Wish I was there, see you all in MonteCarlo though.
May the best luckbox win! Who'se your pick?

EPT Vienna Final Table All Set for Tomorrow

Annie RKH on Rankinghero

There we are - a field of more than 900 entries in #EPTVienna went down to 9 today and Irishman @Gavin O'Rourke   bubbled with Euro 60,800 in prize money for the ninth place.  Here are the eight...

MIP les infos du 26 mars par madeinpoker

Les infos du lolo, c'est en vidéo et merci Gaêlle garcia diaz parce qu'il n'y avait pas grand chose dans l'actu cette semaine

En direct aux commentaires du day 3 de l'EPT Vienna avec @Celine Bastian et @Gabriel Nassif ! @Johnny Lodden et @Marc-Andre Ladouceur en table TV! http://www.pokerstarslive.fr/coverages#5

Are You Pro or Against the Shot Clock in Poker?

The shot clock debate has been flaring up regularly in the past years and the most recent occasion was the news, during L.A. Poker Classic, that WPT was conducting a survey among players and was considering introducing a shot clock in some events. 

One player who has been outspoken on this issue is @Daniel Negreanu. He has always shared his refusal to tolerate systematic tanking and encourages everyone not to have any qualms about calling the clock. "It’s within our rights as players to police the game; If I’m at the table with players that are tanking, I have the right to call the clock on them anytime I feel that they are taking an unreasonable amount of time."

@Tom Dwan  - a player famous for taking his time at the table - has even assumed responsibility for starting the fashion. Yet, even he notes that much of it is just ‘hollywooding’.

The fact is, most pros are reluctant to call the clock (or openly support the shot clock) because of the established perception of it as unethical and disrespectful.  There is even the notion that tanking (assuming it is thinking) only confirms the status of poker as a skill/mind game and should be upheld.

Most importantly, players won’t call the clock because they fear their reputation and image would suffer and because of likely ‘retaliation’ from their opponents. To quote Bluff editor-in-chief Lance Bradley,

The problem lies in the fact that calling the clock has a stigma attached to it. Do it against somebody you're in a hand with and you're seen as a jerk for not letting your opponent think his options through. It's "unsportsmanlike," in some eyes. Call the clock on somebody at your table when you're not in the hand and you're going to spend the rest of the day dodging daggers from the player you called the clock on.

Interestingly enough, the ultimate argument of both camps concerns the best interests of amateur players. On the one hand, it is argued, they would be placed at a terrible disadvantage if, in addition to the intimidating experience of facing real pros in a live tournament, they also had the pressure of the shot clock.

On the other hand, drawn-out hands with endless tanking make live streams of poker events unbearable for the general audience or in other words, for the pool of potential or actual recreational players without whom the industry is doomed. This position is best resumed by PokerNews’ Chad Holloway: 

Finally, I’ll end by saying that a shot clock is a must for any tournament or final table being live streamed (I’d grant a few exceptions where huge money is at stake). I say this for purely entertainment reasons. Everyone fell in love with poker 10 years ago when action was fast-paced and ESPN episodes were full of big hands. Little did we know about the hours of monotonous footage that hit the cutting room floor. For the most part, poker is a boring game, and that makes it hard to attract new players. A shot clock would help speed things, inject some excitement into a broadcast, and hopefully appeal to a wider audience.

Apparently, 80% of the players who took the WPT voted in favor of the shot clock. And if you happen to be part of the 20 per cent who oppose it, here is one video that I think is likely to change your mind :)

Thank you for sharing other excessive tanking episode videos :)

If you like Dragon Ball, check out massively popular #DBMultiverse created by our very own @Salagir !

#DBMultiverse Next sunday, second flashback, by Taopaipai! / Dimanche, second flashback, par Taopaipai!

Bienvenu chez moi les amis