Tournament Directors Association Summit

The 2009 Tournament Directors Association (TDA) Summit was held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino during the World Series of Poker. The TDA was founded in 2001 by Matt Savage, David Lamb, Linda Johnson, and Jan Fisher, with the goal of adopting basic standards, rules, and procedures for tournaments that would positively impact the poker industry. Tournament directors, players, and media representatives were invited to this year’s Summit to discuss, evaluate, and review current and proposed rules. Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP commissioner, took some time out of his busy schedule to stop by and welcome the attendees, who represented more than 100 properties all over the world.

Tournament players should take some time to read and understand the TDA rules, since they are used in almost every major tournament in the country. Following is a list of some changes made to the current TDA rules.

Rule No. 7 was amended to read: One-hand penalties were added to the list of penalties that tournament directors could assess to players guilty of breaking the rules. Members of the WSOP staff explained the benefits of being able to give a one-hand penalty for a minor infraction, rather than having to give a full-round penalty, as previously had been the rule. Additionally, wording was added to clarify that players would continue to be dealt in while they were away from the table for the length of the penalty, and would have to post blinds, antes, and forced bring-ins as applicable.

A discussion about seating for players with physical limitations, such as poor eyesight, led to some new wording added to rule No. 13. The second part of the rule now says: Accommodations for players with special physical needs will be made when possible.

One of the topics that was hotly debated concerned the use of communication devices at the table. It seems that many cardrooms are very strict in not allowing any form of communication devices at the table, while others allow texting, Twittering, talking on the phone, and so on. In the end, rule No. 15 was changed to read as follows: Players may not talk on the phone while at the poker table. House rules apply to all other forms of electronic devices.

A portion of rule No. 17 stated that a hand begins with the first riffle. Because many cardrooms now use shuffle machines, the following was added: If an automatic shuffler is being used, the hand begins when the green button is pushed.

The entire content of rule No. 21 previously stated that no rabbit hunting was allowed. One of the most common questions asked of tournament directors has been, “What is rabbit hunting?” Therefore, this rule was cleared up by adding the definition that rabbit hunting is revealing any of the cards that “would have come” if the hand had not ended.

Rule No. 25, about balancing tables, was clarified as follows: In flop and mixed games when balancing tables, players will be moved from the big blind to the worst position, including taking a single big blind when available, even if that means the seat will have the big blind twice. Worst position is never the small blind. The table from which a player is moved will be as specified by a predetermined procedure. Play will halt on any table that is three or more players short. In stud-only games, players will be moved by position (the last seat to open up at the short table is the seat to be filled).

Rule No. 38 was changed from “Players must remain at the table if they have action pending on a hand” to “Players must remain at the table if they have a live hand.”

A few minor additions to rules were made as follows: Rule No. 12 now includes verbiage that players may not advise or criticize play at any time. The words “Cards speak” were added to the beginning of rule No. 20. Rule No. 23 now includes the words “and identifiable.” (All chips must be visible and identifiable at all times.) Rule No. 30 was changed to read that action out of turn will be binding if the action to that player has not changed (previously, it said it may be binding).

A few new rules were added, including procedures for handling a four-card flop, clarification on raises versus calls when multiple chips are used, when the right to dispute a hand is over, and how many players will go to the final table in various types of tournaments. These new rules will be able to be read shortly at pokertda.com. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about these rules at [email protected].
Now, let’s play poker.

Linda Johnson is available to host tournaments, charity events, and seminars. You can contact her through her website at www.cardplayercruises.com.