2004 Tournament Directors Association Rules - Part II

In the last issue, I wrote about the first 20 Tournament Directors Association (TDA) rules. Here are the remaining 18 rules (changes made to past rules are printed in boldface):

21. Verbal declarations as to the content of a player's hand are not binding; however, at management's discretion, any player deliberately miscalling his hand may be penalized.

22. No rabbit hunting is allowed.

23. A player who intentionally dodges his blind(s) when moving from a broken table will forfeit the blind(s) and/or incur a penalty. The money will be put into the next pot and will be considered dead money.

24. All chips must be visibly displayed at all times. Players may not have tournament chips in their pockets at any time. A player who has chips in his pocket will forfeit the chips. The forfeited chips will be taken out of play from the tournament.

25. Moving players: In flop games, players will be moved from the big blind to the worst position.

26. In limit events, there will be a limit to raises, even when heads up. (The limit will be the house limit.) Once the tournament becomes head up, the rule does not apply.

27. In stud-type games, if any of the players' two downcards are exposed due to dealer error, it is a misdeal.

28. If a dealer kills an unprotected hand, the player will have no redress and will not be entitled to his money back. An exception would be if a player raised and his raise had not been called yet, he would be entitled to receive his raise back.

29. Dealers cannot kill a winning hand that was turned faceup and was obviously the winning hand.

30. Verbal declarations in turn are binding. Action out of turn may be binding.

31. Management reserves the right to cancel or alter any event at its sole discretion in the best interest of the casino or its players.

32. Players going from a broken table to fill in seats assume the rights and responsibilities of the position . They can get the big blind, the small blind, or the button. The only place they cannot get a hand is between the small blind and the button. A player moved to balance tables will take the worst position. A dead button situation may occur.

33. Penalties available for use by the tournament director are verbal warnings, and 10, 20, 30, and 40 minutes away from the table, and may be used with discretion. They may be utilized up to and including disqualification. A player who is disqualified shall have his chips removed from play.

34. Players are obligated to protect the other players in the tournament at all times. Discussing cards discarded or hand possibilities is not allowed.

35. A player who exposes his cards during the play of a hand may incur a penalty, but will not have his hand killed.

36. In no-limit or pot-limit, when raising, a player must either put the amount of the raise out in one motion or state the raise amount. By stating the word raise, a player protects his right to raise, but the raise must be made in one additional motion unless he states the amount.

37. Verbally disclosing the contents of your hand or advising a player how to play a hand may result in a penalty.

38. In no-limit, less than a full raise does not reopen the betting to a player who already has acted.

In Part III, I will discuss the reasons behind some of the rules changes and additions.

Now, let's play poker!

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 seminars. Please see her website at www.cardplayercruises.com.