The Commerce Casino in Los Angeles is launching a peculiar live poker tournament named ‘’The Social Experiment”. The rules of the $100,000 guaranteed event will entail a no-cell-phone policy, along with a prohibition of hooded tops, headphones and dark shades.

The idea behind the experiment is to bring forward the essence of live poker as a social game. Hence, the organizers are aiming to stimulate social interaction at the poker table rather than deep absorption in strategic thinking on the part of the players.

Tournament director Matt Savage and coordinator Justin Hammer are the brains behind the unique No Limit Hold’em tournament that will take place on April 29 and feature a $350 buy-in.

So far the idea has received kudos from members of the community. Although no other tournaments at the California State Poker Championships foresee to apply these rules, a new trend to improve the viewing experience by prohibiting items that discourage social interaction could emerge from the experiment.

Players who break the rules will be sanctioned with three hands away from the table before and one round after registration closes.