Controversy over World Poker Tour shot clocks
Not everyone is happy about the introduction of a 30 second time limit at the World Poker Tour finale next week.
Next week, starting on April 21, the former World Poker Tour Grand Final is being replaced with a Tournament of Champions. A $15,400 event with $100,000 added, exclusively for former WPT Champions.
This week it was revealed that this event would also feature a 30 second shot clock known as an 'Action Clock'. The dealer will be managing the clock and giving players a 10 second warning before their time is up.
For tough hands, players will have four 'extension chips' where they can extend their time to make a decision.
Not everyone is happy
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It appears this could be an experiment to see whether it could work in the open Main Events, as player tanking is widely regarded as an issue which is hurting the live game, especially for recreational players.
Not everyone is happy with this new innovation. Former WPT champion Jordan Cristos has publicly declared that he will be stalling for 30 seconds on every single hand in protest.
This has led WPT commentator Mike Sexton to reply to him saying it would just prove the point that tanking harms the game for other people. Daniel Negreanu also publicly responded to Cristos by saying that considering the event had $100,000 added to it, the players should be on board with the change, which he believes will make the game more fun for amateurs.
