Standards for Tournament Directors

I received an e-mail recently from Dan Lovegren of Elk Grove, California, which I thought should be reprinted in my column. Here is the content of Dan's e-mail:

I have been giving a lot of thought to the tournament rules you wrote about in the pages of Card Player not too long ago, and have come up with something you might want to bring to the attention of the powers that be. While the emphasis of the tournament rules you wrote about has clearly been on player behavior, it seems to me that there is an omission – that of management behavior rules to assure consistency. To wit, I offer the following proposed "Rules for Tournament Hosts and Managers":

1. The host or manager shall not solicit deals for players. Only active players can initiate deals. For example, it would be wrong for a tournament host to say, "Congratulations! You all have made it to the final table! Now, do any of you want to make a deal? Shall I stop the clock?" (Even better, of course, would be a complete ban on deals.)

2. When using a tournament clock, the tournament host will dutifully keep the player count, blinds and limit, and clock timer current.

3. The tournament host will not show favoritism toward "regular" or "celebrity" players when making a decision.

4. The tournament host will employ enough quality support to ensure a good time for everyone. (Note from Linda Johnson: I think this rule should read: The tournament host should employ enough quality staff to ensure a professionally run tournament.)

5. Registration will begin early enough so that the start of the tournament will not be delayed. (Note from Linda Johnson: I think the tournament director should do whatever it takes to make sure the tournament starts on time.)

6. If a tournament has limited seating, such will be clearly advertised, and information as to how many seats are still available will be freely given over the phone, via the Internet, and so on. (The February/March World Poker Tour event at Bay 101 was very good in this regard!) It's not a good idea to wait until the last moment to tell people they've been shut out, especially if they have traveled a fair distance to play in the tournament.

Also under the control of tournament/casino management are things such as comfortable environment – that is, table arrangement and seat spacing, keeping aisles clear, location of restroom facilities, and so on.

I realize that this is a rather simple list, and I have not experienced all the problems that these rules attempt to address. But, I think the potential is there, so I thought I'd share my thoughts with you. I may think of some more later. I hope you don't mind.

Dan Lovegren

Elk Grove, California

Actually, Dan, I think you have some very good ideas here. I do think most tournament directors already do the things you suggested; however, this list might serve as a good reminder for those who don't. There are a few things I would add to your list, such as:

• Tournament directors should provide structure sheets for the event.

• A list of table-breaking order should be provided.

• Tournament rules should be available upon request. Players should be informed if the host property uses TDA rules.

I think today's tournament directors are for the most part extremely professional and dedicated to producing great events. With so many new people entering the tournament arena, tournament directors need to make sure that everyone is familiar with tournament rules and procedures, especially rules against soft-playing, exposing cards, abusive behavior, and so on.

Now, let's play poker!

Linda is available to host poker-related events and promotions. You can contact her through her website at www.cardplayercruises.com.