A Solution to Penalize or Stop TIME WASTERS!

Suggestions & Feedback
1

First I’ll start by saying almost all of us want the best possible experience playing poker as possible… Its in the best interest for RP poker to also ensure that this site provides the best possible experience to as many players as possible… The thing that ruins my experience on RP the most is TIME WASTERS!!! So here I go…

My biggest pet peeve, “trying” to play poker on RP??? is the trolls and time wasters that deliberately want to ruin the game for everyone else!!! I’m not talking about very slow players… Yes, they are slightly annoying, but fully entitled to take their time & think if they need/want to… Im talking about players that waste time and on every opportunity & run the timer out to over 90% on every possible opportunity available … The following two hands is an example of a player wasting time and other players complaining politely and suggesting the player stop wasting time! Who knows how long these players continued to be tormented by the troll, i didnt stick around to watch…

Hand #769157136
Hand #769161614

This issue is much more common and problematic in ring games. In an MTT or SnG the blinds will soon enough eat em up and spit em out - problem solved.

There are at least two different types of deliberate time wasters on RP, that I classify based on their motive for wasting time. The first is trolls that gleefully take delight in ruining the game for everyone because??? why the hell not! The second is players that don’t like an aggressive player betting too often, and too much, so in order to show their disapproval and “teach” this aggressive player a lesson in how to play nice and friendly passive limpy limpy, min raise poker, they punish them and everyone else at the table by wasting as much time as possible at every opportunity available. If you dont like a players play-style or aggression then leave the table and go find a passive limp limp limp table or go play PL (pot limit). In NL poker players are entitled to bet as much or little as is within the betting limits of NL.

So just leave the table then? Problem solved? No! Sure, I quit the table after only 4 or 5 hands to waste my time complaining here about a player deliberately ruining everyones experience at the table. That doesnt fix the problem for everyone else, nor is it a fair solution. If this player happened to join whilst i was winning a lot and had 600BB or more then i shouldnt have to quit a profitable table jus bc someones idea of fun is to ruin everyone elses fun.

So go play a fast/turbo table? No!!! playing fast tables is not a good or fair solution either. I deliberately try to only play on the slower tables bc i want the max time available in big hands & big pots when I actually have difficult and important decisions to make. The time allocated on RP is already short as it is on slow tables. I shouldnt have to play on a fast table to limit a troll & deliberate time waster allocated time and suffer the penalty myself.

Wasting time is not a problem that is only specific to RP either… In the fairly recent HU DUEL between Daniel Negreanu, and Doug Polk, time wasting was an issue that had to be settled and resolved, by arbitrator Phil Galfond, in the middle of one session… Doug Polk quit, and sat out mid session, bc DNegs was “wasting” or taking such a long time for every decision pre flop that it mentally tortured DP so much he sat out to solve the issue… The problem with this time wasting incident, for the arbitrator Phil Galfond was, there was not any rules or guidelines specified & agreed upon between DP & DNegs RE time wasting… Why not? Because neither player ever expected it to be a problem or issue that would ever come up. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. So unfortunately Galfond couldn’t really make an official ruling to fairly settle the matter… In the end DP had to concede “this” psychological battle and change his newly implemented strategy - that include BUTTON limps - and revert back to the old raise or fold strategy on the BUTTON…

Players shouldn’t have to tolerate time wasting… It ruins the game & experience for most players that encounter it… Players shouldn’t have to play a strategy & play-style that suits other players like, preference and skill level…

Its funny that the above mentioned dispute and issue with time wasting between DP & DNegs, happened after they had cordially discussed and agreed - after the first LIVE HU session - how some “live” players time wasting and taking an excessively long time to make decisions is ruining the experience for players and is bad for the game…

As I mentioned previously - hindsight is a wonderful thing! If Doug Polk had the hindsight to ever think DNegs would be wasting time or taking an excessively long time to make a decision & act then he almost certainly would have stipulated rules and penalties to avoid such an issue…

On RP we have hindsight that time wasting is an issue just like it is in LIVE poker and probably on every other poker site… The thing is I have no idea what the penalties are for deliberately ruining the game for everyone and wasting time! If I dont know, then Im fairly certain the trolls & time wasters dont know either, so why should they care to stop ruining the game for everyone else then?

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2

I agree it is a problem when a player wastes everyone’s time by using the entire clock for every action. I don’t agree that it’s a solved problem in tournaments. When a player does this in a tournament, they will be eaten by the rising blinds, yes, but so too will everyone else who’s at their table. I’ve had tournaments ruined by this. At least with ring tables I’m free to leave at any time. In a tournament, I’m stuck there, playing about 10 hands per hour while every other table is playing 50-60, and you can’t build a stack as quickly.

As a player, you can do very little. You can report them, but it takes days for Replay to respond and you never learn the outcome, so it feels like nothing happens. You can try to speed up the hands by shoving at the slow player, and maybe you bust them out, but most of the time they fold and continue their slow play, or sometimes they will win and bust you, which only encourages them. Or you can leave the table and try to find one more to your liking, except in a tournament, where you are just stuck until they are eliminated or you rebalance.

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3

I’ve never seen anyone complain as much as you do about Everything!!!

Maybe it’s connection problems!!, slow computer, whatever…

Anyway, it certainly put you on tilt and now everyone in the forums knows it :+1:t2:

Useful knowledge against you I would say….

Have an awesome day…

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4

So go play a fast/turbo table? No!!! playing fast tables is not a good or fair solution either. I deliberately try to only play on the slower tables bc i want the max time available in big hands & big pots when I actually have difficult and important decisions to make.

