Based on a few incidents recently - I've added the following for clarification. I've actually always had these policies in place, but never had them in official black and white.
A HAND CANNOT BE KILLED ONCE THERE HAS BEEN ACTION
There are hardly any exceptions to this - if a player calls or bets, the hand is live. If someone else then looks down and realizes they have 3 cards, or only 1 card, (and he's not on the button) it is only HIS hand that is dead. Once action (a call or a bet) has been made, killing the hand entire and refunding everyone is only done in the most extreme of circumstances - a duplicate card in the deck (not a card from the other deck) or a psychotic break by a player who irreparably fouls the deck or other players hands, are the only two examples I can quickly come up with that would kill a hand altogether.
ALL IN AND A CALL - PLAYERS MUST TURN UP THEIR CARDS
No waiting until the river. Obviously if there is still a side pot being contested and action to come, all players should keep their cards hidden and protected - but when it's time to show, everyone must.
CAN'T MAKE IT AFTER ALL? YOU MUST CONTACT ME
Life happens. But you must let me know if you have to cancel. Short of bleeding out on the street or a catastrophic family crisis, I expect a phone call. Even if you call me 1 minute before the tournament is scheduled to start and cancel - you will stay in my good graces. An e-mail is also acceptable, though a bit less courteous. I do check them on my computer before we start.
If you totally space out and forget to call - that's a bit of a bigger deal, but a heartfelt phone call and some sort of remorse will probably do just fine.
If you don't call at all, even afterwards, it is PSP policy to remove you from the evite. You can always call or e-mail later with an explanation, but until I hear from you, I have no incentive to bring a player back who doesn't have the courtesy to fill me in on why they bailed and left me with an empty seat and dead stack to manage.
