Negreanu, Kessler Take a Stand for Amateur Players

Poker pros Daniel Negreanu and Allen Kessler recently spoke out against what both perceive to be elements of unfairness in tournament poker, especially to recreational or amateur players who do not have the skill and experience (and money) enjoyed by top pros in the game today.

KidPoker's beef, which he succinctly expressed at Full Contact Poker, centered around an incident in which he was asked to pose for a photo with an admiring fan who was seated and playing at the $1K Euro Estrellas Main Event while Negreanu happened to saunter by. Negreanu dutifully obliged, causing the fan and a fellow player seated next to him who was asked to snap the photo to stand in order to capture a moment in time with the six-time WSOP champ.

As Negreanu tells it, the dealer was dealing a hand while both players stood and remained well within reach of their chairs during the photo shoot. Nonetheless, the dealer mucked the hands of both players, citing the First Card off the Deck Rule that requires players to be within an arm's reach of their seats once the deal gets underway.

KidPoker insisted that neither player violated the rule and that the dealer had erred in tossing their cards. Negreanu pointed out that such strict enforcement of rules, whether the dealer is right or wrong, does nothing to ensure the game's integrity. A more common sense approach, according to poker's current all-time money leader, would be for warnings to be issued before a penalty is imposed.

"The vast majority of infractions being penalized are harmless mistakes made by amateur players," Negreanu stated. "I'm asking, I'm pleading for a change in focus in these types of situations. More leniency, more understanding, more player friendly. Less rigorous, less harsh, and less cold blooded."

This isn't the first time that Negreanu has spoken out against TDA rules that seem a bit unfair and lacking in common sense, and unless the rules are changed, it likely won't be his last. Negreanu's solution is for TDs or dealers to first take a look at the situation at hand and determine if "the player's intent was to cheat, angle shoot, or breach the integrity of the game, or was it a relatively harmless error on his part?"

Quantum reload option irks Kessler

Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler's current gripe is not with any particular rule of a tournament, but rather an option available to players that is weighted heavily toward experienced pros with large bankrolls. The World Poker Tour's upcoming $4 million guaranteed Legends of Poker Main Event is employing a "quantum reload" option that permits players to enter the tournament at a later stage by paying a premium even if they had already been eliminated previously.

In essence, players who fail to advance to Day 2 or who choose to skip Day 1 entirely can simply buy-in to Day 2 at an increased entry fee and receive considerably more (amount as yet undetermined but may be an "average stack") starting chips.

"Players who struggle to make it through day one but ultimately advance, will have to face a whole new wave of skilled players who are eager for the extra chance to buy an average day two advancing stack," Kessler posted on his Facebook page. "The deep pocketed skilled pros have an even bigger edge. Not only can they play all 3 flights to try to advance to day 2, but even if they are unsuccessful in advancing, they can just buy an average stack for another $10k."

Kessler rightly points out that recreational players will be extremely hesitant to buy-in to the event or to try and gain entry via a satellite knowing that the best pros with the largest bankrolls will likely have to be knocked out several times throughout the course of the tournament.

"If a player cannot earn their way to day 2 via several starting flights, that has to be the end of the road," Kessler added. "The World Poker Tour has the obligation to step in and provide a fair tournament for all players."

Kessler announced that he will be boycotting this year's event due to the unfairness of the quantum reload option. Kudos to him and KidPoker for taking a stand on behalf of amateur players who are less skilled and perhaps less savvy.