Tournament Refund Policy

At PokerBaazi, we strive to ensure a seamless and fair gameplay experience. However, in rare instances where tournaments need to be cancelled due to unforeseen technical issues or other disruptions, we follow a transparent and player-first cancellation policy.

This policy applies to Real Money and Free Entry tournaments and outlines the process for compensation and refund based on the stage at which the tournament was interrupted.

Real Money Tournaments – Post-Cancellation SOP

1. Tournament Reached ITM (In The Money) Stage

   If the tournament had progressed to the ITM stage before cancellation:

   • Prizes are distributed using the ICM (Independent Chip Model) based on players' current chip stacks.
   • This ensures a fair payout proportional to your tournament standing at the time of cancellation.

   Example:

   If a tournament was set to pay the top 15 places and, at the time of cancellation, prizes had already been awarded to players finishing 11th to 15th, the remaining prize pool for the top 10 positions will be distributed using the ICM (Independent Chip Model).

   The higher your chip stack at the time of cancellation, the greater your ICM payout will be.

2. Tournament in Early Stages (During Late Registration)

   If the tournament is cancelled while it is still in the early stages (with late registration open):

   • Your buy-in (and rebuys, if any) will be refunded to your PokerBaazi wallet.
   • Additionally, one extra buy-in amount will be credited as compensation.

   Example:

   If you joined a ₹2,200 buy-in tournament and it was cancelled during late registration, you will receive ₹2,200 as a refund plus an additional ₹2,200 as a goodwill gesture, totaling ₹4,400 credited to your PokerBaazi wallet.

3. Tournament in Early Stages (Late Registration Closed)

   If the tournament is cancelled while it is still in the early stages (with late registration closed):

   • Prizes are distributed using the ICM (Independent Chip Model) based on players' current chip stacks.
   • This ensures a fair payout proportional to your tournament standing at the time of cancellation.

   Example:

   If a tournament is set to pay the top 20 places at the time of cancellation, the prize pool will be distributed among the top 20 players with the largest chip stacks using the Independent Chip Model (ICM). Players with higher chip stacks at the time of cancellation will receive larger ICM payouts.

Free Entry Tournaments – Post-Cancellation SOP

1. Tournament Reached ITM Stage

   • Prizes for the remaining users are distributed using the ICM model, just like in real-money tournaments.

   Example:

   If a tournament was set to pay the top 20 places and, at the time of cancellation, prizes had already been awarded to players finishing 16th to 20th, the remaining prize pool for the top 15 positions will be distributed using the ICM (Independent Chip Model).

   The higher your chip stack at the time of cancellation, the greater your ICM payout will be.

2. Tournament in Early Stages

   If the tournament was still in the early stages, and no prize distribution had started:

   • All registered users will receive 50 unused cash as compensation.

   Example:

   A Free Entry tournament was cancelled before reaching the ITM stage.
   You will receive ₹50 in your account as compensation for the inconvenience.

Qualifiers & Final Tournaments – Cancellation SOP

In the event that a Qualifier Tournament is cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, the following Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) will apply:

1. Cancellation Before Late Registration (Pre-Late Reg)

   • All registered players will receive a full refund of their Buy-in (and rebuys, if any).
   • As compensation, each player will also receive an additional Buy-in credit.
   • An additional flight will be scheduled on the following day to accommodate affected players. This will only be applicable if the Final event has not yet concluded.

2. Cancellation After Late Registration (Post-Late Reg)

   • The prize pool collected up to the point of cancellation will be distributed among the remaining players using the ICM (Independent Chip Model) calculation.
   • An additional flight will be scheduled on the following day to accommodate affected players. This will only be applicable if the Final event has not yet concluded.
   • Each registered player will also receive one Buy-in as compensation.

3. Cancellation of Final / Day-2

   • Prizes are distributed using the ICM (Independent Chip Model) based on players' current chip stacks.
   • This ensures a fair payout proportional to your tournament standing at the time of cancellation.

Key Notes:

• ICM ensures fair prize distribution based on current chip standings.
• Refunds are automatically processed to your PokerBaazi wallet in the form of Real Cash Chips.
• Compensation is automatically credited to your PokerBaazi wallet, either as Unused Cash or Real Cash Chips, depending on the reason for cancellation.
• Once a tournament is cancelled, refunds will be processed within 24 hours, and a confirmation email will be sent to your registered email ID.

If you have any concerns or queries regarding tournament cancellations, please feel free to write to us at playerrelations@pokerbaazi.com. We truly appreciate your patience and understanding.

PokerBaazi reserves the right to modify or update these SOPs at any time without prior notice.