⚖️ RULES ARE FUN ⚖️ 2026/10/30

Last week, we published our updated DMHP House Rules, bringing everything together in one convenient place on our website. And wouldn't you know it, I've already found something worth adding!

It's only a small amendment, clarifying our expectations for player conduct and the penalties available to the Tournament Director. But it ties in rather nicely with some important changes to the 2026 Poker Tournament Directors Association (TDA) rules.

And there's one particular subject I'd like to revisit, because despite having talked about it before, I still see it happening at our tables.

Criticizing another player's poker decisions.

You know the sort of thing I'm talking about.

"How could you possibly make that call?"

"Why were you even in that hand?"

"What the hell were you thinking?"

Usually, these little gems come from somebody who just lost a pot to a hand they weren't expecting. Apparently, the other player failed to consult them about how they were supposed to play their cards!

Here's the thing, folks. You don't get to decide how somebody else plays their hand.

Maybe they called with terrible cards. Maybe they chased a draw against ridiculous odds. Maybe they made a decision that no poker professional in the world would recommend.

And maybe they got lucky and took every last chip you had!

That's poker!

Shouldn't You WANT Them to Play Badly?

Here's something I've pointed out before, and I think it's worth repeating.

You should WANT your opponents to make bad decisions!

Think about it. If somebody consistently calls your big bets with terrible cards when you're holding a monster, isn't that exactly the kind of opponent you want?

Of course it is!

If you could somehow eliminate luck from poker, you'd welcome those questionable calls all night long. You'd be collecting their chips faster than you could stack them!

But here's the catch.

Luck IS part of poker.

Sometimes the person making the terrible call is going to hit that miracle card. Sometimes your pocket aces are going to get cracked by somebody holding a six and a three. And sometimes that player is going to ride their luck all the way to a tournament victory.

That doesn't mean they did anything wrong. It means they got lucky!

Over the long run, you want opponents making decisions that give you the mathematical advantage. But that advantage doesn't guarantee you'll win every hand.

You can't have it both ways, folks. You can't complain that someone is playing poorly and then complain when they occasionally get rewarded for it!

And you certainly can't take your frustration out on the person who beat you.

It's Not Just a DMHP Rule

I've said before that we're a friendly, social poker league, and I expect everyone to treat their fellow players with respect.

But here's something I want to make absolutely clear.

This isn't simply a rule I've invented because I want everyone to get along.

The official Poker TDA rules prohibit criticizing another player's play or strategy.

In fact, Rule 69, which deals with the one-player-to-a-hand principle, already prohibited advising or criticizing play at any time.

And the updated 2026 Rule 72, Player Conduct and Behavioral Integrity, specifically identifies negative commentary, criticism and mockery of another player's decisions or strategy as unacceptable conduct.

That's right. The people who establish the rules used in professional poker tournaments around the world don't think it's acceptable either!

So whether you're playing in a major tournament or sitting around one of our tables at Brown Barrel or Carrigan Arms, the same principle applies.

Play your own cards. Let everyone else play theirs.

And Let's Keep It at the Poker Table!

Now, I've also seen situations where frustration goes considerably further than somebody questioning a bad call.

I've actually had players ask me, sometimes only half-jokingly, whether the parking lot counts as restaurant property because they'd like to settle their differences with another player outside!

Seriously, folks?

I don't care whether you're inside the restaurant, out in the parking lot, or halfway down the street. Threatening, intimidating or physically confronting another player over a poker hand is completely unacceptable.

And that applies to ALL situations, not just disagreements about how somebody played their cards.

I've had to ban players from our league in the past because their behaviour crossed the line. I won't get into the details, but those decisions weren't made lightly.

We can joke around, tease one another and enjoy some friendly table banter. That's part of what makes Dead Man's Hand Poker such a great social experience.

But there's a big difference between having fun with somebody and making them feel uncomfortable, intimidated or threatened.

And nobody should have to put up with that just because they came out to play some poker.

And Now There's Another Way to Enforce It

The 2026 TDA updates also introduce something interesting in the penalties department.

Chip penalties!

Previously, the usual options for dealing with misconduct included warnings, having a player sit out a number of hands or rounds, or, in more serious cases, disqualification.

Under updated Rule 74 and the new Recommended Procedure 26, Tournament Directors now have another option: taking chips directly from an offending player's stack as a penalty.

Those chips are removed from the tournament. They don't go to another player, and they don't become part of somebody else's pot.

Now, before anyone starts worrying that I'm going to be wandering around the room confiscating chips every time somebody says something foolish, let me put things into perspective!

In all my years as a Tournament Director, I've issued exactly ONE formal in-game penalty that I can recall.

We were at a final table, and several different players had been acting out of turn. After repeatedly reminding everyone to pay attention, I finally announced that the next person to act out of turn would receive a one-hand penalty.

And wouldn't you know it, somebody did!

So I gave him a one-hand penalty. I'd warned the entire table, and I wasn't about to make myself look foolish by backing down!

That's how reluctant I've generally been to issue penalties during a tournament.

Now, as I mentioned earlier, I HAVE had to ban players from the league for serious misconduct. That's a different matter, and sometimes it's necessary to protect everyone else's enjoyment and safety.

As for these new chip penalties, I'm still looking into exactly how and when they should be applied at DMHP.

The TDA doesn't provide a fixed formula for determining how many chips should be removed, so I'll need to establish a fair and consistent approach before putting that option into practice.

There may be situations where a chip penalty makes more sense than forcing somebody to miss a hand or an entire orbit. That's something I'll be considering.

But I certainly don't expect to be handing them out like Halloween candy!

The important thing is that chip penalties are now another tool available to me as Tournament Director, alongside warnings, missed-hand and missed-round penalties, and disqualification.

And hopefully, I'll have about as much reason to use them as I've had to use the others!

A Little Respect Goes a Long Way

Look, I understand that poker can be frustrating. We've all made a terrific hand, gotten our chips in as a massive favourite, and watched somebody hit the one card we desperately didn't want to see.

Sometimes you just want to scream!

But the person who beat you has just as much right to enjoy their evening as you do.

And remember, there are players of all experience levels at our tables. Some are still learning, while others have been playing for decades. Nobody should feel embarrassed, intimidated or pressured into playing differently just because somebody else doesn't approve of their decisions.

So the next time somebody makes a call that leaves you scratching your head, remember this:

You don't have to understand their decision. You don't even have to like it. But you DO have to respect their right to make it.

Besides, if everybody played exactly the way you thought they should, poker would be a pretty boring game, wouldn't it?

And I'm fairly certain you'd still find something to complain about! 🤠

Dead Man's Hand Poker uses the rules set forth by the Poker Tournament Directors Association. The Poker TDA is a voluntary poker industry association founded in 2001. The TDA mission is to increase global uniformity of poker tournament rules. The Poker TDA rules can be found here. Our house rules can be found here.

Made it all the way to the end? Well, thank you for reading! 🤠

And since you've taken the time to read this far, how about a little reward?

Leave a comment below before Friday, November 6th at 9:00 AM, and you'll earn yourself THREE Reward Cards!

I'll tally up the comments when the deadline passes and bring everyone their Reward Cards the following week!

Missed the deadline? No worries! I appreciate you taking the time to read my ramblings anyway! 😊