Calling the Clock
As the excitement heated up on ESPN’s coverage of the Main Event, a situation arose that garnered quite a bit of controversy. In a $12 million pot between Scott Montgomery and Paul Snead, Snead was put to the test after Montgomery moved all in with nothing but ace-high. Snead, who had fl opped top pair with a weak kicker, stood up and began to deliberate making the call. After some time passed, Tiffany Michelle, who was at the table, decided to call the clock on Snead, who was astonished that even though it was within her rights, she would make that call. So, was she out of line? We posed the question of calling the clock to a number of pros, and here is what they had to say.
1. DANIEL NEGREANU
It’s only okay against repeat offenders that are routinely taking too much time. Even then, a clock shouldn’t be called unless a reasonable amount of time has passed. The bigger the pot, the more time that should be allowed.
2. PHIL LAAK
I have yet to call a clock. There were a few times where I was tempted, but I just never did. Occasionally I will be in a game and one of the players will apologize for taking a bit of time while making a tough decision. This is what I have said in the past and will probably say again: “No one here is planning on calling a clock on you until the four-hour mark – that is, after four hours we expect you to have a decision.” Of course, I know that if it were to come to that, people are for sure calling a clock way before the four-hour mark.
I think I am a favorite to die without ever having called the clock on someone, at least not until four solid hours have passed.
I do recall seeing somewhere (can’t remember where) that someone was taking forever on EVERY decision and one of the players just could not take it anymore, so he just broke down and called the clock on this player every time it was their turn. It was most entertaining… Was that live or TV? I wish I could remember, but it sure was funny at the time.
3. LEE WATKINSON
I think that a lot of players take far too long when they have no decision to make. There are some players who will ALWAYS make you sweat out a big bet or raise against them for fi ve minutes. These are players I think it should be okay to call the clock on as soon as you make a bet. If they don’t do this I never call the clock. In fact I think I have only called the clock about three times, except for when a guy was deliberating not folding to stall before the fl op. I hate the rule where you must wait a “reasonable amount of time” to call the clock – one minute ten seconds is enough and there shouldn’t be an arbitrary decision required by the fl oor. How much is a reasonable amount of time for Phil Hellmuth as compared to Joe the poker player?
I would like to see the dealers with a clock in their tray that is automatically set, like speed poker tournaments in fact, with some kind of extra time chips for the players to use during a tournament. It appeared Tiffany was out of line but you never know how ESPN edited it. It took Jerry Yang a good ten minutes to call me when he knocked me out of last year’s fi nal table but on TV it looked like ten seconds.
4. BRANDON ADAMS
First of all, Tiffany is clearly in the wrong to call the clock in this spot. Everyone involved in that situation was a bit overwhelmed by stress. As a teacher, one of the most diffi cult spots is to think through a tough problem on the fl y at the blackboard. Televised tournament poker decisions can be similar — the stress chemicals running through your brain make it more diffi cult to think clearly, so often you need a bit more time to make decisions. A player who is not involved in a hand shouldn’t call the clock in such a spot unless the time involved gets absurd (over ten minutes).
There’s a different situation where clocks should be called very liberally — near the money bubble. In this case, the short stacks have an incentive to stall, and the big stacks should be able to open a lot of pots and accumulate chips. I have no patience for people who stall in this spot. Fortunately, at the WSOP Europe Main Event, I played a lot with a Scott Fischman, who has even less patience for people who stall, and he would call the clock for me.
5. BILL EDLER
I don’t feel that I have enough detail to comment regarding Tiffany’s call for the clock.
However, I do have some general feelings about calling for a clock. Generally, unless a player is stalling (in which case, rather than calling for a clock, the Tournament Director should be notifi ed), I believe that he or she should be allowed great latitude. I believe that any player genuinely thinking about a decision should be given all necessary time to make that decision. I admit that, theoretically, a point could come at which the delay becomes unconscionable. However, I have never seen a decision reach that point.
I do not believe that I have ever called a clock during a tournament. I doubt that I ever will.
