The Poker Tournament Directors Association (TDA) held its ninth biennial summit over the weekend at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
Attended by tournament directors, players and other interested parties, the summit’s intention was - as ever - to improve and standardize poker rules to make the game better overall for players new and old.
Savage, Stone, Livschitz and more take the floor
Among the many points for discussion was the issue of how more women can be encouraged to take up the game, and what can be done to create a more welcoming environment for newer players. Some of those taking the floor to raise ideas around this topic were longtime player Katie Stone and high-stakes crusher Victoria Livschitz.
Also on the agenda was the recent ‘controversial’ - depending on your point of view - ruling that prompted Daniel Negreanu to take to X in umbrage, calling it the ‘dumbest ruling I’ve seen in a while’. As we reported at the time, the debate centered around what happens when a raising player folds in error before their raise can be called.
The TDA’s Matt Savage discussed the ruling with PokerOrg last week, and reiterated his points at the Summit, arguing the point that the rule is to protect innocent player mistakes and would be very difficult to use as an angle-shoot. The ruling was confirmed to fall squarely within existing TDA rules.
Negreanu was invited to attend the summit to argue his case, but was not present. Among those in the player community who did attend and speak was Matt Waxman, who contributed to several discussions.
‘Big blind first’ rule is adopted
One of the more profound changes to be enshrined at the Summit was the adoption of the ‘big blind first’ convention. This applies to situations where a player does not have enough chips to pay both the big blind and the big blind ante.
This arguably makes it easier for stacks of under 2 big blinds to mount a comeback in poker tournaments, as they will be able to post a full big blind (at the expense of a full big blind ante). For a detailed explanation of this situation, and its implications for players, read this article recently penned by our regular contributor Jim Reid.
The decision was made that TDA rules will adopt the policy that paying big blinds will be prioritized over big blind antes. While this decision was not something that the assembled voters unanimously agreed upon, it’s worth noting that the decision was eventually passed in order to create uniform and standard rules across different properties, tours and tournaments.
‘A consistent experience, wherever they play’
This flexible approach, where compromise is key for the greater good of the game, is a fundamental aspect of what makes the Poker TDA work. Our correspondent Lee Jones was in attendance.
“Sometimes when we’re discussing the minutiae of whether the ante or big blind goes first, it can be easy to lose the forest for the trees,” Lee told PokerOrg, “But the forest is this: dozens of tournament directors and staff give up their time, for zero compensation, to come together every two years and talk about how to make poker tournaments and poker in general better. They discuss big picture items and details such as whether they should take two or three minutes off the clock for every hand during hand-for-hand.
“The most miraculous part is when TDs decide that, even though they don’t agree with the majority, they are going to follow the procedure, so that the players have a consistent experience, wherever they play a poker tournament. This is a testament to the professionalism and good will of all involved. I was incredibly proud to be part of the entire experience.”
Attendance at the TDA Summit is free for Poker TDA members. If you’d like to attend the next one in 2026, or learn more about the Poker TDA, visit the website.
Feature image courtesy of PokerGO
