Tournamen Directors Associatio Summit of 2007
On February 20th and 21st at the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, 116 of the world’s most respected tournament directors and cardroom managers came together for the Tournament Directors Association’s annual summit.
Founded by Matt Savage, David Lamb, Linda Johnson, and Jan Fisher, the TDA forms the guidelines utilized by the majority of the poker community, including major poker events like the World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour. Since 2004, when the last updated TDA regulations came out, there have been a number of requests to change specific rules, and the purpose of the summit was to discuss those potential changes.
Following two days of discussions, several new rule changes have been brought into fruition. There are now a total of forty TDA rules or guidelines.
The TDA has requested that all cardrooms that use TDA rules review the following changes very carefully. If you would like to print out the rules for your room, please visit the TDA website at www.pokertda.com. The new rules have been set and March 15, 2007 will be the date of enforcement for all rooms that abide by TDA rules.
HERE ARE THE BIGGEST CHANGES TO THE TDA RULES:
PENALTY RULE
Under the old penalty system used by the TDA, players would incur a time-based penalty for misdemeanors. This system had several flaws to it and has drawn perhaps the most criticism of all the TDA rules. The biggest problem of a time-based penalty was that a player who received a ten-minute penalty in the beginning of an event would, in effect, be receiving a lighter penalty than a player who received a ten-minute penalty at the final table of an event. Play at the final table has much higher blinds, and time away from the table is far more valuable than in the beginning of an event. The guideline for penalties has now been changed, and all in attendance felt that it is a change for the better. Players will now be penalized in rounds as opposed to minutes. So, if a player receives a one-round penalty, he will miss one hand for every player at the table including himself.
AT YOUR SEAT
The way this rule was worded in the past caused some issues in cardrooms, with players standing to tip waitresses and then having their hand declared dead by dealers because they were not “in their seat.” Now, players simply have to be at their seat; this should make things a little easier on both players and staff.
DEALERS CALL STRING RAISES
This one seems like a total “no-brainer” but there were still several high-profile cardroom managers at the TDA summit who did not allow their dealers to call string raises; they felt that this was best left to the players. It was argued that a string raise is in fact an infraction of the basic rules of the game, and therefore the dealer should be held accountable for this. As with all TDA rules, the room took a vote, and 99% voted that the dealers should call string raises and string bets. This change should make a lot of people happy.
On the second day of the summit, all attendees were asked to sit in on a Q&A with some of the industry’s top names. Cardroom managers discussed best practices in their particular market. One thing that was brought up was the use of an All in button. Everyone agreed that some type of All in button would mean that dealers would make fewer mistakes during these crucial moments.
I am happy to say that I can speak from experience on this topic, as I have run several tournaments for which players were given an All in button prior to the start of the event. Players use them each week in the Poker Dome Challenge with great success. However, the discussion heated up when the 2006 WSOP was brought up as an example of why All in buttons do not work. Harrah’s decided to use an All in button for the Main Event. The biggest problem I saw was that the players and staff had never used such a system, so there was far too much variation in the enforcement of the rules that accompany the button. Why they would wish to implement such a huge change to the game for the first time during the biggest event in the history of the world is simply beyond me, but hey, live and learn, I guess. As such, I believe the idea of the All in button may now be badly tarnished, but I would still love to see it become common practice as it makes for fewer mistakes and adds an element of flair to the game.
Another topic of heated debate was the “forward motion with cards” rule. There was almost a 50/50 split on this topic. This question presents itself when a floorman must decide whether or not a hand is dead. Half of the people thought the old school way: If a hand has not hit the muck, then it is not dead. I fail to share this point of view. I feel that if a player has shown the intention of folding by making a forward motion with the cards, then this action alone should constitute that his hand is now dead. The reason I am a supporter of such a rule is simple. If a player makes the conscious effort to throw his hand away, in my opinion, it is dead. Too many times I have been at a table where the following situation occurs: Two players are left in a hand on the river. There are four clubs on the board. Both players check it down and the first player shows two red kings for a pair of kings, no flush. The second player now throws his hand in face down as if to muck. Now, before the dealer can reach the second player’s hand, someone else at the table chimes in with a very inappropriate, “Haven’t you got a club?” Now the second player grabs his cards and discovers that he does have a club, and then he turns his cards over and wins the pot. Is this right? I say very adamantly that this is just not poker. If a player has made the motion to fold, then he is not entitled to any part of the pot. The onus should not fall on the speed with which the dealer kills the hand; it should be determined from the earliest point possible. If we take online poker as an example, when a player decides to fold, he simply clicks a button. The decision has been made and it is instantly executed, no second chances. I believe very strongly that this should be a standard rule, and you can bet your bottom dollar that, come 2008, I will be back at the next TDA summit trying to get it included in the list of rules.
That is an overview of the main changes implemented at the 2007 TDA Summit. My hat goes off in a very big way to the four individuals responsible for the TDA: Matt Savage, David Lamb, Linda Johnson, and Jan Fisher. They have worked very hard over the years and have volunteered much of their time to our great game. Due to their hard work, standardization has become more and more of a reality in the poker industry. Many more rooms now use TDA rules as a direct result of their dedication, and for that I must give out a very big THANK YOU. If you manage a poker room or are a tournament director and you are not using the TDA rules, then I can safely say that you are now in the minority. As always, folks, may the flop be with you.
THE HUX
