ThwartPoker organizes online tournaments where you can play our patented and patent-pending, revolutionary new skill-based card games against live and virtual opponents. Two exciting ThwartPokers compose our initial game lineup - HOLD'EM BLITZ® and SIX CARD BATTLE®. Players are able to compete in tournaments for prizes on either a subscription or entry-fee basis.

There are currently four different types of tournaments:

One, "Head-to-Head" and two, "Progressive", are "Virtual Table" tournaments where each live player plays against virtual players. Live players compete against each other by comparing their scores in playing against the virtual players and then determining that the live player with the highest score is the winner.

Three, "Single Table" and four, "Multi-table", are "Real-Time " tournaments where live players directly play against each other.

Prizes will vary depending on demand, type of tournament and usage. Subscription- based tournaments will award prizes with an MSRP of $5.00 or more (such as a gift certificate) or possibly cash. . Entry-fee tournaments will award cash prizes worth approximately 80% of the sum of the entry fees. To win the prize for a tournament, you must finish with the best score.

We give all of our guests at ThwartPoker access to play various practice versions of our games for free and get the hang of our system. At various times, free tournaments will be held that award prizes.

Absolutely. ThwartPoker has no vested interest in the outcome of our tournaments. We organize and manage tournaments, and we charge a small support fee for the effort. Our fees are solely based on how many games people play, not who wins.

In addition, ThwartPoker is constantly monitoring games and scores to ensure that your chances of winning are dependent on your skill.

There are four initial versions of ThwartPoker:

1. HOLD'EM BLITZ® Without Betting - A strategic twist on the classic hold'em poker game, Hold'em Blitz allows you to pick your cards to build your own best hands or block the virtual/live opponents. Win chips that represent play money by building your best hand and winning the pot as quickly as possible. To ensure fairness in a Head-to-Head or Progressive tournament, live or virtual player are always dealt the same community cards for a hand and virtual computer opponents react consistently in identical situations.

Play begins with three randomly dealt community cards followed by four selection rounds where each player picks a card. The first round of player selection is dealt face down and the remaining three rounds are dealt face up. There is no betting.

Build your best hand by using any five cards from the three community cards and the four cards you pick. If you pick a card that was also selected by another player in the current round or was chosen during a previous round, you are blocked and dealt a card that has no value. Otherwise, you are dealt the card you selected. You may choose a particular card only ONCE from the deck. On each hand, players receive chips a) for the type of hand they built and b) for having the best poker hand. A tournament begins with each player having zero chips. The tournament ends when you complete the specified number of hands or when time runs out. The winner is the live player with the most chips at the end of the tournament.

2. HOLD'EM BLITZ® With Betting - This is the same as in 1 above, but with betting starting after cards are dealt in the second selection round. For betting tournaments each player starts with the same number of chips that represent play money. The winner is the player with the most chips at the end of the tournament. "All-In" betting is allowed. No actual money is involved in betting.

3. SIX CARD BATTLE® Without Betting - ThwartPoker's buffed up and altered stud version. PICK the cards you want, instead of having them randomly dealt, and build your best five-card hand to beat live or virtual opponents.

Play consists of six selection rounds where each player picks a card. Build your best hand by using any five cards from the 6 individual cards you pick. The first selection round is dealt face-down; the remaining rounds are dealt face up. If you pick a card that was also selected by another player in the current round or was chosen during a previous round, you are blocked and dealt a card that has no value. Otherwise, you are dealt the card you selected. You may choose a particular card only ONCE from the deck. To ensure fairness in a Head-to-Head or Progressive tournament, each live or virtual player is always dealt the same community cards for a hand and virtual computer opponents react consistently in identical situations.

On each hand, a player receives chips that represent play money a) for the type of hand they built and b) for having the best poker hand. A tournament begins with each player having zero chips. The tournament ends when you complete the specified number of hands or when time runs out. The winner is the live player with the most chips at the end of the tournament.

4. SIX CARD BATTLE® With Betting - This is the same as in 3. above but with betting starting after cards are dealt in the second selection round. For betting tournaments each player starts with the same number of chips that represent play money. The winner is the player with the most chips at the end of the tournament. No actual money is involved in betting.

We are glad you asked! On the surface (and in name) it may appear that ThwartPoker is just another variation of regular poker like Texas Hold'em or Caribbean.

but STOP!

You can register at ThwartPoker by choosing a screen name and password and providing us your email address. (Read our Privacy Policy.) Once you've registered as our Guest, we'll create your account and give you the ability to try out a few tournaments. Choose a game that interests you and then browse the list of available tournaments to find one that is appealing to you. We'll get you playing your first game in no time!

