In case you missed it, Daniel Negreanu (pictured) purposely went all-in and busted from the 10,000 Euro buy-in EPT Barcelona High Roller event. The squabble occurred over a so-called “first card rule,” which reportedly states that a player must be seated “at” his table when the first card in a hand is dealt. What “at” means, exactly, appears to be up for some debate. PocketFivers have been discussing it in this forum thread.

We’ll let CardPlayer explain what happened: “Negreanu was in the small blind and posted it, but wasn’t in his seat when the dealer dealt the first card off of the top of the deck. Negreanu’s hand was instantly mucked. The floor came over and eventually determined that the dealer made the right decision based on the rules on the book. Negreanu was furious and continued to plead his case. When it wasn’t overturned, he announced that he would go all-in blind the next hand.”

Negreanu made good on his word, went all-in the next hand, and was eliminated. The PokerStarsfront man fired off a series of Tweets in retaliation, saying, “The first card off the deck rule is so poorly enforced it makes me not even want to play! So absurdly anti-player and customer service! I put my small blind in and was standing next to my chair. Dealer kills my hand immediately. So, I just literally quit the tourney. I was 100% aware of the rule and did not break the rule. It was ruled 100% incorrectly by the TD because the rule is absurdly stupid.”

Jason treysfull21 Mercier (pictured) was one of many poker pros responding on Twitter. He explained, “Guys, the rule being enforced properly/improperly isn’t the issue. Neither are Daniel’s actions… The rule in and of itself is the issue IMO… In Daniel’s defense, him and I have been trying to get this rule removed/changed since it was first implemented. Do I think he could’ve handled the situation better? Yes, of course he could’ve. We all make mistakes and he has already apologized to the staff here.”

Poker proDavid Bach was also vocal on the social networking platform, saying, “I 100% agree with @realkidpoker and @jasonmercier about the first card off the deck rule. It penalizes honest players over a few bad apples.” Kevin kice32 Iacofano was a little harsher, opining on Twitter, “The first card off the deck is fine. Actually really like it. You don’t want a ruling, be in your f’ing seat.”

Other players gave their two cents on Twitter about the rule before EPT Barcelona even happened. Here’s a sampling of their thoughts:

Matt Glantz: “First card off the deck rule is the rule from outer space. Makes tournaments less social.”

Darren Dlr413 Rabinowitz: “This first card off the deck rule has to be amended. It is awful. Way too much room for arbitrary dealer rulings and too much power.”

Linda Johnson: “Love the first card off the deck rule. Why should someone be able to walk up to the table & perhaps see some cards & still have a live hand?”

Mike Gags30 Gagliano (pictured): “The first card off the deck rule is annoying for the first 60 minutes of a tourney. After that, it’s a great rule and def better for everyone.”

Jared TheWacoKidd Hamby: “This first card off the deck rule better not be real. Nothing worse than having to stay in your seat for hours. Unhealthy too.”

Ironically, Negreanu re-bought into the tournament and finished second. What do you think of Negreanu’s actions and the first card off the deck rule in general? Comment here and let us know.

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