Poker Writer
Action in the later stages of the World Series of Poker main event was almost overshadowed by the shot-clock controversy. However, the WSOP had other options, ones that could have kept things moving right along without upsetting the entire flow of the tournament.
To recap, the WSOP abruptly decided to implement clocks for Day 7 of the main event due to extreme tanking and stalling in the later stages. It prompted a lot of debate and, in many ways, overshadowed the actual poker on the felt.
Technically, the WSOP was working within its posted rules in adding the clocks. WSOP added a rule to the “calling-the-clock” section allowing for the possible addition of a clock at the host property’s “sole and absolute discretion.”
While many agreed that the tanking was out of control and that something needed to be done, the decision to introduce the clocks with no warning was widely panned. Many players had other ideas as to what the WSOP could have done instead and what they should consider for the future.
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Hand-For-Hand Play Could Have Sped the Game Up
WSOP could have implemented hand-for-hand play on each jump once the field reached the top 100, when the money jumps became significant. This suggestion was mentioned by a few players on X, notably by William Lahti.
Hand-for-hand would eliminate tanking on the stone bubble of a pay jump, but would not necessarily eliminate it on the soft bubble, two or three eliminations away. Also, it would add significant time to the event in some cases.
This addition would burden tournament staff with additional work. WSOP appears reluctant to institute more hand-for-hand play than necessary. In one case, late in the WSOP, the players went hand-for-hand on their own when staff declined to institute it.
All in all, this potential solution brings its own issues and may not represent the best option.
Smaller Pay Jumps
Right now, the main event pay jumps in the final 100 increase every nine eliminations until the final two tables. Every time a table breaks, players encounter a new pay jump.
For instance, 80th-72nd received $105,000, while the jump to 71st place was $125,000. If that $20,000 jump was spread out evenly over those nine places, the jumps would be just over $2,000 for each finish. The jumps would be larger as the finishing spots got higher, but still incremental rather than all at once.
Would a small and seemingly insignificant jump reduce tanking and stalling? There would effectively be little difference between winning $109,000 vs. $111,000, as that’s a fraction of the buy-in.
Of course, this might encourage some players to tank even more, since every finishing position would increase a little, and if a short stack could hold on for three or four more places, it could add up to a significant jump. But it would eliminate the stalling bottleneck at every major pay jump. The stalling would be smaller and more spread out.
More Commanding Dealers and Floor Staff
Another common suggestion was that the floor staff and dealers hold the tanking players more accountable. Give dealers the power to call clock more quickly if they see obvious stalling, with floor staff monitoring to back them up. In the later stages of the main event, with so much at stake, there would ideally be enough floor staff to cover the few tables left.
The issue is that it introduces a significant element of subjectivity from dealers and the floor. Consistent rulings would be hard to enforce. Some players may feel they are being targeted with a quick clock count.
It also puts more pressure on dealers. Even though the later stages of the Main Event have the best dealers the WSOP has to offer, it still opens the door to more issues.
For the future, something akin to Triton’s chess clock has the potential to level the playing field and minimize the stalling issue. Unfortunately, the WSOP was stuck with a bunch of imperfect options at this juncture.
Tournament staff made the decision they thought was best. It left a slew of unhappy players, though, and WSOP would be well-advised to have a better plan in place for next year.
