M.J. Morgan asked: As evidenced in my previous article series Poker Struck by Tragedy, poker is still haunted by crime – shootings, robberies and vengeance cases are a reality in underground poker rooms, and home games. As much as police and the law enforcement authorities want to erase poker along with other gambling-related activities from our culture by focusing on the criminal acts behind them, the World Poker Association has made an important effort to clean poker’s reputation and players’ conduct with the creation of an Ethics Code, mandatory for every member of the association.
Even though poker still enjoys the dark, tough, mob-like imagery linked to smoky rooms, threatening-looking players and bold nicknames, the World Poker Association (WPA) has made an effort to reform mainstream poker, using its dark image as mere marketing strategy.
Since the need for better behavior among poker players has become a survival move for the poker community, an Ethics Code has been created for every member of the World Poker Association, which will help not only separate criminal players from serious ones, but also protect the reputation of poker in the future.
The code has 5 sections, each with more than three clauses which detail the principles true to a serious poker player.
Section I: General Provisions. This section contains 9 clauses, which in general terms commit players to: play poker with strict professionalism, respect each player’s poker hand and their autonomous decision on how to play it, respect the rules of each game players are involved with, treat everybody at the poker venue with courtesy, refrain from expressing any offensive language or gestures, and show consideration toward any people with disabilities at the venues.
Section II: Relationships among Players. The section emphasizes on the respect players must show one another, the avoidance of any bullying at the tables or any visible judgments towards player’s ethnicity, cultural differences, and hand privacy.
Section III: Relationships between Players and Dealers. This section details the rules of conduct concerning dealers, in which players must agree to be completely professional and respectful towards the requests and demands of dealers and when asking dealers about any decision they may make; players should also refrain from any offensive language or gesturing towards dealers. In addition, this section commands dealers to treat players equally and respectfully and to apply rules consistently throughout the game, as well as to avoid any type of controversy among players and to report any inappropriate conduct at the table to a supervisor.
Section IV: Player-Management Relationship. This section talks about the importance to maintain a respectful attitude towards the casino or tournament management, keeping a civil demeanor in case of a disagreement or incident. Players are also expected to refrain from any offensive slurs or comments against any of the management personnel and to report formally any incidents to the tournament director.
Section V: External Relationships. This section urges players to make an effort for restoring the good name and reputation of the poker community, using professionalism and respect as main assets for obtaining the respect of the outside world.
To read the complete WPA Ethics Code, please visit
pokertournamentwatch.com/live-poker-tournaments/playing-poker-ethically.htm
As much as the WPA wants all their players to behave like honorable citizens while playing poker, one can only wonder how that is going to eliminate the bad habits of online and underground poker. Are WPA members going to honor the ethics code while playing online or vent frustrations that cannot be expressed in public games? Are WPA members going to respect the code when they play at home or at underground venues? And is this code going to make a real difference in how the world views poker if only WPA members stick to the rules but the remaining amateur players continue to give poker a bad name?
From a realistic point of view, there are countless articles and books stressing on the importance of behaving ethically at the table, not only for maintaining good energy flow throughout a game but also to do better in your game and aim to win more money. The phrase “you can catch more bees with honey than with vinegar” could not be truer in this case. However, there are also many articles accounting how players still refuse to apply the basic rules of poker etiquette and continue to annoy fellow players and viewers at the table; an obvious example: Phil Helmuth. Phil has said many times people love to see his brat side when playing, and his sponsors have made sure he always pleases the audience with a classic tantrum. Since being a big baby is Hellmuth’s signature behaviour… how is his image going to adjust to the new mandatory WPA rules? We can’t help but put the code to the test and see how much it benefits everybody in poker.
Eileen
