OK, here is the situation. There are multiple tables in a tournament at a private event. At some of the tables there are people standing watching the action. What is the rule, or is there one on where people can stand, how close they can get, etc. Does it matter what location it is, 'free' poker vs casino style, etc. Had a situation where a person got busted out and sat down to watch his wife play and was told that was not allowed. Another player was also told that he couldnt stand next to a table to watch the action. Any insight would be apprecaited.
Golferdude:
There is no standard rule on how close spectators should be to the table and whether or not they are even permitted. As you can appreciate, room and table configurations will differ from place to place, so it is not realistic to set a fixed distance. Regardless of the type of game it is, I believe the decision would be left in the hands of management or the tourney organizer as the case may be. Some organizers will allow spectators to sit behind the player they are watching (e.g. spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend etc), while other organizers will insist that spectators watch from behind a rail (e.g. behind a portable tape barrier). So what is allowed really depends on the particular venue and the will of management/organizers.
I think spectators are good for the game, and add to the fun and excitement. When I TD "free" games, I have no problem generally allowing observers to sit behind the player they are watching (assuming of course that the player is OK with it); for more serious money tournaments, I would be more inclined to have observers sit/stand a greater distance from the table or behind a rail.
In my opinion, there are two general principles to keep in mind with regards to managing spectators:
1. Being allowed to spectate is not a right but a privilege, and spectators should not be disruptive to the tournamant or the running of it. So if someone is standing in a place where, although he is not disrupting the opponents, but he is in the way of the TDs and servers moving between tables, then I will ask him to stand somewhere else. If there really isn't any room for spectators at a particular venue, I may have to tell him that we cannot accommodate spectators. Of course, if I have suspicions that the observer is cheating (e.g. trying to see another player's cards and passing that information on), I would not allow him to spectate for obvious reasons.
2. The one player to a hand rule applies. I would not permit spectators to comment on hands (whether of the player they are watching or of other players at the table) or coach a player at the table. The issue of whether the player is permitted to allow the spectator to see his cards, and if so, is he obliged to show the hand to the table after the hand is done if asked is a bit more murky - I personally don't have an issue with a player discreetly showing his hand to a spectator as long as there is no subsequent coaching and the spectator is in no way influencing play with that knowledge.
Hope this helps!