Some poker clients have turbo but with a timebank you can use for difficult decisions. To me this seems like the ideal solution.

But I also don’t encounter timewasters often enough that I think it’s a big issue.

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5

I’ve been playing on this site for a while and I’ve only encountered maybe 2 or 3 instances of a player who was deliberately wasting time for no valid reason.

It’s quite irritating when you have to deal with it but it’s so rare in my experience I don’t think it requires overhauling the timing system.

Personally I would be in favor of a general rule against disruptive play which includes forbidding excessive time wasting. Mods could apply their discretion and apply warnings and penalties as appropriate.

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6

You do not like how someone plays so you whine…everybody gets the same amount of time to use as they see fit…it is their time regardless of how you attribute their motives (which attribution may or MAY NOT be accurate)

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7

I also think some kind of time bank would be nice, forcing people to play relatively fast most hands, but allowing for longer consideration some amount of the time. Maybe cut the existing time in half, and then add some fraction of that every hand to the bank. There should still be some kind of max time per hand even with the bank, so that if someone saved 20 minutes, they couldn’t spend it all on on hand.

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8

Try sitting in at a table with BigBlueToYou and see how long you want to stick around there.

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9

When I cannot stand the heat I leave the kitchen

10

Every hand- so true.

11

Just as you are entitled to bet as much as you please in NL, players are allowed to use as much time as the timer allows. It can be annoying, but a player going all-in every hand is annoying to some players, that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be allowed. It is within the rules and you should find a new game with different rules if you do not like it. Players who tank are annoying I do agree, but I don’t understand a solution other than deal with it, or not play with them.

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13

I thought maybe this person was playing multiple tables or just had a slow connection problem. So, I reviewed a number of his recent hand history plays and I agree watching a person slow play most of his hands was very irritating to most. And, a couple of players expressed their frustrations in the chat box with no effect on this person’s play.

  1. I was unable to determine whether multiple tables were being played at the same time.
  2. Slow connection problem? I don’t think that’s the case.

I think it’s a poker tell for this player.

Actually, a couple on here have shown what I consider a poker tell which can now be exploited.

14

There are players who play at a reasonable speed when they’re going to bet or call, but just let it time out when they’re going to fold. Then there are players who try to punish any perceived time wasting by taking their full time on all their actions. If you get 2 or 3 of these at a 9 handled table it can be torture.
I really like the time bank idea, and it would help enormously when reply does timeout because you’d have extra time to reconnect.

15

Player: Watkl

Tournament : Replay Poker

This player ran down the clock EVERY time it came to their turn to act

Every. Hand.

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The only time I have a problem with the time thing is when players lose all of their chips and instead of just leaving the table, they tie up a seat. Personally, when a player loses all of their chips and they don’t plan on playing they should leave immediately. If not, Replay should require adding chips no more than one orbit later or automatically opening up the seat. Adding chips or leaving shouldn’t be that difficult for someone that’s busted out.

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17

Using up the clock in a free poker game can serve several strategic and psychological purposes, but it should be done thoughtfully to avoid upsetting other players. Here are some reasons why players might intentionally take their time and how it can affect the game:

  1. Strategic Play: Slowing down the game can be a strategic move to make opponents impatient or annoyed, leading them to make mistakes. This tactic can be especially effective in tournaments where players might be more sensitive to the blinds increasing.

  2. Psychological Manipulation: Deliberately using up the clock can create a psychological advantage by making opponents doubt their decisions or become frustrated. This tactic is sometimes used to induce “tilt” in opponents, causing them to play emotionally and make suboptimal choices.

  3. Gathering Information: Taking extra time before making a decision can make it seem like a player is carefully considering their options, potentially masking their actual intentions. This can be used to gather information about opponents’ playing styles.

However, it’s essential to exercise caution when using these tactics, even in free poker games:

  1. Respect for Others: Excessive stalling can be seen as unsportsmanlike behavior and can annoy other players. It’s essential to strike a balance between using your time strategically and being considerate of others.

  2. Community Norms: Different poker communities and games may have varying norms regarding how much time is acceptable to take for decisions. Be aware of these norms and adjust your play accordingly.

  3. Risk of Backfire: Intentionally slowing down the game can sometimes backfire if opponents are not affected as expected or if they become more focused and observant.

In free poker games, it’s essential to keep the spirit of fun and learning in mind. Using the clock sparingly and respectfully can enhance the experience for all players, whether you’re playing to win or simply improving your skills.

Rain

18

Perhaps it was a slow connection or dial up or wifi problems.

One can’t complain on assumptions without knowing exactly why. Did you bother to ask if he was experiencing problems on the chat ? That would have helped.

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I will finish reading the whole post but wanted to add my first thoughts - when you’re UTG, sure, take some time to have a think. But when 8 players before you ran the clock down and most have auto-folded, you really have no excuse for running the clock down. If you haven’t been able to make a decision on your hand by then, fold right away because it’s a bad hand.

I’ll even give a litle leeway to the first hand in a tournament on the rare occasion something came up as the table opened and you weren’t quite ready. Although that’s still disrespectful to the people that actually came to play.

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Don’t forget, you don’t know how many tables the other players are playing because that happens often here. Most post in the chat “ sorry for delay I’m on multiple tables “ .

I don’t play more than 1 table at a time but plenty play 2-4 at once.

21

I think that happens in freerolls especially and that is why i don’t play tournys.
You don’t see that in Ring Games ,much.

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