New Year, New Rules - Part II

In my last column, I detailed a list of 14 new tournament rules that were adopted by the Tournament Directors Association. Hopefully, these rules are the beginning of a standardized tournament rulebook that will be used by all poker rooms down the road. So, why is there the push to standardize tournament rules but not live-game rules? Live games should not be exempt from standardized rules. Trying to standardize the rules that are used daily in live games is going to be very difficult, and I think that starting with tournaments might help feed the urge to get all poker games on a standard playing field.

I'd now like to go into detail about some of the 14 rules, and why I think they are good or bad for poker.

1. Chip race rule: When it is time to color-up chips, they will be raced off with a maximum of one chip going to any player. The chip race will always start in the No.1 seat.

This rule is a no-brainer. All tournaments should use it simply because there is no better way to do it. The old method allowed one player to receive all of the extra chips; this new method allows a player to get no more than one chip. To accomplish this, each player puts out his odd chips. The dealer then deals one card for each odd chip to each player. Depending on the number of color-up chips to be given to the players, the dealer gives one chip to each of the highest cards, with no player receiving more than one chip. It's simple, fast, and fair.

2. Odd chips: The odd chip(s) will go to the high hand. In flop games, when there are two or more high hands or two or more low hands, the odd chip(s) will go to the left of the button. In stud-type games, the odd chip will go to the high card by suit.

This is one of those rules about which I have always wondered why there are so many different methods used for distributing the odd chip. Every poker game should have it done the same way, and this is probably the easiest.

3. Side pots: Each side pot will be split as a separate pot. They will not be mixed together before they are split.

This rule is one that has to be used, but surprisingly isn't. When a side pot occurs and is not split on its own, it is possible that a player could receive many chips that he is not entitled to.

Let's take a look at this rule a little closer. At the $75-$150 level of an Omaha eight-or-better tournament, a pot comes up in which there are two side pots. On the river, the two all-in players muck their hands when both players still remaining in the pot show wheels. The pots are as follows:

Main pot = $550

Side pot No. 1 = $225

Side pot No. 2 = $850

Total pot = $1,625

I so often see dealers who put the pots together into one and then split it. In this case, Player A (closest to the button) would receive $825 and Player B would receive $800. This rule is intended to stop this from happening.

If a dealer was to split each pot in half, Player A would receive $825 and Player B would receive $800, the same amounts as above. Since they each had a wheel, this would be correct, right? The answer is no!

The correct way to split a pot is to break down each pot for high and low. Using this method, here is the result:

Side pot No. 2 – $425 (high) and $425 (low). Player A would receive both odd chips, for a total of $450.

Side pot No. 1 – $125 (high) and $100 (low). Player A would receive the odd chip, for a total of $125.

Main pot – $275 (high) and $275 (low). Player A would receive both odd chips, for a total of $300.

The end result is that Player A receives $875 while Player B receives $750.

Played out at a later stage of a tournament, the difference would be multiplied because of the larger limits and chips, which could make a difference in the outcome of the tournament.

The moral of the story is this: If you are the player who is closest to the button, insist that the dealer split each pot separately, and you will always receive the amount of chips you are entitled to.