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Poker: The F-Bomb Rule
(June 25, 2006)
There are a lot of unwritten rules in poker, usually referred to as poker etiquette. There are also a slew of news rules which, as poker continues to gain widespread appeal, are being written into tournament policy in order to “clean up the game” so to speak. One of these is the contentious F-Bomb Rule, which states that if a player is heard using the famous “F” word expletive, that player will incur some type of penalty, mostly commonly a 10-minute ejection from the game.
The rule is apparently intended to protect both players and dealers from threatening and abusive behavior. However, it comes across as drastic and absurd for most people involved in the game. When first introduced at the beginning of last year, many people were outraged and internet forums were full of ranting critics.
Many question the actual motivation for the implementation of the rule. In an attempt to clean up the game, and perhaps in order to entice more corporate sponsorship and to secure more lucrative television deals, the executives at the WSOP were the first to announce their plans to curb the use of profanity. It confused people at first because ESPN, the sports channel which airs the WSOP, is never shown live. Why then should it be different from any other competitive sport, in which foul language is merely removed before the program airs? Also, ESPN is a cable station, and therefore not exactly subject to the same rules (enforced by the FCC- the Federal Communications Commission) which govern the national networks. It appears that the rule is set to protect future events, and to ensure that controversial (and costly) incidents don’t occur on live television. We all remember Janet Jackson’s famous “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl, which cost the NFL and ABC literally hundreds of thousands of dollars.
But what upsets so many people about the F-Bomb rule is that it is so incongruous with what many consider the heart and soul of the game of poker. Poker is not meant to be a game for the faint-of-heart and easily-offended. A recent poll conducted by an online poker site showed that 88% of the players surveyed there objected to the rule. And for many the question remains, who exactly is the rule meant to protect? Since you must be 21 years of age to play poker in a casino in the first place, it’s surely not the kids.
Another common complaint about the F-Bomb Rule is the inconsistency with which it is being enforced. Some poker dealers choose to overlook it entirely, while others merely warn the infracting player without issuing the penalty. Naturally this causes controversy, and some players are even known to rankle other players in an attempt to draw out the F-Bomb and then call for the penalty. Isn’t this merely another angle which nefarious players can exploit?
Also, the arbitrary nature of the rule confuses many. After all, dropping the F-Bomb is surely not the only way to cause offense. What about the C-Bomb or the S-Bomb? The English language is full of colorful ways to express anger and dismay. And what about the players who speak a different language than English? Are we going to have a list of outlawed words?
One of the most talked-about incidents involving the F-Bomb Rule was with (who else) Mike “The Mouth” Matusow. In last year’s WSOP Main Event, Mike uttered the forbidden word not once, but four times. The spectacle resulted in a 40-minute penalty and was shown again and again on ESPN. Some even believe the entire incident was staged in order to create some publicity and generate interest on the first days of the event. Matusow went on to place ninth and collected a cool $1 million. Obviously, many people saw this as a ridiculous debut for the new rule and vocalized their dismay at the turn that professional poker appears to be taking.
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