The judges are told to be consistent with themselves, to weigh content and performance equally, and be unswayed by audience response. They score each poem on a scale of 0.0 to 10.0. The top and bottom scores are thrown out. Points are deducted for exceeding the time limit. After three rounds, with eliminations determined by lowest scores, the winner is the poet with the most points.
Judges are boo'd or cheered, depending on whether the audience agrees with their scoring.
Censorship is not among the restrictions. Perhaps for this reason, traditionalists such as the president of a local poetry society have kept their distance. Among the more adventurous is Faulkner Fox, who teaches Poetry at the University of Texas. She came to cheer on one of her slamming students. After a transient summer, the Austin slam family held a summit, with an open forum.