In the poker world, official poker rules are what players follow in order to ensure that a game is fair and everyone follows the same standards. The governing bodies for each game set out these standard poker rules so that decision-makers can refer to them when making rulings.

A common complaint of poker players involves someone mucking their hand despite it being the winning hand, or another player peeking at their cards while they are looking at theirs. This type of behaviour is against poker rules as it breaks gamesmanship and is considered bad form.

Other common violations of poker rules include revealing or divulging the contents of a folded hand, even to someone not in the pot. It is also against poker rules to make comments or inferences about the value of a player’s hand, as well as stacking chips in a way that interferes with dealing or viewing cards. It is also not permitted to look through the discards or deck stub during a deal, although this can be done if the player has an eye injury or is otherwise unable to see the cards clearly.

All poker players must sign in before the tournament begins, and must have their Member ID# and full name clearly printed on the Tournament Sign-In sheet. Failure to do so could result in forfeiture of your chips if you’re playing in a tournament, or disqualification from the event altogether. This is to ensure that no one cheats by using fake membership information.