Poker ‘Shot Clock’ Debate Rages On And On
Last week we brought you the news that the World Poker Tour (WPT) were looking at ways to make poker more appealing by introducing a ‘shot clock’ to speed up play. Today some nine days later the debate rages on as to whether or not the shot clock is a good or bad idea.
Chad Holloway is the Senior News Editor at Pokernews.com and he is just one player who is in favour of the shot clock. Speaking earlier this week Holloway said, “Personally, I shudder when I think how much time I’ve watched people in the tank. If you combine my days as a player and tournament reporter, it’s easily days, if not weeks, of my life wasted. Trust me, every time Marvin Rettenmaier gingerly picks up chips and slowly cranes them into the pot, I want to scream. It’s extremely frustrating.”
Holloway went on to add, “The point is, I’m not a fan of how long it takes some players to act. I understand that some situations call for it, but most don’t; for instance, a three-bet pot pre-flop in Level 2 of a tournament. If you’re thinking for more than 20 seconds in that spot, you’re simply taking too long. It slows up the game, makes it less fun, and is disrespectful to the other players.”
Holloway makes some interesting and valid points as does Donnie Peters who is the Chief Editor at Pokernews.com. Peters is against the shot clock idea as he feels it will discourage amateurs from playing the game, but he does feel as though something needs to be done to counteract the slow play in tournament poker. He said, “The absolute biggest thing that sticks out to me is that amateurs don’t like to have added pressure thrust upon them when playing one of these events, especially when they are often taking a shot at a higher tournament buy-in or have won into the event via a satellite. Knowing that you will now be restricted to only a certain amount of time per decision will undoubtedly deter many from playing an event, in my opinion.”
Peters also said, “The bottom line is that the idea behind implementing a shot clock is correct, but the plan put into motion needs to be different. The problem is only going to be solved if and when industry personnel and the players start acting in accordance to fixing the problem.”
Slow play can be extremely annoying and it is something we will have all encountered at some point during our poker career, but with the sums of money that are at stake these days you can understand why players do agonise over their hand for such a long period of time. Let us know your thoughts on the proposed idea of a ‘shot clock’ and whether it is a good or bad thing for the game of poker, or should the game we all know and love be left alone, as it is fine the way it is.