After your first game is finished, we'll show you how you did. If the tournament is over, we'll let you know who won the prize. If the tournament is still going on, you can check back later to see the results through the "Unfinished Tournaments" link on the myaccount page. (This page can be reached from any page by clicking on "myaccount" at the top of every page).

Once you get the hang of our games and system, we hope you will become a Member by depositing money into your account using a credit card or PayPal. Members compete for real prizes!

Step 1: Go to the Home page (this page can be reached from any page by clicking on "Home" at the top of the page).

Step 2: Click either the red "play" button on the top of the screen or the red "compete " button in the middle of the bottom of the home page. These take you to our tournament selection screen. Determine which kind of tournament you wish to play in - either a Real-Time live opponent tournament, or, a Head-to-Head or Progressive Virtual Table tournament. From this page you can directly launch the sign-up page for either the Real-Time live opponent Multi-Table tournament of the day or any Real-Time Single Table tournament, practice in a live opponent public room, or continue on the Virtual Table tournament selection screen for Head-to-Head and Progressive tournaments.

Step 3: Determine which Head-to-Head or Progressive tournament you'd like to play in and click the appropriate link to launch the game window.

Step 4: You should now be in a separate game window screen. Press "start" to begin your game.

In Real-Time live opponent tournaments you play against live opponents for a series of specified hands or in betting games, until one player has all the chips.

In our Virtual Table tournaments (Head-to-Head & Progressive) you play against virtual opponents and then have your final chip score compared against those of other live players to determine a winner. To ensure fairness in a Virtual Table tournament, each of the live players is always dealt the same community cards on each hand and their virtual opponents react consistently in identical situations

The ThwartPoker tournament system allows you to play in Virtual Table tournaments whenever you like, even if no one else is playing. Depending on the tournament type, ThwartPoker tournaments close after either all entry slots are filled or a day or so has passed. This system allows players to enter tournaments at their convenience but also allows entrants to learn if they've won in a reasonable amount of time.

No. We email tournament winners shortly after the tournament is closed and the winner is determined. We also keep a record of all tournaments you've entered and who won them. This information can be accessed the next time you come back to ThwartPoker by clicking on the Account button at the top of any page and then clicking on the View Your Completed Tournaments link.

No. The outcome of all ThwartPoker games is based upon the player's skill, not chance. This is in sharp contrast to lotteries or games typically found in casinos, where every player ultimately faces the same random odds. Your skill in playing determines whether you win here at ThwartPoker.

For each tournament, there is the same fixed cost to each player to play and a prize of predetermined value for the winner. Those tournaments that involve betting only use play money that has no effect on either the cost to any player in playing or the predetermined value of the winner's prize.

ThwartPoker subscription-based or entry-fee tournaments are no different from carnival games, golf tournaments or the myriad of other skill-based games that have been played for cash or prizes in the offline world for dozens of years - we've just taken them online.

ThwartPoker appreciates your trust. We are committed to protecting your privacy so that ThwartPoker remains a friendly, safe, and fun environment. Sometimes privacy policies can get confusing, but not ours: ThwartPoker does not sell, trade, or rent your personal information to anyone. Read our Privacy Policy.

ThwartPoker currently offers 4 types of tournaments: Head-to-Head, Progressive, Single Table and Multi-Talbe. Both Head-to-Head and Progressive Tournaments involve tables of virtual opponents while in Single Table and Multi-Table Real-Time Tournaments you play directly against other live opponents.

Head-to-Head tournaments are where your scores against the virtual opponents are matched against other live players and the live player with the best win/loss percentage during the tournament wins.

Head-toHead tournaments can occur on both adaily and semi-weekly cycle and end at 10:00pm PDT.

All qualified Menbers can participate in a Head-to-Head tournament as many times as they wish but there are limitations on how often you can win prizes in subscription-based tournaments. Please see Terms of Service.

Progressive virtual table tournaments are where the player with the highest score against the virtual opponents during the tournament wins. A game consists of a designated number of hands against the virtual opponents. All qualified Members can participate in a Progressive tournament as many times as they wish but there are limitations on how often you can win prizes in subscription-based tournaments. Please see Terms of Service.

There currently is one Real-Time Multi-Table live opponent tournament a day scheduled to be played @ 8:00pm PST (Pacific Standard Time). Signups begin about 1 hour before the tournament starts.

Tournament structure is as follows:
• a rotating pattern of Hold'em Blitz® and 6 Card Battle® without betting
• Min # of players = 14 and Max # of players = 105
• Table size: 7 players per table
• A fixed number of chips is awarded to each hand winner (evenly split if tie)
• Player(s) with the most chips win(s) the tournament
• Each player's table and table position is changed every hand to prevent collusion
• Chat during tournament is disabled
• Tournaments subject to change, check website for current schedule and details
A valuable prize is given to the winner. Please allow between 2-4 weeks for delivery of winning prize.

