What the button doesn’t move? That’s not the way they do it in California!

No short buy-in?

What do you mean I can’t take money off the table?

Yes, they are all legitimate questions, but why get upset over it. Didn’t the cashier make you take a test when you bought your chips? No! Well, you are unprepared then.

Remember the old saying, When in Rome, do as the Romans do? Truer words were never spoken, especially in a poker game. For some reason everything is logical to a poker player if it suits his or her immediate need. That’s not a malicious statement but certain factors lose their importance when you see your bankroll being pushed across the table to someone else.

An honest evaluation would be that most poker rules are tried and true. They work. Sometimes rules are made by a group of high limit players who sit around and discuss what works while they are in a game. Better known as the Golden Rule – he who has the gold makes the rules. Other rules are established and sometimes later even discussed and changed in poker rooms by the management, i.e. shift supervisors, brush and poker room manager. Sad days are upon all of us who love poker when the pit takes charge of running a poker room. It is the beginning of the end for poker in that casino.

As in all cases, rules are made for the majority of the population. There are always shades of gray. Strange incidences occur when you have a group of players going to war over the pile of chips in the center of the green felt. Many times you’ve heard that familiar cry, “Decision, table __.” Often times, players who are bored with their game will walk over to see what the problem is and then wait to hear the decision – not if the player is in a holdem game though, no way they’re giving up those free hands.

For some reason, a player who understands the workings of a poker room and the reason for the rule usually makes the most noise. “If I ran this room that wouldn’t happen!” No kidding, buddy, if you ran the room, there would never be a game. When a decision has been made, proceed to the next hand ASAP.

Many times the discussion has turned to why there isn’t a standard set of rules for poker throughout the country. Think about the depth of that statement. Is anything standard throughout America? Hell no! We’re proud of the fact that we have choices and we’re able to make our own decisions.

Who would we pick to establish those rules? A school teacher – what grade level? The mayor – what city? A member of congress – which house? A housewife – whose wife? Ok, you get the picture.

Poker has erupted (legally) throughout the United States in the last decade, but has been played privately since? ? ? One of the problems with conforming poker room or table rule happens to be one of the problems that gaming faces in general. The gaming commission or rule maker in a lot of instances are individuals who are not experienced in matters of gaming.

Many of these people are well meaning and plan on protecting the innocent gambler from themselves. Sweet . . . if those rules kept all of us in line. You know – instead of buying chips with that $20 bill that has “Buy milk” written on it and you really did . . . we could say, “Great rule!” By the way, ever read money? You know that stuff that mankind scribbles on there to remind him what to do with it.

Aside from gaming rules, poker is an animal in itself . . . attracting a multitude of personalities that sit together (sometimes for days) bound by the turn of the next card, trying to beat each other instead of the house.

How would one determine a common rule for each instance that could arise, have it interpreted and the correct decision made in every major poker house in this country? What is the cutoff in determining which ones are major poker houses? What is the penalty for the wrong decision? Does the floor person lose their life, their job, suffer suspension or get a trip to Hawaii for two if the decision favors the right player?

Yes, some of these questions are farfetched but so are some of the complaints voiced about rules in a poker room. Acquaint yourself with the rules, especially when you’re the visitor. If you’re prepared, you won’t go into cardiac arrest (believing it’s the end of life as you know it on this planet) when you encounter an unusual ruling.

There may be a day when the great Poker Gurus of the Universe will unite and provide us with a testament of poker rule but as of this writing there aren’t any poker rule police. Go to the green felt prepared, be open minded and armed with as much knowledge as possible. See you there.