PokerStars have recently celebrated 20 years of the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona, Spain, by addressing the previous cheating allegations during the WSOP Main Event.
Tenured tournament official and PokerStars ambassador Kenny Hallaert announced the changes of the rules and regulations of the WSOP on social media on Monday as EPT Barcelona kicked off with the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event. The changes include reductions in shot clock time, new dealer guidelines and changes to the redraw process.
What are the Updates to the Rules and Regulations of the EPT and WSOP Tournaments?
Hallaert noted the following on X regarding which rules and regulations will be updated:
Shot Clocks: Time will be reduced on first action in the hand to 15 seconds instead of 30. Timebanks will still be worth 30 seconds each.
We were considering removing all electronic devices from the table (including rail) for game integrity reasons. Instead, dealers will be taught to slide cards instead of pitching over the course of the next EPT’s.
No more redraws at final 2/3 tables. Instead, random breaking order from 5 tables left onwards.
No use of GTO-solvers/charts or similar anywhere in the whole tournament area at any time, also not for spectators.
New R&R Bans Solvers on the Play Area
Following the infamously dubbed “Laptopgate” that saw Jonathan Tamayo win it all during the WSOP Main Event, his victory was much maligned and tarnished for many poker players’ eyes due to Tamayo’s seemingly over-reliance on solvers during the final table en route to the deciding winning hand.
PokerStars have announced changes to the EPT’s rules and regulations, banning solver technology from their live events.
The solver policy is outlined in a new addition to the PokerStars Tournament Poker Rules, stating that “players are not permitted to use at the table or anywhere in the tournament room area at any time game theory optimal (GTO) solver software, GTO charts (whether used on an Electronic Device or otherwise) or any AI tool or similar algorithmic software that is capable of affording the user a competitive advantage in the Tournament.”
Tamayo has since addressed the backlash from his WSOP Main Event win, where he stated that his rail was only helping him with “in-game adjustments” and that he wasn’t looking at any solver outputs.
Questions and Clarifications with the New R&R
Dominik Nitsche, German WSOP bracelet winner, had a few clarifications he asked Hallaert regarding the solver and use of electronic devices near WSOP-sanctioned play areas. Nitsche was one of several players on Tamayo’s rail who was using the infamous laptop throughout the WSOP Main Event.
Nitsche clarified that [rule] #9 means no phones anywhere on the rail, to which Hallaert replied with, “Phones are still allowed on the rail.”
“Why? Anyone with basic tech knowledge is perfectly capable of either using Teamviewer or simply getting a third party to run simulations for them,” Nitsche remarked.
“We don’t want to ban the use of phones at the tables (for now). The use of solvers in any way is not allowed,” Hallaert replied.
Nitsche then commented that [rule]#9 doesn’t address the issue of people coaching on the rail using electronic devices, and that people on the rail can still access solver material and pass that information on to players.
Hallaert reiterated that spectators are also not allowed to use any GTO-like material, and broke things down further:
“Players are not permitted to use at the table or anywhere in the tournament room area at any time game theory optimal (GTO) solver software, GTO charts (whether used on an Electronic Device or otherwise) or any AI tool or similar algorithmic software that is capable of affording the user a competitive advantage in the Tournament. We also don’t allow any spectator to make any use of electronic devices with solvers inside the poker tournament area.”
However, Nitsche said that the rule is poorly written,
“A device with a solver in them” can refer to mobile phones and tablets like it can to laptops. Ban one of them and you need to ban all. Only banning laptops makes it look like you care about the optics more than integrity of the game.”
Hallaert agreed to Nitsche observation, but proceeded to state that while spectators can still use their mobile phone ‘not any solver related software’ was the rule that applied to GTO Software.
“But how do you police what people are looking at on their mobile screens?” Nitsche fairly asked and it’s a reasonable question.
While the steps to amend the WSOP rules and regulations are in the right direction, the implementation might have kinks that need to be figured out by the WSOP officials to ensure the game integrity of succeeding WSOP events are maintained to have a fair environment for the players.
