The 41st World Series of Poker starts on Friday 28 March and with it some new rules have been introduced. The former Commissioner of the WSOP, Jeffrey Pollack had always been an advocate for change, especially if he felt the change would aid the running of the tournaments or aid the comfort of the players involved and now he has left Harrah's, the owner of the WSOP brand, the changes have continued to be made.
In recent times changes have included what became known as the “Haved Khan” rule which prohibited “excessive celebration” thanks to his manical moments and over-the-top celebrations during his deep run in the 2007 Main Event. The last year a rule was introduced that was designed to stop players concealing their identity after Phil Laak played the entire Day 1 dressed up as an old man, complete with professional make-up.
This year sees a number of changes including any player who does not take their seat by the start of the third level of the tournament will be deemed as a no-show and will have their chips removed from play. This may anger a number of pros including Phil Hellmuth, who loves to enter a tournament very late as too does Gus Hansen of Denmark.
One rule that could be as embarrassing to enforce as it would be to be on the receiving end of is Rule 30, which states “any player whose personal hygiene has become disruptive to other players seated at their table" -- as determined by tourney staff -- may be subject to sanctions if that player "refuses to remedy the situation in a manner satisfactory to the Rio.”
The progression of technology has been accounted for too in the new changes, with players now allowed to access the mobile internet to update social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, but they must not still be active if they wish to do so. Players may now also speak on their mobile phones but again, must not be active in a hand and also be stood at least one table width away from the action.
Any player, especially beginners, taking part at the World Series of Poker 2010 , is urged to read all of the rules so that the game is not paused for any excessive amount of time and disruption is kept to a minimum.
