In this column, I will complete my discussion of the Tournament Directors Association's new standardized rules, created to increase the enjoyment of tournament play for players who travel to different cardrooms. And I saved my favorite new rule for last. So, here are the final two rules, counted down in David Letterman style from No. 2 to No. 1.
Rule No. 37 states: "In no- or pot-limit, when raising, you must either put the amount of the raise out in one motion or state your raise amount. If you state the amount, you may make more than one motion." In the past, you could say raise and then return to your stack as many times as you wanted. Sometimes, you were required to leave a finger out on your stack or give some other signal that your raise was not complete. This method enabled angle-shooters to look around the table and gauge other players' reactions. Of course, if neighboring players did not act or give an indication of their intended actions out of turn, there would have been no need for this rule. However, in the real poker world, that is not how it works. The raising player had so many ways of making the raise that he could decide how much to raise based on what he had learned. "No more," the TDA says, and rightfully so. Now when you say "raise," you are allowed one motion from your stack to the pot and your turn is over – unless you state an amount. Then, you must raise exactly that amount. This is a good rule, and it has been a long time coming.
Drum roll, please, as I introduce my favorite new rule. No. 33 states: "Players going from a broken table to fill in seats assume the rights and responsibilities of the seat. 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." What does this mean? It is beautiful, it really is. How often have you heard a player joining your table to fill a vacant seat whine, "I just had the big blind"? It seems that this is the only place from which a player is ever moved. How could it be that from every table that was breaking, each and every player had just taken the big blind?
Rule No. 33 states that you assume whatever status your new seat was due to have. In the past, players had to take the worst of it (the big blind), but were not able to take the best of it (the button), which didn't seem fair. I know the whining will decrease considerably now. Think about it – you now can be moved to a great position, the button. I have used this rule in the tournaments I have run in the past several years, and the players love it. At first it seems odd, but as players get used to it and more comfortable with it, they love it. That is what the formation of the TDA was all about: making poker tournaments a better play for the player.
Now that 2002 is nearing a close and the world still exists as we know it, let us take a moment to think of some of the good things in the world and in poker. You can now go to tournaments around the country and expect many of the same rules and procedures to be the norm. This, of course, is a good thing. You can meet some wonderful people at the tables and form lifelong bonds of friendship with them, another good thing. There are job and learning opportunities available in the industry. There are flowers to smell, babies to hold, and beauty beyond belief right in your own backyard, regardless of where you live. 2003 is just around the corner and we have survived to see it. Many were not so fortunate, and have had troubling years in the wake of the terror America has seen, and with their own personal struggles. Keep things in perspective. Poker is not the be-all and end-all. It is a game. Yes, it is a game played for money, but even then, it is something you "play." Play hard, play well, and play for keeps, but most of all, play friendly. Take this into 2003 with you and you will be a better person for it.
Thanks for sharing some topics with me in 2002. Let's get together and do it again next year, OK? Class dismissed.
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