2004 Tournament Directors Association Rules - Part I

Many tournament directors met at Bellagio recently to vote on rules for the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) to use in 2004. The meeting was very productive, since the attendees really understood the need for standardized rules as a result of the tremendous growth in the popularity of poker tournaments. There was a lot of give and take, and in the end, we agreed to 38 TDA rules; the first 20 are listed in this column. As chairperson for the meeting, I would like to thank the tournament directors who attended the meeting and gave their input.

The goal of the TDA is to adopt basic standards, rules, and procedures for poker tournaments that will positively impact the poker industry. Any tournament director who wants to register his cardroom to be a member of the TDA should contact Matt Savage at [email protected] or Dave Lamb at lamb502000@yahoo.com. There is no charge to be a member, but members must agree to abide by the TDA rules for the entire year.

Changes made to past rules are printed in boldface.

1. Floorpeople are to consider the best interests of the game and fairness as the top priority in the decision-making process. Unusual circumstances can, on occasion, dictate that the technical interpretation of the rules be ignored in the interest of fairness. The floorperson's decision is final. (Note: This rule used to be rule No. 31, but TDA members voted to move it to rule No. 1.)

2. 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. A player cannot be raced out of a tournament. In the event that a player has only one chip left, the regular race procedure will take place. If that player loses the race, he will be given one chip of the smallest denomination still in play.

3. 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. There will be an exception to this rule: An attempt will be made in identical hand situations to split the pot as evenly as possible: Example – a wheel in Omaha eight-or-better.

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

5. Calling for the clock procedures: Once a reasonable amount of time has passed and a clock is called for, a player will be given one minute to make a decision. If action has not been taken by the time the minute is over, there will be a 10-second countdown. If a player has not acted on his hand by the time the countdown is over, the hand will be dead.

6. Dead button: Tournament play will use a dead button.

7. Penalties: A penalty may be invoked if a player exposes any card with action pending, if a card(s) goes off the table, if soft play occurs, or similar incidents take place. Penalties will be invoked in cases of abuse, disruptive behavior, or similar incidents.

8. A player must be at the table by the time all players have complete hands in order for his hand to be live. Players must be at the table to call time. 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).

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

10. If a player puts in a raise of 50 percent or more of the previous bet, he will be required to make a full raise. The raise will be exactly the minimum raise allowed.

11. In limit games, an oversized chip will be constituted to be a call if the player does not announce a raise. In no-limit, an oversized chip before the flop is a call; after the flop, an oversized chip put in the pot by the initial bettor will constitute the size of the bet. In pot-limit and no-limit, if a player states raise and throws in an oversized chip, the raise will be the maximum amount allowable up to the size of that chip.

12. The one-player-to-a-hand rule will be enforced.

13. Tournament and satellite seats will be randomly assigned.

14. The English-only rule will be enforced in the United States during the play of hands.

15. A player who wants to use a cellular phone must step away from the table.

16. There will be no foreign chips on the table except for a maximum of one card cap.

17. Deck changes will be on the dealer push or limit changes, or as prescribed by the house. Players may not ask for deck changes.

18. When time has elapsed in a round and a new round is announced, the new limits apply to the next hand. A hand has begun with the first riffle.

19. A player may not miss a hand. If a player announces the intent to rebuy before the first card is dealt, that player is playing behind and is obligated to make the rebuy.

20. Players must keep their highest denomination chips visible at all times.

In Part II, the remaining 18 rules will be listed. Part III will contain an explanation of the rules changes and the new rules.

Now, let's play poker!

Editor's note: Linda is the in-studio announcer for the World Poker Tour and is a partner in Card Player Cruises. She is available to host poker events and poker seminars. Please see her website at www.cardplayercruises.com.