When I first started playing in poker tournaments in 1996, there were no uniform rules… none! It seemed that every casino had its own idea of how to run a poker tournament, which made it not only confusing, but also often unfair.
In 2001, four gaming professionals got together and decided to put an end to the chaos when they founded the Poker Tournament Directors Association, the TDA. It is the official association of poker tournament personnel. It is my honor to call those four pioneers my friends: Matt Savage, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and David Lamb. During the month of February, I will be telling you more about those four poker icons.
TDA membership includes management staff from the world’s largest casino poker rooms, tour circuits, poker leagues, online tournament platforms, and independent tournament contractors. The Association is dedicated to the advancement of the industry and adoption of uniform poker tournament rules. Every two years the Association holds a TDA Summit to review proposed new rules and amendments. To date, the Association has adopted 44 rules. The Official TDA Rules are available here.
The TDA is an unpaid, volunteer organization. If you are active in poker tournament administration, and you would like to see increasing uniformity in tournament rules, consider joining the TDA. Members can actively participate in new rules legislation, attend the Summits, and post in the online discussion forums. Membership is free, and it's the best way for you to have a voice. Since inception, the Poker Tournament Directors Association has grown to over 1300 members in 39 countries.
Information about joining the Poker Tournament Directors Association is here.