Tournament Rules - The Final Episode

This is the last in a series of columns that have detailed some of the rules being used in tournaments today that were developed by the TDA (Tournament Directors Association). The World Series of Poker has just begun as I write this, and Matt Savage, one of the founders of the TDA, is serving as a co-director of the tournament. This should help to get the rules standardized in all tournaments. Matt is a respected, levelheaded tournament director, and is a welcome addition to the biggest tournament of the year.

Now, let's take a final look at a few more of the TDA rules:

7. Players must be at the table to call time. In flop games, the big blind's hand will be dead if he is not there to act on it before the flop. In stud-type games, the forced low hand will be immediately dead if the player is not there to act on his hand at the time he is required to put money in the pot (the minimum bring-in will be posted and the hand will be killed).

I love this rule, and wish all tournaments would take a serious look at enforcing it. There is currently a rule in place in some tournaments that allows a hand to be "live" even if the player is not at the table. I have seen cases where a player who was in the big blind actually was able to return to the game on the flop, turn, or river and still participate in the hand! The theory behind allowing a hand to be live even though the player is not there is that a hand can't be killed until there is action on it. Actions include checking, betting, raising, and folding, and if the player is not there to take these actions, the hand should be dead.

This rule also pertains to a player being away from the table but being able to return to the table by calling time while not being seated. The main problem with this rule is that it is tough to enforce. A player who is not seated will rush back to his seat, look at his hand, and then act on it. Allowing this to happen is asking for a number of problems to occur. The most obvious is that the other players at the table run the risk of exposing their cards to the player running back to his seat.

8. All cards will be turned faceup once a player is all in and all action is complete.

I hate this rule. No, actually I despise it. I have had discussions with many players about this rule, and to my surprise, it seems I am in the minority in not liking it. The No. 1 reason that I have been given in favor of the rule is that it speeds up play in cases where no one will turn his hand up. In all the years I have been playing poker, I have seen this situation happen perhaps a dozen times. The reason I really don't like the rule is that I honestly believe it will make people play their hands differently. Not only will it make the bad players play better, it will make the good players play differently. A rule that changes the play of the game is, in my opinion, very bad.

The World Series of Poker is in full swing and there is a new rule being used at this year's tournament. It states that a player will not be able to go back and forth to his stack when making a bet in no-limit. Previously, a player was allowed to return to his stack as many times as he wished, as long as he did so in a continuous motion. This continuous motion rule often caused problems. Did the player pause in between motions to get a read on a player yet to act? Did it enable players to take shots while going back to their stack? The new rule forces a player to either move his whole bet in at one time or declare the amount he is betting or raising. This makes things simple and will get rid of the problems caused by having a vague rule.