I’m excited to write my first column for PokerOrg — hopefully the first of many — on the world of tournament directing and the decisions we face every day.
As background, I spend about two-thirds of the year on the road running poker tournaments all across the globe. I am full-time with the PokerAtlas Tour, but I've also worked alongside the WPT, RunGood, World Series of Poker Circuit, and many other organizations.
My job is to be the official for poker tournaments, much like an umpire or a referee. The difference is I’m also tasked with customer service. So often, I’ll say something like “never do that again,” immediately followed by, “please come back.”
The job can be very difficult at times. There are a lot of things that go into running a poker tournament and making the correct decisions. I’m going to give you some insight into how we make some of those decisions.
Decisions. Decisions. Decisions.
When it comes to making decisions as a tournament director, we have to factor in two key details. The first step is the technical rules. The Tournament Directors Association (TDA) is a set of rules that tries to make things consistent across all poker tournaments, no matter where you play. That's step one, knowing the TDA rules.
Step two — and this is the tricky part — is considering the best interests of the game. And sometimes, that means overriding step one.
My first lesson in learning how to do this actually came from Matt Savage (WPT Executive Tournament Director).
Over a decade ago, I was working with Matt, trying to make a name for myself as an up-and-coming tournament director, and I was put to a decision.
In one hand, the small blind hadn’t been dealt in — and three players had already folded. By the book, that’s significant action and the hand should stand. But something about that felt off. I asked Matt to weigh in.
He said it was a misdeal. That ruling made everyone at the table happy with the outcome. I went over to him and said, “I thought that three actions were significant and therefore the hand must proceed.”
Matt said this is a spot where you deviate from the technical rules because it’s in the best interest of the game to deal the hand again and give the small blind his cards.
That was my first lesson in knowing when to deviate from the rules. And that it's okay to do it if it's better for the overall best interest of the game.
You can't please everyone
Of course, not every ruling you make leaves everyone feeling happy. I've had a number of interactions with players who haven't been super happy about my rulings.
And that's okay as well, as long as you're doing it for the good of the overall game. Those of us that have done it for a long time have gotten really good at having the customer service and making the ruling at the same time. It's a difficult job but it can be done.
Have a tricky ruling you want my take on? Drop it in the comments — I’ll feature some of the best ones in future columns.
Justin Hammer is the Live Events Director for PokerAtlas, online Tournament Director for the Texas-based poker app Hijack and a Tournament Director for Thunder Valley Casino Resort. He also brings his expertise as a consultant and minority owner of Desert Bluffs Casino in Kennewick, Washington. With years of experience across live, online, and casino operations, Justin has established himself as a trusted leader in the poker world.
For more info visit PokerAtlas.com, HijackPoker.com, and bluffs.poker. Follow Justin on X
