8 More WSOP Rules You Didn’t Know Existed

We’ve previously looked at 8 World Series of Poker (WSOP) rules that you didn’t know existed, and now with the 2024 WSOP less than a month away, we’re back with another eight rules that you should be mindful of before making the trip to Las Vegas.

No Late Registration in Shootout Events

Although it may seem straight-forward, you cannot register late for the $1,500 Shootout Event on the 2023 WSOP schedule.

Event #85: $1,500 Shootout No-Limit Hold’em comes with a 2,000 player cap. Officially, late registration is open for three levels or until the cap is reached. However, contrary to other tournaments, all stacks will be in play from the start of the tournament (11 a.m. on Thursday, July 13).

This means that your stack may be blinded off before you take your seat, although it does mean that if you do take your seat late you can get dealt in immediately, whether that’s the button, small blind or big blind on your first hand.

“Disruptive” Personal Hygiene

No one wants to be sat next to a smelly player, but did you know that the WSOP rules make specific reference to players like this?

Under the ‘Participant Conduct’ section, WSOP Tournament Staff may implement sanctions on any Participant whose personal hygiene has become “disruptive” to other players at the table, and refuses to “remedy the situation”.

Taunting. 15-Yard Penalty?

In the last article, we mentioned that “Excessive Chatter” was a punishable offense. This time we’re here to tell you that “Taunting” is also explicitly outlawed as per the WSOP rules.

The official wording is that any player who taunts another player “through theatrics or gestures” is subject to penalty. This also covers any form of “inappropriate behavior” intended to disrupt other players at the table.

New Phone, Who Dis?

Under ‘Communication’, the WSOP rules state that all cell phones must be silenced during Tournament play, and although players are allowed to use their phones at the table — providing they’re not in a hand — a special rule is in place for texting someone at the same table.

In short, if you attempt to communicate with someone at the same table as you — you’re both disqualified.

Don’t Even Think About Real-Time Assistance

Just in case you were wondering, even the WSOP has noticed the recent talk within the poker industry about Real-Time Assistance. Here’s Section IV.64.c of the WSOP rules to spell it out for you:

Do You Know the Six Different Ways to Call?

Most players know that there are verbal and non-verbal ways to call a bet, but did you know there are six ways forms of calling according to the WSOP? Some forms are more acceptable than others:

• Verbally declaring “call”.
• Pushing out chips equal to a call.
• Silently pushing out an oversized chip.
• Silently pushing out multiple chips equal to a call.
• Silently betting a chip amount that is tiny relative to the bet is non-standard and strongly discouraged and may be met with a penalty.
• Binding declarations/undercalls in turn. A player undercalls by declaring or pushing out less than the call amount without first declaring “call.” At a TDs discretion, players may forfeit the amount of the intended undercall and fold.

For more information on the different ways to call a bet at the WSOP, check out Section VI.93 in the 2023 WSOP rulebook.

What’s the Difference Between Disqualification and Forfeiture?

While they may seem similar, the WSOP recognizes the difference between being disqualified from a tournament and forfeiting your stack.

According to Section VI.113, disqualification occurs when a participant is disqualified for any reason and “shall have his or her chips removed from play and no refund will be provided to that disqualified participant.”

Meanwhile, a player who forfeits play “for health or other personal reasons” after the start of a tournament shall “have his or her chips blinded off accordingly.”

Hopefully, you won’t need to know the differences between disqualification and forfeiting this summer.

WSOP Events May Be Suspended Due to Bad Weather

Everyone will remember the craziness of 2019, when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake rocked the Rio during Day 1c of the WSOP Main Event.

But the WSOP rules make an allowance for more severe weather that might impact their tournaments!

According to the official tournament rules, if a tournament cannot run because of the weather, or other reasons such as computer virus, unauthorized intervention, technical failures or fraud, the tournament may be cancelled, terminated, modified or suspended.