# Hand-for-hand poker rule-profile casebook

- Published: 2026-09-04
- Profiles: Poker TDA 2024 RP-8; 2026 WSOP Rule 126; PokerStars platform Rules 2.2–2.3
- Sampling: none; all ten cases are deterministic

## What this bundle tests

The cases preserve the rules-profile distinction that is easy to lose in a generic explanation. Under 2026 WSOP Rule 126, players eliminated in the same synchronized hand at different tables tie for the place finish, while same-table bustouts are ordered by their chip counts at the start of the hand. Under PokerStars platform Rule 2.2, synchronized bustouts are ordered by starting stack even across tables; equal starting stacks tie and prizes due are distributed equally.

Poker TDA RP-8 establishes announcement-hand payout eligibility, an explicit 52-left/50-paid/three-bust sharing example, clock guidance, blind progression, and an all-in hold procedure. It does not publish a general placement algorithm, so the general TDA ranking case returns `source-silent`.

## Files

- `hand-for-hand-casebook.json`: rules profiles, inputs, expected outcomes, boundaries, and source locations.
- `hand-for-hand-casebook.csv`: flat article-ready result summary for every case.
- `hand-for-hand-casebook-verifier.py`: independent Python standard-library checker with separately authored source sentinels.
- `hand-for-hand-casebook-README.md`: this method and limitation note.

## Reproduce

Place all four files in one directory, then run Python 3.9 or later:

```console
python hand-for-hand-casebook-verifier.py
```

The verifier does not import or run the website's JavaScript. It validates the schema, recomputes the ranking and clock cases, checks the CSV against the JSON, and pins source-sensitive examples independently. Passing proves internal agreement with the encoded cases, not that a tournament must adopt any profile.

## Boundaries

This is not a universal poker rule, payout calculator, tournament clock, or floor ruling. The cited WSOP clause does not state a further tiebreak for equal starting stacks. The bundle does not infer one, generalize the TDA example into a placement system, or apply PokerStars platform rules to live events. A structure sheet, house rule, regulator, or floor decision may control. Starting chips mean the counts at the start of the synchronized hand, not chips at elimination, pot size, finishing hand strength, or wall-clock bustout time.

## Primary sources

- [Poker TDA 2024 Rules Version 1.0](https://www.pokertda.com/view-poker-tda-rules/), Recommended Procedure 8; accessed 2026-09-04.
- [2026 WSOP Tournament Rules](https://assets.wsopcdn.com/wsop/1a72ba28-781c-409d-a9c3-5ca13c4c5718.pdf), Rule 126, printed pages 27–28; accessed 2026-09-04.
- [PokerStars platform Tournament Rules](https://www.pokerstars.com/poker/tournaments/rules/), Rules 2.2–2.3; accessed 2026-09-04.

TDA rules used by permission of the Poker TDA, Copyright 2026, [http://www.pokertda.com](http://www.pokertda.com), All rights reserved.