The TDA has decided on new rules for poker tournaments in 2024. [Image: Shutterstock.com]

TDA met in June

The Poker Tournament Directors Association (TDA) hosts a biennial summit which brings together tournament directors, floor staff, organizers, and players from all over the world with the objective of improving and standardizing rules, procedures and policies for the overall betterment of poker. In the last weekend of June, the TDA met to scrutinize some specific rules which govern the game but also to discuss the broader topic of how to make poker a more welcoming environment for female players. 

It was decided that antes should not be reduced as play progresses in the event

Top of the agenda was the administration of the big blind ante format, specifically whether the ante reduces in short-handed situations like during the endgame of a final table and whether it is big blind first or ante first in the instance of a short stack who is unable to post the full amount of both. It was decided that antes should not be reduced as play progresses in the event and that it would be big blind first.

The next item on the table was about dealer’s announcing the bets whenever chips go into the pot. The point of this change is to help players to follow the action at the table. There was also a reiteration of the rule in the situation in which a raising player folds in error before their raise can be called. This was in the wake of Daniel ‘The Kid Poker’ Negreanu’s tirade during the World Series of Poker (WSOP) when the absolutely, uncontroversially-correct ruling was made against him. 

Big blind first

Last Thursday, when TDA founder Matt Savage released the 2024 TDA Rules Version 1.0, it was noteworthy that significant work had gone into new and expanded guidelines for a number of issues that have been both problematic and difficult to police for tournament staff in an ever-changing modern poker landscape. 

The @PokerTDA 2024 rules version 1.0

New:
Big blind ante first
Electronic device use language
Facial coverings
Rule enforcement clarification

Looking for global translations, if willing please reach out and I will forward to our administrator.https://t.co/xgNyxW5bg8

— Matt Savage (@SavagePoker) October 10, 2024

‘Big blind first’ or ‘ante first’ has been a heavily debated subject about a situation where there is no inherent correct position. Whether it is big blind or ante first, both options have equal validity from a purist standpoint so it simply comes down to making a choice. As usual, and this is the unofficial motto of the TDA, what is salient is consistency. Whichever way this ruling fell, it’s more important that it’s adopted across the board by card rooms which adhere to the TDA rules. 

I like the idea of it being easier for a short stack to mount a comeback

I, for one, am happy that ‘big blind first’ has finally been enshrined in the rules. The reason I like the decision to make it big blind first is because I like the idea of it being easier for a short stack to mount a comeback. That’s just my preference. I absolutely understand the counter-argument about it being better to make rules which are more conducive to busting players, considering that the objective of a tournament is to get down to a winner. 

New rules

The TDA has created a couple of new rules, the first of which is about player identity. Essentially, a player may not cover up to the point that they are no longer identifiable as themself. Under the new rule, tournament staff may request a player to remove any item (sunglasses, hat, hoody, scarf, mask, or other facial covering) which inhibits their identification or is a distraction to other participants. 

The second new rule, however, relates to the increasing concern over the use of solvers, look-up tools and other poker apps by both players at the table and on the rail. This one seemed inevitable after the controversy at the WSOP Main Event final table this year when eventual champion Jonathan Tamayo conferred with his coach and backer Dominik Nitsche who had brought his laptop. 

Rule 5 of the TDA now states:

A. Players may not talk on a phone at the table. Ring tones, music, images, video etc. should be inaudible and non-disturbing to others. These and other devices, tools, photography, videography, and communication must not create a nuisance, delay the game or create competitive advantage and are subject to house and gaming regulations. 
B. Phones and other devices may not rest on the table. 
C. Players with live hands may not interact with or operate an electronic or communication device. The definition of such devices may include new technologies and shall be as updated by the TD. 
D. Betting apps, charts, and other poker strategy tools may not be used at the table. Nor may players receive or use poker strategy data from another person or source.

Making it prohibited to receive strategy data ‘from another person or source’ clears up the language of this rule nicely, getting around the prior ambiguity over what constituted ‘the playing area’ and where the boundary to the playing area was (rail or tournament room). This new rule is also defined as “improper use of devices or strategy tools” in a related rule (Rule 71) governing the administration of penalties for cheating or misconduct. Under that now clarified rule, punishments can range from warnings to a number of hands or orbits penalty to disqualification from a tournament.

To read all about the additions and amendments made to the TDA rules in 2024, you can visit the website (LINK: https://www.pokertda.com) or download the complete rules from the TDA dropbox link.