In a poker tournament, one of the things constantly complained about is the length of time players contemplate what to do with their hands. After polling their players during a recent tournament, one poker tour is looking to attack this issue with a long-proposed idea.

The World Poker Tour, currently running its prestigious LA Poker Classic in Bell Gardens, polled its players about the use of a shot clock to limit the time a player can deliberate during the course of a tournament. WPT announcer and Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sextonannounced the results of that poll in a special blog on PartyPoker, indicating that WPT officials have been considering this action for some time.

“A discussion at recent meetings of the WPT staff (Sexton named Adam Pliska, Angelica Hael, Vince Van Patten, Matt Savage, Tony Dunst, and himself as the panel) has been about the possibility of using a ‘shot clock’ in tournaments,” Sexton wrote. “Is it good or bad for the WPT? Good for television? Will the players want it? And how would we implement it into our tournaments?”

Sexton stated that the WPT put a survey out to players at LAPC to garner their opinions. In that questionnaire, these possible rule changes were proposed:

1. Players would have a 30-second clock to act on their hands. If they didn’t act in that time span, their hand would be declared dead and automatically folded.

2. Each player would receive two “Time Buttons” to use each day of a tournament for especially tough decisions. The “Time Button” would have to be introduced before the 30-second clock expired and would give the player an additional 60 seconds to act. Players could use one or both on a particular hand, but after using them, the player would not be able to receive any additional time.

Sexton (pictured) reported that players were given several options as to when the shot clock would be used and asked for other suggestions. Then came the all-important yes or no vote, which brought about a surprising conclusion.

“I’m happy to announce that players voted 80%-20% in favor of the shot clock,” Sexton said on his blog. “And there were many added suggestions that certainly will be considered.” After discussing his opinions on a shot clock, Sexton definitively stated, “I’m guessing/hoping you’ll see some type of ‘shot clock’ incorporated by the WPT for Season XIII.”

Although Sexton is firmly behind the use of a shot clock, his fellow PartyPoker stable-mate Marvin Rettenmaier isn’t. The German pro, after reading over the guidelines, was one of the 20% of players who voted no and stated, “Please don’t make me get a real job!” Antonio Esfandiari put his opinion on Twitter, saying, “Yes – Punish the slow-playing wizards. The shot clock is a no-brainer!”

The discussion has also hit home on PocketFives in this thread. Many posters agree that the shot clock is necessary because they “hate seeing guys Hollywood in Level Two for absolutely no reason,” according to one poster. “There are some very unnecessary long tanks” in tournaments, another PocketFiver opined.

A shot clock has been proposed for several years, but only recently has it been put into action. At this year’s Aussie Millions $100,000 Challenge, the players faced off with a 30-second shot clock to make their decisions, something that Daniel Negreanu was quite happy with on Twitter. Now, it appears that the WPT will take the concept to the next level as a permanent fixture at its tournament stops. Whether other circuits, such as the World Series of Poker and other independent tours, will follow suit will likely depend on the success of the WPT’s implementation.

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