What these terms cover
These house rules govern the use of PDC Poker - the games, trainers, guides and profiles published on this site. By opening a table or reading a page you accept them; they exist so the ground rules of a free card room are as clear as the rules of the games it deals. They are written in plain language on purpose, because rules nobody can read protect nobody.
Free practice play
All games on PDC Poker are free entertainment and training tools. Chips, scores and results have no monetary value, cannot be bought or sold, and cannot be redeemed for anything anywhere. There is no premium tier, no chip shop and no mechanism for turning practice results into anything beyond practice. When a table resets your stack to 1,000 chips, nothing of value was lost, and when you run it up to ten times that, nothing of value was gained - except, with any luck, the skill.
No gambling
This site does not offer real-money gambling, does not accept wagers or deposits, and does not arrange or promote any of those things. The poker room profiles published here are background reading about the industry - they describe who runs the online game, and they deliberately carry no sign-up links, bonus codes or invitations to deposit. If you choose to play poker for money elsewhere, you are responsible for knowing the law where you live, for meeting the age requirements that apply there, and for playing within your means. Nothing on this site should be read as encouragement to do so.
Age
The lounge deals no real money, but poker is an adult game and the site is written for visitors aged 18 and over. The strategy content assumes an adult reader making adult decisions about a game that, elsewhere, is played for real stakes.
Content is provided as-is
The guides and odds published here are written with care and computed from standard mathematics, but they are general information, not individual advice. Poker involves variance; no strategy content can promise results, and the site accepts no liability for decisions made at any table, free or otherwise.
Fair use of the games
You are welcome to play the games in your browser as offered, as often as you like, and to link to any page on the site from anywhere. What requires permission first: copying or republishing the games or the written guides, embedding the tables in another site, scraping the content wholesale, or presenting any of the material as your own. The games and text remain the property of the house. Quoting a short passage with a link back is always fine - that is how a card room gets talked about.
Acceptable use
Do not attempt to interfere with the operation of the site, probe it for vulnerabilities, or use automated tools to hammer the tables at inhuman speed. The games keep no server-side state worth attacking, which makes such efforts as pointless as they are unwelcome. Play the games the way they were dealt.
Changes
The house may update these terms and the games themselves from time to time. The version published on this page is the one that applies.
Liability
The site is provided free of charge and without warranties of any kind. The house is not liable for interruptions, for errors that slip past its checks, or for any loss claimed to follow from the use of a free practice table or a strategy article. The full extent of the remedy for dissatisfaction with a free service is to stop using it - though the house would rather hear what went wrong first.
Responsible play
Poker should be fun, including here where it is free. The practice tables exist partly so the game can be enjoyed without money ever entering the picture, and the guides repeat, wherever it is relevant, that discipline matters more than courage. If gambling has stopped being fun for you or someone close to you, confidential help is available: in the United Kingdom, GamCare at 0808 8020 133 and the National Gambling Helpline; in the United States, the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-GAMBLER. Both are free, confidential and staffed by people who have heard it all before.