Disconnections

Hand Protection

While playing at William Hill Poker, there are times when players may experience a delay or even be (rarely) disconnected by the game server during a hand.

If this happens to a real money player at William Hill who has money in the pot, the player will be able to contact our Customer Service team and the hand will be reviewed. If it is determined that a player was disconnected with the winning hand, a credit will be applied.

If a tournament cannot be completed because of a system-wide problem the tournament will be cancelled. Players who participated in such a tournament will lose their house fee and entry fee if they were eliminated prior to the system outage. Participants who have not been eliminated will have their entry fees and house fees refunded automatically to their William Hill account. In addition, the accumulated entry fees of eliminated players will be divided equally among the remaining participants. In this special scenario the player's starting balance will not be considered. The house retains the house fees of the eliminated players.

Players who enter a tournament and do not participate will forfeit their house fee and entry fees. The entry fee will become part of the tournament prize pool and the house fee will go to the house.

If a player decides to sit out during one or more hands, blinds and antes will be taken from that player's tournament account balance automatically until he sits back in.

What is Disconnection Protection (DP)?

At William Hill Poker, Hand Protection is in place to deal with the problem of internet connection loss during Poker hand play.

In the event that a player is disconnected while participating in a hand, they will be able to continue in the hand and participate in the showdown for an amount equal to that of the pot up until the point of disconnection.

In other words, the player will not be eligible to win more than the pot amount at the time of their last move while still connected. The same thing occurs when a player runs out of money mid hand.

Hand Protection is in place for genuine disconnections only. Any player deemed to misuse this protection by intentionally disconnecting, may:

- Forfeit any monies won
- Lose Hand Protection privileges
- Face expulsion from the site

Players must accept the risk of disconnections. They can and do occur. Cash tables with no hand protection measures in place are available for players who wish to use them at their own risk.

If your play is interrupted or ends abruptly, it is most likely that your internet connection to our server has for some reason failed. To resume play, simply reload the game in your browser and you should automatically be returned to your table.

Disconnection – Single Table Tournament

If a Player is disconnected from the system during tournament play, the following rules apply:

If a Player is disconnected during the play of a hand and have placed a bet, they have thirty seconds to reconnect. If they do not reconnect within thirty seconds, the following happens:
- If the Player can check, their hand is automatically checked.
- If a player was already All-In before being disconnected, that status will not change and they will still collect their chips if they win the hand, or any portion of the pot.
- If the Player does not qualify to check their hand, or be considered All-In, their hand automatically folds.
- If the hand is raised then the player’s hand is automatically folded.

Players that are disconnected and fail to return to the tournament are blinded-off.

Disconnection – Multi Table Tournament

If a Player is disconnected from the system during tournament play, the following rules apply:

If a Player is disconnected during the play of a hand and have placed a bet, they have thirty seconds to reconnect. If they do not reconnect within thirty seconds, the following happens:
- If the Player can check, their hand is automatically checked.
- If a player was already All-In before being disconnected, that status will not change and they will still collect their chips if they win the hand, or any portion of the pot.
- If the Player does not qualify to check their hand, or be considered All-In, their hand automatically folds.
- If the hand is raised then the player’s hand is automatically folded.

Players that are disconnected and fail to return to the tournament are blinded-off.

Software Down Time – All Tables

William Hill regularly perform scheduled maintenance of our systems.

During these maintenance periods, activity at poker tables ceases and all games are stopped.

We notify players of impending "downtimes" with notifications via the software and through Customer Support.

Players can continue to play as normal until the maintenance period begins, wherein play is discontinued.

Players that are sitting at tables that are discontinued are therefore not entitled to lost bets or un-won prizes.

The Terms and Conditions of "Interrupted Tournaments" therefore do not apply.