{{Unreferenced, date=February 2010
In the game of
poker, the tournament director (TD) is the individual charged with running the
poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table (called a " heads-up" tournament), and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of ta ...
. The job encompasses many roles, the most public of which is typically announcing the phrase "shuffle up and deal!" at the beginning of the day. A tournament director also declares the tournament
blinds and
ante structure.
Most tournament directors will be responsible for the structure of the game they are running to ensure the game is completed within a set time scale. TDs also handle matters such as table consolidation, player registration, etiquette and procedure enforcement, and controlling the game at all stages including important stages such as when the players remaining are close to the
bubble
Bubble, Bubbles or The Bubble may refer to:
Common uses
* Bubble (physics), a globule of one substance in another, usually gas in a liquid
** Soap bubble
* Economic bubble, a situation where asset prices are much higher than underlying funda ...
, the situation where the number of players remaining in a tournament is only slightly larger than the number of players that shall be getting paid.
The tournament director carries absolute authority before, during, and after any game of poker, and the decisions they make are final. Players have no redress if they do not agree with a TDs decision.
Additionally, tournament directors perform such other tasks as adjudicating disputes between dealers and players and also among the players themselves. Tournament directors are (generally) employees of the
casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
that the tournament is being hosted at, although this varies. For example,
Matt Savage has appeared at various made-for-TV tournaments such as ''
King of Vegas ''King of Vegas'' was a gambling series that first aired on Spike TV in the United States on January 17, 2006. It was hosted by boxing commentator Max Kellerman and co-hosted by handicapper Wayne Allyn Root, who gave color commentary and his odds ...
'', which do not take place at his place of employment. Other TDs work for travelling tournaments such as the
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the f ...
and the
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker p ...
.
Robert Thompson Robert or Bob Thompson may refer to:
Entertainment
* Bobby Thompson (comedian) (1911–1988), English comedian
* Bob Thompson (musician) (1924–2013), American orchestra leader, arranger, composer
* Robert E. Thompson (screenwriter) (1924–2004 ...
is another famous tournament director who has appeared on
Bravo's ''
Celebrity Poker Showdown
''Celebrity Poker Showdown'' is an American celebrity game show that aired on the cable network Bravo. It was a limited-run series in which celebrities played poker, with eight tournaments during its five-season run.
In each show, five celebrit ...
'' ever since season one. Robert is known for saying the famous words of "Shuffle Up and Deal" occasionally throughout each episode of the show. Robert would also help out when some of the players wanted to make a bet or a raise, assuring that the proper amount of chips were put out.
Some of the most noted tournament directors in the world today are
Matt Savage, who works with various tour circuits,
Jack Effel who is the World Series of Poker tournament director and
Thomas Kremser, who is the leading tournament director for major events in Europe.
Poker gameplay and terminology