The Tournament Directors Association (TDA) is tasked with creating a standardized rule set to be used by affiliated poker rooms throughout the world. Two months after holding its industry summit in Las Vegas, the TDA has released its updated rules for 2015. We’ll guide you through some of the most important changes.

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2: Player Responsibilities

This rule requires players to keep the game flowing smoothly by following the action, acting in turn keeping cards visible and speaking up if they believe a mistake has been made. In the 2015 version, the TDA has added the responsibility of calling the clock, when warranted. The change puts a little more pressure on players by actually requiring them to call the clock, whereas before, the move would be voluntary.

3: Official Terminology of Tournament Poker

Players must know basic poker terminology when participating in a tournament. Apart from understanding terms like “bet,” “raise,” “call,” or “fold,” players must now be cognizant of their gestures at the table. The updated rule warns that “tapping the table is a check” and that it is the “responsibility of players to make their intentions clear; using nonstandard terms or gestures is at players’ risk.”

14: Live Cards at Showdown

This rule states that a player who has discarded his cards face down without tabling them still has a chance to change his mind if the cards are “100% identifiable.” Cards pushed into the muck by the dealer, however, are dead.

16: Non All-In Showdowns

To this rule, the TDA adds that “a non-all in showdown is uncontested if all but one player mucks facedown without tabling. The last player with live cards wins and he is not required to show his cards.”

17: Asking to See a Hand

The TDA states that players who no longer hold cards or who have mucked their hand facedown without tabling no longer have the right to ask to see an opponent’s hand. Now, the rule says that any caller of a river bet has the “inalienable right” to see the last aggressor’s hand on request provided the caller has not mucked his hand.

27: Calling for a Clock

This rule gives tournament players the option to call the clock on any other player in the event, even one sitting at a different table. Tournament directors can now use their discretion to reduce the allotted time and keep the tournament moving at a steady pace.

29: At Your Seat

In the 2013 rule set, the TDA declared that players’ hands would be ruled dead if they were not in their seat by the time the first card was dealt. After an uproar by players, the TDA has switched to the pre-2013 rule, which states, “A player must be at his seat when the last card is dealt on the initial deal in order to have a live hand.”

37: Methods of Betting: Verbal and Chips

This rule hopes to clarify the ambiguity of certain betting, raising, and calling scenarios. If a player makes a verbal declaration while at the same time pushing out chips, the verbal declaration will take precedence. Furthermore, when a player declares a specific amount, the action will be the same as silently pushing out an equal amount of chips.

39: Binding Declarations/Undercalls in Turn

A player who makes a verbal declaration (e.g. “call” or “raise”) will be committed to the full current action even if he did not realize that he is facing a larger bet than he anticipated. Additionally, a player who undercalls without first declaring “call” will be obligated to complete the entire call amount.

There are quite a few other rules in the TDA’s latest rule set, which you can check out here. Brushing up on the new rules will go a long way to avoiding costly mistakes at the table.

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