Lucky Dog Poker by Russ Scott

The new eight-page list of 105 rules for the 2010 World Series of Poker has a lot of players all atwitter. Literally.

That's because WSOP officials have changed tournament rules to allow text messaging by seated players during this year's 57 gold-bracelet events from May 27 to July 17 in Las Vegas.

Hundreds of pros and thousands of amateurs who carry cell phones to the Rio Casino now will be able to send "tweets" or regular text messages from the table while they're competing on poker's biggest stage.

Is this a good idea?

I realize Twitter — a social networking tool that allows short (140 characters max) messages to be sent to anyone signed up to receive them — has become a cultural phenomenon.

I also know that crowds following pros' tournament "tweets" exploded onto the WSOP scene last summer. One player, Joe Sebok, reportedly has more than a million followers on Twitter. Even the venerable Doyle Brunson tweets.

Tournament officials undoubtedly recognized the added buzz from tweeting is a great way to expand the WSOP's footprint. In cautiously rewriting the rules, they threw in some caveats designed to protect the game's integrity.

The key questions are: Did they install enough safeguards to prevent cheating or disruption of play? Also, will there be adequate enforcement?

Rule 55 says cell phones and other "ringing" electronic devices must be turned off and kept off the table during tournament play. However, seated players not involved in a hand (cards mucked) will be permitted to text or send e-mails — just not to another player at their table.

Also, the rule says a player talking on a phone must be at least one table length away from his assigned table — which, of course, just means he could end up annoying a different set of players nearby with his chatter.

Granted, the penalty for tweeting a fellow competitor at your table is harsh — both "will be immediately disqualified" from the event, the rule says.

The offenders also face possible forfeiture of prize money, banishment from future WSOP events and removal from the casino property.

The problem is, floor supervisors must catch the culprits red-handed. What a nightmare!

An already-busy supervisor likely would have to be looking over a texting player's shoulder at the message, somehow interpret that it's being sent to another player at the table, and then verify receipt of that message by the second player.

Wouldn't a quick tap on the delete key make enforcement nearly impossible?

And what if just two players saw the flop in a given hand and the other eight players all jumped on their cells to send a tweet? How to do you police that?

Almost as troubling is that the rule doesn't prohibit texting a buddy at a different table. It would be a snap to send a pal across the room key information about an opponent he's facing, such as his typical betting tendencies you noticed earlier in the day, or that he still might be on tilt from a bad beat you watched him suffer.

Yes, the severe penalties should deter cheating. But poker players always are looking for an edge. This amended rule creates seemingly endless new possibilities for players bent on winning, despite the risks.

Even if 100 percent of the table tweeters at this year's WSOP abide by the new rule, that won't reduce the new potential for the flow of the game to be affected as players rush to send or read messages before the next hand is dealt.

Scott Reed, my tournament traveling mate and a former professional poker dealer, agrees.

"All the texting will be distracting to other players, especially new ones or WSOP first-timers," Reed said.

"They'll wonder: What's he doing? And why?" Reed said. "Is he colluding with a partner? Did he see my hole cards that last hand and is now telling someone how I play? What's next? A mini-laptop for each player?"

Reed remembers how it used to be. "I miss the old days when players were there to play poker, not tweet their friends or talk on the phone."

Me too.

E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.

COPYRIGHT 2010 RUSS SCOTT

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