1. You fucking said it Wil!

If you are an adult (and you have to be to sit at a poker table) and you get the vapors over the word Fuck, you may need to find another hobby.

Think back to Tony G at the WPT in Paris last year. Lots of people thought he crossed the line with his antics (and they seemed to be antics to get people off their game) but there were no penalties. Yet, after all of that crap he unleashed if he did what Matusow did he'd have been put in the box.

I can only assume this horrible rule, like many in today's world, is 'for the children'. Children who shouldn't be anywhere near a fucking casino or card room in the first place.

Posted at 1:26PM on Mar 30th 2006 by Drew

2. i'm fuckin' picking up what your fuckin' throwing down. and it's about time someone is speaking the fuck up about it.
if you don't like it, grow the fuck up.

Posted at 1:48PM on Mar 30th 2006 by charly osz

3. The reason there are rules such as this one in place is to maintain some level of civility. There will always be some classless jerks at the table, and when there's more than one of these jerks the bad behavior tends to spread like a disease. I've seen players come to blows at 3/6 tables over incredibly trivial issues, and had the player who first used the f-word been removed upon it's usage, the whole thing could have been avoided.

So the rule against using the f-word is an arbitrary limit, but this is because the line has to be drawn somewhere. Since most over-the-line behavior occurs immediately following the f-word, that seemed to be a good place to put that line. The reason the rule is enforced uniformly is so that the TD does not have to be placed in the difficult position of making a judgement call based on how a player used the f-word. ("Well, it was used as an adjective and not in a derogatory manner, so it's OK."-Just as moronic as the FCC rules.)

Is it really such an inconvenience for a player to have to remove one word from his vocabulary at a time when people are already tightly wound trying to win a tournament. I don't see it as a freedom of speech issue because those laws apply to public places, and if you're playing in a privately owned casino, they have every right to restrict abusive language under their roof. Yes, I know that for some players if they couldn't use the f-word they may as well be mute, but if that's the problem, then as you said, they're welcome at Larry Flynt's club.

Posted at 4:43PM on Mar 30th 2006 by elf

4. About fucking time is right! I think a creative way to combat the rule would be to have an entire WPT/WSOP final table all say "fuck off" at the same time during a live broadcast, to make the point that most players think the rule is absurd. That'd be fucking great!

dc

Posted at 4:59PM on Mar 30th 2006 by Dan Crouch

5. Best post ever

Posted at 2:23AM on Mar 31st 2006 by Kris

6. I so completely disagree I have a hard time finding words to express it.

The rule is clear, how it's enforced is another issue. You take a way the rule and what do you have left to determine going overboard? Yea, it becomes completely subjective. I don't like vulgarity. It's a crutch, over used, shows a lack of discipline.

No rule? Hey, I'll get in your face, I'll call you cuss words up and down, tell you how your wife sucks my dick, glad your freaking cat died, your dad's a god damn lunatic, your a drunk.

Where do you draw the line? Civility at the table should be a requirement. I'm very glad the rule exists.

Posted at 10:46AM on Mar 31st 2006 by Chris Kessel

7. Amen.

Posted at 11:01AM on Mar 31st 2006 by Ryan G

8. I also think the F-Bomb rule is a pretty dumb one. I feel that anyone playing is 21+ (in most circumstances) and if it is not an outburst but an under the breath fuck or something of that nature it shouldn't be a problem. I like the hustler tournament story...I have to remember that one.

Posted at 1:20PM on Mar 31st 2006 by Jay

9. It's as much about how you say it as what you say. I think the rule is foolish if it is that arbitrary. Can I call another player at the table a "godd*mned sh*t-eating *sshole c*nt" and not be penalized just because I didn't use the f-word? There are ways to be abusive and offensive that don't involve f-bombs, and there are ways to use the f-bomb that aren't always offensive. The rule needs to be less absolute, and the floor personnel need to be able to use their judgment to decide when a penalty should apply.

Posted at 6:20PM on Mar 31st 2006 by Dave Westbay

10. Give "elf" 23 more stars! Talk about a whiney bunch of babies! Those who side with Wil are a great example of how self control, manners and just normal respect for others are going-going-almost gone from our society. Get a little class, people!

Posted at 9:54PM on Mar 31st 2006 by SLK

11. If I was in a situation like Wil describes ("I fucking sucked out on you!") and someone was penalized I would lobby the rest of the table to sit out for the duration of the penalty.

A penalty like that's just fucking stupid.

That said, if a player is actually abusive to another player, regardless of the language involved, I can support penalties after a warning.

Posted at 4:42PM on Apr 1st 2006 by todd

12. Couldn't fucking agree more, Wil. My realization of how incredibly stupid this rule was came on the hand where Sheikhan supplanted Helmuth as my all-time least favorite card player (that's not entirely true--nothing is more entertaining than Phil after losing a pot or getting knocked out). At the table with Mike the Mouth during the Main Event, he slams the table after the flop (or maybe the turn), in essence giving his hand away. Meanwhile Mike's still in it and trying to represent a certain hand. Furious, Mike tells him to shut the fuck up, which Sheikhan jumped on like maggots on rotting flesh and had the TD called over. In the end, they both ended up with 10 minute penalties. Now, who here thinks those fucking "offenses" were of equal weight?

Posted at 9:07PM on Apr 6th 2006 by Jen

13. How fucking stupid. I hate society's idea that the word "fuck" somehow deserves automatic censorship, regardless of context. It's just a fucking word, people. Get over it! I can be crude and insulting and incite people to violence without using any "swear words" at all. Likewise, I can say "fuck" without being insulting or inciting others. I guess they've got me on "crude", but it crudity really so horrible?

Posted at 9:05AM on Apr 12th 2006 by Wolfger

14. At the risk of making this topic sound like the South Park movie...fuckin' aye, Wil, fuckin' aye. This rule is quite obviously pretty fucked up right here, and it sounds to me like a bunch of tight-assed TDs need to go fuck themselves very much. I mean, it's just human nature, when you've been totally dominating the entire hand and then your opponent spikes his out on the river, to say, "Aw, FUCK!" (If you're inclined to say such things, of course.)

And, as always, you fucking RULE.

(walking away, humming the theme from Team America: World Police...I'm sure you know it)

Posted at 2:34AM on Apr 13th 2006 by Erbo

15. Fucking A Wil. Fucking A.

Posted at 5:40PM on Apr 13th 2006 by TeamScottSmith