Following information must be emailed to: winner@thwartpoker.com
within 1 week of winning tournament date to claim prize:
• Name
• Age
• Shipping address

You must be 18 years or older to compete in tournaments. Program bugs or issues possibly may interrupt tournament play. In the event of a fatal program error, or, the minimum number of players is not attained, the current tournament will be nullified.

There will be a menu of tables, each of which will be available for tournament play. Each table will indicate the game version and how many players are required for the tournament to start. You signup for tournament play by entering a table that is not full. Once a tournament starts it is closed to new players, however you can then join as an observer. When a tournament is over all players and observers are returned to the main menu screen and that table is now ready for new signups to start the next tournament.

In all these cases a forfeit occurs when competing in a Head-to-Head or Real-Time tournaments because we are unable to tell what happened. Therefore, the fair way to handle the situation is to treat them all equally. In a Progressive tournament you would have to play the game again to post a score in the tournament.

Depending on the tournament type, ThwartPoker tournaments are closed to new players after either all entry slots are filled or the tournament expiration date is reached. This system allows players to enter tournaments at their convenience but also allows entrants to learn if they've won in a reasonable amount of time.

ThwartPoker has a variety of fun skill games to play and we are always working to add more. Here is the list of games we currently have:

Hold'em Blitz® - 3 randomly dealt community cards followed by 4 selection rounds where each player picks a card. No betting.
Hold'em Blitz® w/betting - 3 randomly dealt community cards followed by 4 selection rounds where each player picks a card and bets play money.
Six Card Battle® - 6 selection rounds where each player picks a card. No betting. No community cards.
Six Card Battle® w/betting - 6 selection rounds where each player picks a card and bets play money. No community cards.
Five Draw Blast® - * coming soon! 5 selection rounds where each player picks all 5 cards all at the same time.
We are always looking to add new games! If you have a suggestion for a game, please email us at suggestionbox@ThwartPoker.com. If you are a developer and have a game that you think would be suitable for ThwartPoker, please email us at gamedev@ThwartPoker.com.

The Prize is what the winner or winners get to keep from playing in a tournament. For subscription-based tournament Members, it is a gift certificate or possibly a cash prize. For entry-fee tournament Members it is cash equal to approximately 80% of the total amount of entry-fees paid to participate in the tournament.

ThwartPoker has no vested interest in the outcome of our tournaments. We organize and manage tournaments, and we charge a support fee for the effort. For subscription-based tournaments, each Member pays a fixed monthly or weekly subscription fee to play in all such tournaments and win prizes during the subscription period. For each entry-fee tournament, each Member pays a fixed entry-fee to play and win a cash prize.

If you win a tournament, you will receive an email message from ThwartPoker within 24 hours informing you that you won a prize. The email will contain instructions to redeem the prize if it is a gift certificate or equivalent. For tournaments awarding cash prizes, winners will have their cash winnings automatically deposited in their ThwartPoker account. If you think you won a tournament but do not receive an email message within 24 hours, you can verify the tournament results in the game by going to the Tournament link, selecting the proper tournament type and viewing past tournaments results.

Only a player's best score in a tournament counts towards the determination of the winners. Players can only win one prize. For example, if you enter a Progressive tournament twice, and you get the two best scores, only your highest score will show.

Yes. If you enter a Head-to-Head or Progressive virtual table tournament before they close and while you're still playing, the tournament closes, your will be score will apply to the next occuring tournament and it will still be considered for the purposes of winner determination.

Yes, you must be a qualified Member in order to view the scores posted for a tournament. For subscription-based tournaments any person that has a current paid up subscription is a qualified Member. For an entry-fee tournament any person that has registered and paid the entry-fee is a qualified Member.

Note that once you are a qualified Member, you have access to up-to-the-minute tournament scores and can decide whether or not you want to re-enter a Virtual Table tournament.

Yes! To keep your competitive juices flowing, the best current score in your tournament is shown in your game along with the screen name of the person who posted it. If you see your score and your name, congratulations, you're in the lead. Don't get too comfortable though - someone might be right behind you!

- AI Integrity: We have ensured that virtual players react consistently in identical situations. Virtual players "see" only what live players "see" and there is no collusion of information exchanged between any two virtual players. The virtual players make no distinction between live and virtual players. The artificial intelligence (AI) guiding the virtual players is robust and dynamic and we hope that you find it a challenge.

