Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 29 January 2010 / Leave a Comment

During his tenure as Commissioner of the World Series of Poker, Jeffrey Pollack frequently referred to the ongoing effort by Harrah's to improve the world's largest and most prestigious series of poker tournaments. Often Pollack would use the word "tweaks" to describe changes to the WSOP schedule and/or operation, with many of those changes being direct responses to player feedback, implemented as part of the effort to make each year better than the last.

Pollack ended his four-year association with the WSOP last November when he stepped down from his role as Commissioner, but the adjustments continue. The 2010 WSOP schedule was announced in December, keeping much the same but introducing a few new events. More recently, the 2010 WSOP Official Tournament Rules were made available. There, too, one finds much the same, but there are a few "tweaks" here and there worth noting.

Over the last few years, there have always been added new rules that seem to speak most directly to a particular issue or complaint. In 2007 -- the year after the passage of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Act into law -- Harrah's added a rule forbidding third-party registrations from online gaming sites that conducted business with U.S. residents. In 2008 came the so-called "Hevad Khan" rule prohibiting "excessive celebration through extended theatrics," clearly a response to the attention Khan received for his behavior during his deep 2007 Main Event run. And in 2009 we saw the addition of a rule stating that a "players may not cover or conceal their facial identity," reminding us all of Phil Laak's remarkable turn playing the first day of the 2008 Main Event dressed and professionally made up as an old man.

All of those rules are still in place for 2010. So is just about every other rule from 2009. There are a few new rules this time, however, as well as a couple of significant revisions to existing rules that have already gotten the attention of those who plan to be at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino this summer.

The full list of 105 rules (available over at the WSOP website) is once again divided into seven sections -- Registration and Entry, Scheduling, Prizing and Seating, Player Conduct and Tournament Integrity, Player Likeness and Image, Poker Rules, and Operations Policies and Procedures. That's up from 98 total rules in 2009, with six new rules having been added, plus one other rule having been split into two separate rules.

A couple of new rules appear in the Registration and Entry section, both of which serve mainly as clarifications. There's Rule No. 9 spelling out how players are required to obtain free Harrah's Total Rewards cards prior to registering. And Rule No. 14 notes that registered players who don't show up by the start of the third level of a tournament will be considered a "no show" and have their chips removed from play. Those players' buy-ins will be taken out of the prize pool and can be reclaimed by the players up until July 17, 2010. Additionally, the third section -- Prizing and Seating -- has one new rule stating how WSOP Buy-In chips won in satellites have no cash value and must be redeemed during the 2010 WSOP.

The Player Conduct and Tournament Integrity section is largely identical to 2009, save the addition of a few new sentences to what is now Rule No. 30, Section A concerning "civility and courtesy." There one finds that "any player whose personal hygiene has become disruptive to other players seated at their table" -- as determined by tourney staff -- may be subject to sanctions if that player "refuses to remedy the situation in a manner satisfactory to the Rio." In other words, it is okay to stink as a player, but not okay to stink otherwise.

All of the other new rules and significant revisions appear in the lengthy Poker Rules section. Among the changes receiving the most commentary thus far are a couple that come early in that section -- additions to the "Cell Phone Rule" (Rule No. 55) and the "Approved Electronic Device Rule" (Rule No. 56).

Unlike in 2009, the "Cell Phone Rule" now explicitly states that "players not involved in a hand (cards in muck) shall be permitted to text/email at the table, but shall not be permitted to text/email any other player at the table." Any hint of emailing or texting another player at the same table will result in the disqualification of both players. Also, any player wanting to talk on his or her cell phone now needs to be at least one table length away from the table to do so.

The "Approved Electronic Device Rule" previously forbid the use of any device capable of accessing the internet, but that language has been omitted for 2010. The rule also had contained a list of devices (iPhone, iTouch, Treos, Blackberries) that were not allowed, although those of us who were at the Rio last summer noticed that rule was never actually enforced. The list of devices has also been stricken from the rule this time around.

Rule No. 67, stating that the right to dispute a hand ends when the new hand begins, is new. So is Rule No. 79 that states if a dealer accidentally deals a flop of four cards (rather than three), those four cards will be turned over, randomly scrambled, and a tourney official will come over and select one of the cards to be the next burn card, leaving the other three as the flop.

Rule No. 92 adds some new language to an old rule, essentially identifying other no-no's like soft-play, disruptive behavior, or violating the one-player-to-a-hand rule (reiterating prohibitions stated elsewhere). And finally, the new Rule No. 97 states that "repeated etiquette violations" like touching others' cards and chips, delaying the game, or acting out of turn can earn one penalties if the tourney staff deems it appropriate.

A few "tweaks," then, though much remains the same. All players, especially WSOP first-timers, are strongly encouraged to read and become familiar with the tournament rules before playing. That way everyone can be assured of a clean game -- literally.

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