Clarify the TDA's English-Only Rule to Allow Deaf Poker Players Right to Sign at Table
The Issue
Petition to: Matt Savage, Founder, Poker Tournament Directors Association (TDA)
Twitter: @SavagePoker
Many poker rooms following Tournament Directors Association (TDA) rules are misapplying the English-only rule to prohibit American Sign Language at the table, treating it as equivalent to speaking a foreign language for competitive advantage.
Recently, a deaf poker player at a Florida card room was recently told by a dealer, then a floor supervisor, then the room's tournament director, that he could not use ASL with his friend at the table under any circumstances, including between hands when no cards were live. The justification given was that sign language falls short under rule 3. English only at the table. This happens FAR too many times!
That reasoning misunderstands what sign language is. ASL is not a tool for concealing strategy from other players. It is the primary language through which deaf and hard-of-hearing people communicate. Applying the English-only rule to it does not preserve fairness, it simply denies deaf players the same basic ability to converse at the table that every hearing player already exercises without restriction.
The TDA's own rules already draw this distinction elsewhere. A blind player is permitted to have another player read their cards aloud, a well-established exception made explicitly to ensure accessibility, notwithstanding the TDA's One Player to a Hand rule, which states that "this rule prohibits showing a hand to or discussing strategy with another player, advisor, or spectator." If that rule can accommodate a blind player's need, the English-only rule can accommodate a deaf player's.
We are asking the TDA to formally clarify Rule 3 (English-Only) with the following addition:
"This rule does not apply to sign language used by deaf or hard-of-hearing players to communicate at the table."
This change requires no cost, alters nothing about game integrity, and resolves an inconsistency currently applied unevenly across poker rooms that rely on TDA rules as their governing standard.
We ask the TDA to make clear, once and for all, that poker tables are accessible to every player, regardless of hearing ability.
sign this petition and let Matt know your experience Twitter: @SavagePoker
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The Issue
Petition to: Matt Savage, Founder, Poker Tournament Directors Association (TDA)
Twitter: @SavagePoker
Many poker rooms following Tournament Directors Association (TDA) rules are misapplying the English-only rule to prohibit American Sign Language at the table, treating it as equivalent to speaking a foreign language for competitive advantage.
Recently, a deaf poker player at a Florida card room was recently told by a dealer, then a floor supervisor, then the room's tournament director, that he could not use ASL with his friend at the table under any circumstances, including between hands when no cards were live. The justification given was that sign language falls short under rule 3. English only at the table. This happens FAR too many times!
That reasoning misunderstands what sign language is. ASL is not a tool for concealing strategy from other players. It is the primary language through which deaf and hard-of-hearing people communicate. Applying the English-only rule to it does not preserve fairness, it simply denies deaf players the same basic ability to converse at the table that every hearing player already exercises without restriction.
The TDA's own rules already draw this distinction elsewhere. A blind player is permitted to have another player read their cards aloud, a well-established exception made explicitly to ensure accessibility, notwithstanding the TDA's One Player to a Hand rule, which states that "this rule prohibits showing a hand to or discussing strategy with another player, advisor, or spectator." If that rule can accommodate a blind player's need, the English-only rule can accommodate a deaf player's.
We are asking the TDA to formally clarify Rule 3 (English-Only) with the following addition:
"This rule does not apply to sign language used by deaf or hard-of-hearing players to communicate at the table."
This change requires no cost, alters nothing about game integrity, and resolves an inconsistency currently applied unevenly across poker rooms that rely on TDA rules as their governing standard.
We ask the TDA to make clear, once and for all, that poker tables are accessible to every player, regardless of hearing ability.
sign this petition and let Matt know your experience Twitter: @SavagePoker
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Petition created on September 23, 2026