Floorman

Also known as: floor, floor person, floor supervisor, tournament director

The cardroom official who resolves disputes, makes binding rulings, and enforces procedure — summoned by calling "floor."

The floorman (or floor person, and in events the tournament director) is the room's on-duty authority. Their job is to make binding rulings on anything the dealer can't or shouldn't decide: disputed bets, string bet calls, irregularities in the deal, misread hands at showdown, accusations of angle shooting or chip dumping, penalties, and procedural questions about straddles, time, or seating.

You invoke them by saying "floor" — any player may call the floor, and a good dealer will too when a situation is beyond their remit. Rulings generally follow the room's posted rules and, where those are silent, the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) rules for events; the floor also has discretion to weigh fairness, intent, and game integrity.

Practical etiquette: stop the action and call the floor before cards are mucked or the next hand is dealt, because remedies collapse once the game state is lost. State the facts plainly and let other players add theirs; arguing the ruling at length rarely helps and can earn a penalty. Decisions are final at the table, though you can usually request review from a senior supervisor afterward. Knowing the local house rules in advance — straddle caps, time-bank policy, all-in procedure — means you rarely need the floor in the first place.