Learn Texas Holdem

If you're playing in your first live Texas hold'em tournament, you should be aware that there are some accepted rules of appropriate behavior that you must adhere to. The tournament should furnish a hard copy of the rules which you should examine, and the tournament director should review the most important rules before starting the tournament. However, in case you miss any of that, here are some important rules you should know.

Foul Language

Foul language, specifically the "F" word, is not acceptable at tournaments. If you are heard using this word, you risk a penalty. This penalty used to be assessed based on time. For example, you might be out for ten minutes for the first offense, 20 minutes for the second, etc. However, it was recently decided that this did not allow for fair application of the penalty throughout the tournament, so now the penalty is typically assessed per round, that is to say, you may be forced to sit out for one round of blinds for the first offense and two rounds for the second. In the 2007 WSOP, the rule was relaxed slightly to suggest that the offending word needed to be directed at another person to incur a penalty. To be safe and courteous to others, you should refrain from profanity at the table.

Throwing Cards

If your cards go off the table, it is a penalty. The rule was created to prevent frustrated players from hurling their cards at the dealer, causing them to fly off the table, aggravating the dealer and slowing down the game while the cards are replaced. However, the rule does not differentiate how the cards leave the table. If you slide the cards too hard and they slide off the table, or if you toss them gently, but they deflect off the dealer's arm and onto the floor, you may still incur a penalty, so be careful with the way in which you muck your cards.

Talking About Hands

The clear rule in tournaments is "one player to a hand." This means you should not be giving advice or talking in any way to a player who is in a hand, especially if they are considering a difficult decision. To do so may well earn you a penalty. You may get a penalty or a warning even if your conversation seems innocuous, so it is better simply not to say anything while action is being considered.