Bad behavior by poker pro Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth Jr. at last year’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) has led WSOP officials to enact new etiquette rules for this year’s WSOP.

During the 2008 WSOP Main Event, which was televised on ESPN, Hellmuth at one point lost a large pot to an opponent and then screamed at the opponent that he was an “idiot” and “the worst player in history.”

After the outburst, Hellmuth received a warning from WSOP officials for unsportsmanlike conduct, but was not penalized.

That dog won’t hunt at this year’s WSOP. Under new rules issued by the WSOP for this year’s tournament, which gets underway next Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, any unwarranted outburst by a WSOP participant during play could lead to that participant being forced to sit out play for a number of hands.

It’s the WSOP’s version of a “time-out” for an unruly tyke–or in this case, brat.

“We saw some things last year we weren’t very proud of, but we’re talking about a limited number of incidents and a handful of players over a tournament that will run 50 days,” WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack told reporters, in explaining the new etiquette rules. “So this is about a very select and limited number of players.

“That said, our intention is to make sure the behavior of a few doesn’t impact the experience of the many,” he said. “We want the tournament conducted in a civil, courteous manner. It’s about respecting the game. Penalties will be enforced for taunting other players and also for intentionally playing hands out of turn, which can provide an advantage for others at the table.”

So what kind verbiage won’t be tolerated at the table?

That will up to WSOP officials to decide in each specific case, Pollack said.

However, no cursing of any kind will be tolerated and neither will ethnic slurs of any type, he said.

In addition, another ban has been put in place for this year’s WSOP, Pollack said.

While cell phones and computers have been disallowed at the poker table for some time, starting this year, devices that allow a user to Twitter (send out short mass e-mails) from the table, such as Blackberries, will not be allowed, he said.

A number of poker pros, including Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson, Daniel “Kid Poker” Negreanu and Annie Duke, among others, regularly Twitter in order to keep their fans abreast of their activities.

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)