Pro Poker League Forms Standards and Conduct Committee

The professional poker league organized by Federated Sports and Gaming has announced the creation of an eight-member Standards and Conduct Committee, which will attempt to promote “fair play, good character and integrity in every aspect of the league’s operation.”

According to reports, the committee features seven voting members. Five of these members are players who are current members of the tour: Eric Baldwin, Andy Bloch, Chad Brown, Joe Hachem and Nick Shulman. They will be joined by famed tournament director Matt Savage, as well as Stephen Martin, a professional ethics advisor. In addition, Annie Duke – the commissioner of the poker league – will serve as a non-voting member of the committee.

Committee members will serve a two year term. The Standards and Conduct Committee  has some rather critical functions in the league, including making adjustments to the qualification and admission process that determines which players receive tour cards. In addition, the committee will help develop tournament rules, membership policies, and the league’s Code of Conduct.

“The members who have been invited to sit on the Standards and Conduct Committee were carefully selected for their knowledge, understanding and desire to promote excellence and professionalism in poker,” said Duke.

While most of the committee has a strong background in poker, Stephen Martin is likely an unfamiliar name to most fans of the game. He is a former federal prosecutor, and currently serves as an ethics professor at the University of Denver. Martin says that he believes he can help professionalize poker – one of the main goals of the new league.

“There is an opportunity to further professionalize the game of poker through a focus on fair play and application of the same standards of conduct expected in other professional leagues.” he said. “I am honored and excited to be part of this effort and work with the committee members.”

The first season of the league will begin play in August. That tournament – as well as all four regular season tournaments, and the League Championship in February – will be played at the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Each tournament stop includes a $1,500 buy-in “Pro-Am” event in which players who make the final table will earn a spot in the tour event. There will also be a charity tournament held before each $20,000 Main Event. The Main Events will count for tour points towards qualification in the League Championship, and are rake free.