent drawing. Since a pilot will initially be dealt two cards instead of one, a pilot will need at least 4 landings to have a complete poker hand, plus additional departures and landings to discard and draw cards as needed.

13.  Pilots should refer to the vZBW Preferred Routes Page and the SimRoutes Web Site to find preferred routings for their flights.  The Boston ARTCC will be enforcing preferred routings due to the high traffic load.  The Boston ARTCC is not responsible for time that pilots lose because they have decided to file "Direct" flightplans, when the length of the flight does not warrant a direct routing.  Please check the SimRoutes Web Site prior to filing, or file directly from the site.  A little prior planning on the part of the pilot will go a long way to expediting departures.

14.  For a landing to count toward a card, the flight MUST NOT terminate in the same TRACON as it started. (e.g. A flight beginning in the Boston [A90] TRACON cannot terminate at any field listed under the Boston [A90] TRACON). See the Boston ARTCC website for descriptive information about the different TRACONs in the ARTCC or refer to the table below for qualifying airports.  These rules are relaxed during the final hour of the event, see rule #24 for the final hour exemption. For example, Manchester (KMHT), Concord (KCON), and Pease (KPSM), formerly serviced by the Manchester TRACON, are now serviced by the Boston Consolidated TRACON (A90), so flights from Boston to Manchester, etc., will not count until the final hour since they are intra-TRACON flights. However, a flight from Boston to Providence, or Boston to Bradley, or any of the many airports in the Boston ARTCC boundary, would count.

15.  VFR flights are permitted, with certain restrictions.  For a VFR flight to count, the pilot must file a VFR flight plan, either at the origination airport or while in the air, and be under ATC control, that is, the pilot must request (and be granted) Flight Following service while flying in a TRACON under Approach control.

16.  To draw a card, the pilot must land at an airport that is under Approach or Tower control.  Landing at an uncontrolled field under Center control does not qualify. See the table below for a complete listing of airports. The Boston ARTCC reserves the right to relax this rule depending on traffic and staffing conditions

17.  To discard and draw another card, the pilot must have 5 cards in his possession and land at a qualifying airport under Approach or Tower control.  See table below for the qualifying airports list.  The pilot must discard prior to departure from an airport.

18.  If Tower service is not available for an airport in question, then Approach service MUST BE AVAILABLE (online) for the landing to qualify for card collection.  In the table below, the TRACONs are identified, with the airports they serve listed below each.  Only the airports listed in the table are qualifying airports, even though a particular TRACON may serve other towered and non-towered airports.

19.  The Boston ARTCC does not guarantee that any one ATC position will be staffed throughout the length of the game.  Therefore, if a position has to close due to unforeseen circumstances, the landing will not count.  The pilot may choose to refile to another open facility while enroute. The Boston ARTCC reserves the right to relax this rule depending on traffic and staffing conditions.

20.  The game will use one deck of cards (52 cards) to start with. Once this deck has been exhausted, a new deck will be added.  Cards that are discarded will be placed back into the pool of available cards. (NOTE: The actual number of card decks used to start the game may be larger. This will be determined as we get a better handle on the number of participating pilots.)

21.  Refer to the table below for the order of winning poker hands.  Due to the fact that more than one deck could possibly be used in the game, a system will be implemented that will not allow a pilot to receive a duplicate card, thus preventing an "illegal" poker hand.  Should a pilot unintentionally receive a duplicate card, it is the pilot's responsibility to notify the Event Director or the nearest participating ATC immediately.

22.  Pilots may continue to try to better their hands throughout the stated event times.

23.  A pilot wishing to withdraw from the game must notify the Event Director (if online, as ZBW_EV_DIR) or one of the Boston ARTCC controllers staffing a position.  The pilot's cards will be returned to the deck(s) and made available to other competitors to collect.  Once a pilot has withdrawn he can not re-enter the competition.

24.  Final hour exemption rule - During the final hour of the game, aircraft may complete intra-TRACON flights (i.e. depart and land at different airports with the same TRACON service area).  All other rules with respect to card collection and the discarding of cards still apply.  This is only a waiver of the inter-TRACON flight rule.

Qualifying airports
(Pilots may collect cards by landing at any of the listed airports, if ATC service is available)
Boston Area / Boston Consolidated TRACON (A90) BOS_APP 120.60 /
118.25
  Logan (KBOS) BOS_TWR 128.80
Hanscom Field (KBED) BED_TWR 118.50
Beverly Municipal (KBVY) BVY_TWR 125.20
Fitchburg Municipal (KFIT)

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Lawrence Municipal (KLWM) LWM_TWR 119.25
Norwood Memorial (KOWD) OWD_TWR 126.00
Mansfield Municipal (1B9)

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Plum Island (2B2)

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Marshfield Municipal (3B2)

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Minute Man Air Field (6B6)

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Albany ALB_APP 125.00
  Albany (KALB) ALB_TWR 119.50
Schenectady (KSCH) SCH_TWR 121.30
William H. Morse State (KDDH)

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Great Barrington (KGBR)

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Floyd Bennet Memorial (KGFL)

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Fulton County (NY0)

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Pittsfield Municipal (KPSF)

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Columbia County (1B1)

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Saratoga County (5B2)

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Bradley (Y90) BDL_APP 123.95
  Bradley Int'l (KBDL) BDL_TWR 120.30
Westfield / Springfield (KBAF) BAF_TWR 118.90
Chicopee/Westover AFB (KCEF) CEF_TWR 134.85
Worcester (KORH) ORH_TWR 120.50
Hartford-Brainard (KHFD) HFD_TWR 119.60
Meridan Municipal  (KMMK)

