Tournament Rule #7
This is our second Tournament Director’s Association rule discussion. Note that we are not taking the rules in order, 1 through 40, but rather looking at the rules as we feel they might help a beginning player understand the play of a sanctioned tournament. We will eventually work our way through the entire TDA set of tournament rules.
Rule #7: Penalties and Disqualifications.
A penalty MAY be invoked if a player exposes any card with action pending, throws a card off the table, violates the one-player-to-a-hand rule, or similar incidents take place. Penalties WILL be invoked in cases of soft play, abuse, or disruptive behavior. Penalties available to the TD include verbal warnings and “missed hand” penalties. A missed hand penalty will be assessed as follows: The offender will miss one hand for every player, including the offender, who is at the table when the penalty is given multiplied by the number of rounds specified in the penalty; for the period of the penalty the offender shall remain away from the table. Tournament staff can assess one-, two-, three-, or four-round penalties or disqualification. A player who is disqualified shall have his or her chips removed from play. Repeat infractions are subject to escalating penalties.
Notice that the floor staff have some discretion as penalties MAY be enforced versus WILL be enforced. I would point out that even in the “WILL be” situations, there remains a good deal of discretion left in the hands of the tournament staff. As with any tournament rule if you feel there is a violation or if you do not understand why a rule is not being enforced, you are within your rights to call for the floor and as for a ruling or rule clarification.
-This is Beginner’s Poker Blog Post #110
