The PokerStars EPT Barcelona kicked off today with the first flight of the €1,100 Estrellas Poker Tour Main Event, and the operator announced a revamped set of tournament poker rules to be used at EPT and other PokerStars tours moving forward.
The changes were first announced by Kenny Hallaert, a recent addition to the PokerStars Ambassadors team, who revealed the highlights of the new set of rules in a post on his social media platforms.
According to Hallaert, who has been a tournament official for a number of years, the biggest changes were introduced to tackle game integrity, including a new rule banning all use of GTO software and charts both at the tables and on the rail.
The changes come in the wake of the recent controversy at the WSOP Main Event final table, where champion Jonathan Tamayo and his rail were accused of using solvers on the rail in the so-called “Laptopgate” scandal.
PokerStars Focuses on GTO Solutions
Hallaert’s social media post on Monday concluded with: “No use of GTO-solvers/charts or similar anywhere in the whole tournament area at any time, also not for spectators.”
This part of the post was a reference to the last addition to the official PokerStars Live rules, which was clearly designed to tackle any future incidents similar to the one involving Tamayo at this year’s WSOP Main Event, which reads in full:
“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.”
The new rule goes into detail on the use of GTO solvers, charts, and other solutions that could help players gain an edge over their competition in real time, banning their use for both players and spectators on the rail and in the entire tournament area.
If there were any questions remaining in whether solvers and charts can be used during PokerStars Live events, they have now been removed, as the operator introduced a detailed rule tackling the issue that the likes of Alan Keating, Doug Polk, and Daniel Negreanu debated in detail over the last few weeks.
Shorter Shotclocks and Table Redraw Changes
The problem of tanking (taking a long time to act on a hand) has been growing over the years, and many poker tours decided to tackle it by introducing shotclocks and only giving players a limited amount of time to act on their hand along with a number of time banks which can be used when additional time is required.
PokerStars introduced shotclocks in their major events some time ago, giving players 30 seconds to make each individual decision, along with additional 30 second time banks.
Since some players were still finding ways to abuse the rules by consistently using up their 30 seconds to make their preflop decisions, PokerStars introduced a change to the rules which now only gives players 15 seconds to make their first decision in the hand.
The 15 second shotclock will allow players to act on their hand in a timely fashion, but without disturbing play or abusing money bubble or other key stages of the tournament.
In addition to the new shotclock rule, PokerStars also introduced a new rule relating to the three and two table redraws, introducing random table breaking order from five table onwards instead.
This rule is also designed to address the issue of tanking in the late stages of the tournament, as short stack players often used the rules to their advantage in an attempt to avoid paying the blinds before a redraw.
New Dealing Technique Being Introduced
The final change to the PokerStars Live rules, which has not yet been implemented, will be gradually introduced into EPT and other tours over the coming months.
Currently, most dealers use a pitching technique which tends to reveal the bottom card of the deck to a degree, which players can abuse by using electronic devices such as hidden cameras to see the card.
While the vast majority of players would never think of trying to gain an advantage in such a way, a number of reports of players using cameras hidden in various objects alerted PokerStars enough to change the rules.
Moving forward, dealers will be trained in dealing the cards using a sliding technique that will avoid revealing the bottom card, increasing the security level by another notch.
Hallaert also revealed that PokerStars were considering banning all electronic devices in the tournament area, but eventually decided that the majority of players don’t have an intention of cheating when they use electronic devices in-between hands.
In terms of electronic devices, the rules will remain unchanged, as players and railbirds will be allowed to use their phones and other devices, but only in-between hands, while players will have to step away from the table completely in order to make or take phone calls.
PokerStars Taking Game Integrity to a New Level
As it celebrates the 20th anniversary of the EPT, PokerStars continues to look for ways to make its live events even more secure and take game integrity to a new level.
The new PokerStars Live rules being introduced for EPT Barcelona and beyond will help make tournaments safer, which should in turn also create a friendlier gameplay atmosphere for all involved.
The blanket ban on all GTO tools and reduction in preflop shotclocks will even the playing field for the amateurs and recreational players, increase the number of hands being played, and hopefully make the events even more entertaining and fair.
The reaction from the poker community has been overwhelmingly positive thus far, although a select few have found issue with the new rules, calling the unenforceable and poorly written.