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Metropolitan (KPMX)

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Hopedale Industrial Park (1B6)

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Mountain Meadow Airstrip (22B)

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Southbridge Municipal (3B0)

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Robertson Field (4B8)

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Northampton (7B2)

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Skylark (7B6)

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Ellington (7B9)

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Syracuse SYR_APP 126.12 /
134.27
  Syracuse (KSYR) SYR_TWR 120.30
Oswego County (KFZY) --- ---
Whitfords (B16) --- ---
Hamilton Municipal (H30) --- ---
Skaneateles Aerodrome (6B9) --- ---
Bangor BGR_APP 124.50
  Bangor (KBGR) BGR_TWR 120.70
Bar Harbor (KBHB) --- ---
Belfast (KBST) --- ---
Old Town Municipal (KOLD) --- ---
Dexter Regional (1B0) --- ---
Pittsfield Municipal (2B7) --- ---
Burlington BTV_APP 121.10
  Burlington (KBTV) BTV_TWR 118.30
Franklin County State (KFSO)

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Plattsburgh International (KPBG)

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Clinton County (KPLB)

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Cape (K90) CAPE_APP 118.20
  Nantucket (KACK) ACK_TWR 118.30
Chatham (KCQX)

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Otis AFB (KFMH) FMH_TWR 121.00
Hyannis (KHYA) HYA_TWR 119.50
Vineyard Haven (KMVY) MVY_TWR 121.40
Provincetown (KPVC)

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Plymouth (KPYM)

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Falmouth Airpark (5B6)

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Manchester Area / Boston Consolidated TRACON (A90) BOS_APP 118.25/124.90
  Manchester (KMHT) MHT_TWR 121.30
Boire Field (KASH) ASH_TWR 133.20
Pease Int'l Tradeport (KPSM) PSM_TWR 128.40
Concord Municipal (KCON)

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Skyhaven (KDAW)

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Laconia Municipal (KLCI)

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Littlebrook Air Park (3B4)

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Portland PWM_APP 119.75
  Portland (KPWM) PWM_TWR 120.90
Augusta State (KAUG)

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Biddeford Municipal (B19)

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Eastern Slopes Regional (KIZG)

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Auburn/Lewiston Muni (KLEW)

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Brunswick Naval Air Sta. (KNHZ) NHZ_TWR 119.60
Central Maine Airport (KOWK)

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Sanford Regional (KSFM)

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Waterville/Robert Lafleur (KWVL)

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  Oxford County Regional (81B)

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Providence (G90) PVD_APP 135.40
  T.F. Green (KPVD) PVD_TWR 120.70
New Bedford (KEWB) EWB_TWR 118.10
Groton / New London (KGON) GON_TWR 125.60
Quonset State (KOQU) OQU_TWR 126.35
Block Island State (KBID)

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Windham (KIJD)

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Montauk (KMTP) --- ---
North Central State (KSFZ)

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Taunton Municipal (KTAN)

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Newport State (KUUU)

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Westerly State (KWST)

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Richmond (08R)

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Elizabeth Field (0B8)

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Danielson (5B3)

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Poker Hands
Straight Flush Any five card sequence in the same suit. (Ex: 8, 9, 10, J, Q and A, 2, 3, 4, 5 of same suit).
A straight flush is the ultimate natural hand (meaning no wild-cards are involved). All the cards are of the same suit, and all are consecutive. Ranking between straights is determined by the value of the high end of the straight. A royal flush is a straight flush that has a high card value of Ace.
Four of a kind All four cards of the same index (Ex: K, K, K, K).
Four cards of the same value (such as four jacks or four 7s) represent the second strongest hand in the game of poker. It beats everything except a straight flush.
Full house Three of a kind combined with a pair (Ex: A, A, A, 5, 5).
A full house is a combination of three of a kind and a pair. Meaning all five of your cards are part of a set of either two or three of the same value. An example hand would be 3 7's and 2 Kings. Ties on a full house are broken by the three of a kind, as you cannot have two equal sets of three of a kind in a single deck.
Flush Any five cards of the same suit, but not in sequence.
A flush is a hand where all the cards are of the same suit. If each card you have is all one suit, such as 2 of clubs, 4 of clubs, 5 of clubs, 8 of clubs, King of Clubs, then you have a flush. Don't be fooled into thinking a flush is all five cards of the same color. The high card determines the winner when two people have a flush.
Straight Five cards in sequence, but not in the same suit.
A straight is a hand in which all of the cards are consecutive. There is no continuative quality to this poker hand a straight cannot wrap around (meaning it is not a straight if you have Queen, King, Ace, Two, Three). Standard poker rules state that in the case of more than one straight, the higher straight wins. In the case of straights that tie, the pot is split.
Three of a Kind Three cards of the same index.
Any three cards with the same value (i.e., a 6 of clubs, a six of spades, and a six of diamonds) is considered three of a kind. The highest set of three cards wins.
Two Pair Two separate pairs (Ex: 4, 4, Q, Q).
Two sets of two cards of equal value constitute a hand that has two pairs. As usual the pair with the higher value is used to determine the winner of a tie.
Pair One pair of two equal value cards constitutes a pair.
High Card When the hand you are left with has no pairs, and is not a straight or a flush, its relative value is determined by the highest value card. When two players have no pairs, straight, or flush the winner of the tie is determined by the highest value card in the hand. If the highest cards tie, the tie is broken by the second highest card. Suits are not used to break ties.

 

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