- Secure Communication: We use secure, 128-bit encryption on all communication with our servers, so that all communication between your game and our server is protected. Our digital certificate has come directly from Thawte

- Score Verification: We created a proprietary set of score-passing algorithms that keep a secure record of each game. In addition, we use a set of statistical tests to ensure that every game is played fairly.

In the interest of fairness, ThwartPoker has implemented our ThwartPoker Fair Deal system. For each hand, every player that plays in a Virtual Table tournament sees the exact same deal of the community cards for our Hold'em versions of ThwartPoker (Hold'em Blitz).

In any such tournament, all players will receive the same "deal" or initial game setup the first time they play. Each separate game is referred to as a "hand". For example, if Player A and Player B enter a Hold'em Blitz tournament, they will each be playing a hand with identical community cards dealt. The "luck of the draw" will be out of the tournament since each player is confronted with the same community cards. If Player A decides to re-enter the tournament, she will see the "second hand" deal which will be different from the first hand deal. If Player B decides to re-enter the tournament, she will see the same set of community cards as Player A saw on her second hand deal.

Thus, every player sees the exact same deals in the exact same order as every other player. Fair Deal helps create a truly level playing field.

There are two kinds of ThwartPoker users: Practice Member and Members.

Practice Members only play in practice tournaments. Our hope is that Practice Members will enjoy themselves and decide to take the next step and join as Members. Members compete for real prizes!

Members are also allowed to play an unlimited number of practice tournaments without charge.

Once you get the hang of our games and system, we hope you will become a Member by paying the subscription fee for subscription-based tournaments or paying the entry-fee for an entry-fee tournament using a credit card.

ThwartPoker uses the most advanced technology and business practices to protect your money, your credit card, and your identity:

• When you log on and deposit money, we will use 128-bit encryption to send all sensitive information over the Internet. Our digital certificate has come directly from Thawte.

• We will NOT store your credit card number anywhere on our system once the transaction is complete. We know that this is a bit less convenient for our repeat depositors but we hope you agree that it's a small price to pay to protect your personal banking information.

• All credit card deposits will be fraud-checked using address verification and the "Card ID" code (the 3- or 4-digit number at the end of your card number, found only on the back of the credit card). This protects your credit card by requiring that anyone depositing with it (1) knows the billing address and (2) has physical possession of the card.
  
  
• If you have any questions or suggestions about how to make this process more secure, please feel contact us at support@ThwartPoker.com

Although the distinctions between skill-based games and games of chance are clear, there are a few states within the U.S. that have not yet permitted subscription-based and/or entry-fee tournaments of games of skill to be played for cash or prizes. For those states, ThwartPoker games can be played, but only on a free basis without cash or prize offerings. Please read Section 9 in our Terms Of Service for more detailed information.

Just like any other income, your winnings are taxable. If you are a U.S. resident and you win over $600 in a calendar year, we are required by the IRS to get your Social Security Number and have you fill out a Form W-9.

At the end of the year, we will use this information to send you a 1099-MISC to report your winnings on your taxes. NOTE: You may be able to deduct the money you have spent on subscription fees and offset these winnings.

Your system must be:

• Operating System: Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP
• Processor: Pentium 200MHz or above
• Modem: 56k or more
• Video Card: 800 x 600 displaying 16 bit color or better
• Browser: Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x or higher (see below)
• Must have Pop-Up Stopper software turned off (our games are in pop-up windows)
• Sound card- recommended but not required

Sorry, we don't support Macintosh, Unix, Palm, or any other systems at this time.

ThwartPoker online tournaments are currently playable only with the following browsers:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x or higher. Upgrades are available from Microsoft.

See above for information regarding what kind of computer you need.

No currently there are no cash refunds given. In the case we detect a technical error on our end, you may be given a complimentary subscription. If you still have questions, please send us an email.

First, check that your system conforms to our minimum requirements. If it does, try rebooting. Our experience is that this simple step cures most problems.

If you're sure your machine conforms to our minimum requirements AND you've rebooted, chances are that you don't have a JVM (Java Virtual Machine) loaded.

If all else fails, email us at support@ThwartPoker.com and we'll do everything we can to help you out.

You can contact ThwartPoker any time with your questions, comments, or suggestions, by using our online feedback form.

You can also write us an email. The following links will help you reach the appropriate people within ThwartPoker:

• For customer service, please email support@ThwartPoker.com.
• If you have a suggestion on how we can make ThwartPoker better, please email suggestionbox@ThwartPoker.com.
• For affiliate partnerships and business development opportunities, please contact us at bizdev@ThwartPoker.com.
• If you are a game developer and would like to talk to us about putting your game up on our site, contact us at gamedev@ThwartPoker.com.