PokerStars tournament team announce rule changes ahead of EPT Monte Carlo

Several rule changes have been announced in time for EPT Monte Carlo. They’re designed to eliminate the potential for abuse and cheating.

April 24, 2025

News

by Jack Stanton

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5 Minute Read

The PokerStars tournament management team is always looking for ways to improve. They’re willing to implement rule changes to create a fairer and safer player experience, both live and online. It’s what makes them the best in the business, and listening to player feedback is a crucial part of the process.

Several rule changes have been announced today, in time for the European Poker Tour (EPT) festival in Monte Carlo, which kicks off on April 30. They’re designed to eliminate the potential for abuse and cheating and are a result of direct player feedback.

Led by EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone, the changes announced today include:

• Fixed hands per level at Final Tables
• Slide dealing with phased rollout
• Expanded smart device restrictions
• Stricter seating rules
• Shot clocks to begin at Level 11 in hyper-turbo tournaments

“These changes are all about integrity and player experience and safety,” said Stone. “We’ve listened to what players want, what their concerns are about playing in tournaments nowadays, and made changes that directly address those concerns. 

EPT Tournament Director Toby Stone

“With what we are bringing in, players know they are playing on a fairer, more even playing field, and they aren’t being disadvantaged either by illegal action that is hard to detect, or behaviour that is technically within the rules but perhaps not in the spirit of the game.”

Here, we’ll dive deeper into each rule change and why it’s being implemented.

Fixed hands per level at Final Tables

A big change to PokerStars live final tables

Instead of having standard time-based levels, all final tables will now switch to having a set number of hands per level. All players will play the same number of hands per level, and they will know how many hands are left per level through the tournament screens and a chip on the table, changed by the dealer.

The move is primarily designed to reduce players’ ability to gain advantages over others by manipulating the clock, either by stalling or speeding up play. 

Hand-based levels help reduce the variance caused by overexposure to certain positions (e.g. a short stack getting stung by the big blind right before the blinds go up). This means players can plan their aggression and defences better, as they’ll know exactly how many hands remain at that level.

Moreover, hand-based levels will make it easier for fans at home to follow the action when watching the PokerStars live streams. 

When combined with the shot clocks that have been a standard part of EPT events since 2018, this should not only ensure a fair game but also help to ensure final tables conclude within a reasonable time frame.

Slide dealing rolls out to all tournaments

Pitch dealing will soon be no more

Slide dealing will be introduced in select events at EPT Monte Carlo and will be fully implemented across all events by EPT Barcelona in August. 

Slide dealing prevents phones or smart devices from having the chance of catching any card faces during a pitched* deal.

*A pitched deal is when the dealer flicks the cards to each player. 

Expanded smart device restrictions

In August, PokerStars announced a ban on solvers in the tournament area during play, either by players or spectators. 

Starting from EPT Monte Carlo, the list of banned devices at the felt and being used during play will expand from just phones to include all smart accessories, such as smart watches, rings, glasses and other wearable technology that can transmit or receive data.

This creates a safer and fairer playing environment, ensuring players aren’t receiving help while at the tables.

Stricter seating rules: no lingering before sitting

Players must sit and unrack immediately

Once players are moved to a new table, they will be required to sit down immediately upon arriving at the table. 

This ensures that players cannot take advantage by lingering to skip blinds or observe play. 

Tournament staff will be empowered to force players to join the table if they deem someone is taking too long to take their seat.

Shot clock adjustments in hyper turbo tournaments

Hypers slow down in the late stages, so shot clocks are being introduced

Shot clocks in hyper-turbo tournament formats will now begin at Level 11. 

Players will receive two 10-second time bank cards at the start of that level. A further two cards will be issued to players at the next break, with a maximum of four time bank cards given out in most tournaments. 

This ruling has come into action as a direct result of player feedback.

The new rules further expand on updates to PokerStars’ live events rules, which were implemented in 2024, demonstrating PokerStars’ ongoing commitment to game integrity online and live. 

They included banning solvers from the tournament area, reducing shot clocks from 30 seconds to 15 seconds, and replacing late elimination redraws with a random breaking order for the final five tables. 

The new rules aim to stop players gaining an unfair advantage through loopholes and eliminate circumstances that allow players to create an edge by ‘gaming’ the system.