The Clock : Strategy or Weapon ?
I have a question for the players who use the entire clock up EVERY time i’ts up to you to fold or bet.
What benefits you by using the clock up , and I,m speaking to the players who always do this, every betting round, Preflop, laying down or calling a bet and yes, even when they know they are going to fold they run the clock out. They watch and wait until its almost going to fold them, then they bet, fold etc. I have asked the question at the tables but nobody will answer ? Now I have heard by doing this it takes you deeper into a MTT tournament, But then what about the SNG’s . I have heard it manipulates the Random Number Generator ? Replay Poker is under the impression that players actually need the clock to figure their next move ? So what is is my clock eating friends, seriously, is it a winning strategy that somehow pays off chip wise, or is it a weapon against other players at the table who go bezerko when Clock Rangers do their thing?? The one thing I do not understand is, by running the clock out, especially when 2 or 3 clock eaters are at the same table, the Ante’s keep going up and the tables have only played a hand full of hands. If you have played on this site for any amount of time you know if you’re going to fold preflop or not, yet run the clock out.
To me that is purposely trying to get under your fellow poker plays skin, so that would be a strategy right ?
I don’t agree with letting the timer run out on every single hand, it serves no purpose at all, especially in Ring games, but all I’ll say is that in tournament play, when you’re surviving to make the paying positions, the clock becomes your friend. So that’s where strategy comes in.
If a player uses the full clock every single time and is stalling from the beginning, it typically only is a means of getting under everyone’s skin. Being a human rain delay does reduce the number of hands played and also tends to put others on tilt, which induces reckless play (and knockouts). Now unless the human rain delay is winning many of those hands it will bite them in the end when the blinds start escalating fast.
Now I think it is normal to do a bit of stalling when you are at or near the bubble and the player has a short stack. Trying to survive to the $$$ is true when playing for real or play $$$.
The only time time stalling has ever really grinded my gears on here is when the perennial RPOS top 10-20 leaderboard chasers run the clock down on every street in the mid to late game stages of an RPOS event. If there are, say, 2-3 tables left, they will purposefully slow the table down (if they are somewhat to very short stacked with no hopes of winning the particular event) in hopes that 1 to 2 people will bust on the other table(s) just to ladder up for additional tournament points (even if there isn’t an actual pay jump in play yet) even though the formula’s log scale only makes the significant TP jumps occur within the final 6. To go from like 12-20 hands a blind level to 3-5 for 4 consecutive blind levels is agonizing and short stacks everyone because at that point no one can out run the level increments. I had 5 all on the same table with 16-18 players left at one event last year. It was excruciating and makes me want them to do away with RPOS leaderboards so that players only focus on winning events and worrying about the TOC rather than the additional leaderboard stuff.
The benefit = fun. Trolls do it to annoy and irritate players at the table - this is the STRATEGY! They do it bc its fun, same as online trolls will troll, harass and attack people. Again the benefit is having fun.
I’ve created a long post about this years ago hoping something could be done to discourage and penalize this type of negative troll like behaviour that ruins the game for many. Another player also created a similar post later something along the lines of: “what to do about a time troll?”
Its funny that some players even defend this behaviour trying to explain some players have bad internet & slow connections or a bunch of other completely illogical excuses for “obvious deliberate troll behaviour.”
Some players also say players are entitled to use the clock up every single hand if they want, so I guess many think being a troll and disrupting the game is acceptable too.
Basically YES! The strategy is NOT to try and win chips tho! The strategy is to troll, annoy and ruin the game for everyone at the table. If everyone is upset, frustrated and annoyed then the trolls “strategy” has worked and they WIN!
I see it occasionally in ring games, and its more annoying on the standard speed tables - which I prefer - and barely annoying on the Turbo tables bc the time is very short. At least in ring you can quit the table, whereas in MTT or SnG you can’t avoid these trolls - another reason I rarely waste my time playing MTT and play less on RP in general.
If you read the rules or code of conduct etc on RP:
Time Clock - Players are entitled to use the clock provided to them on Replay Poker. Please do not react rudely if others are considering their strategy, including spamming “zzz” in chat. However, staff may investigate if players are consistently and intentionally trying to disrupt the flow of play.
Its rude to put: “Zzzzzzzz” in chat and basically tell players they are rude, slow and wasting time bc that is their strategy?!?!?! lol
May Investigate?!?! lol May is the key word! From my impression it seems RP frowns on trolls wasting time but from my experience does very little to penalize and stop this behaviour.
I wish I would have 10 minutes ago in morcosboros 100k tourney but sometimes I have to much faith and not enough discipline, I was busted at the bubble :frowning face :
Unfortunately, someone has to go out on the bubble each tournament. Just wear the Bubbled achievement with pride and know you made a few other players really happy I bubbled last night on one of the RPOS Satellite Fever games and it made at least one person (who was clawing to hold one for the entire game it seemed) very happy and I was ok with that.
Most very time I am thinking about the clock to much, my play suffers around bubble time, I try to keep a prereferral eye on the clock while playing my best, I don’t worry if I go out before paying position. If you are watching the clock to much, you may get blinded down, while the person you thought was going out before you hit a hand and now you are low stack. There is a tipping point pre bubble where other players don’t want to risk being taken out, this can be to your advantage if proper pressure is applied.
The clock can be your friend or foe depending how you look at it.
I also use the clock to annoy the all in every hand players, particularly in the Omaha games, I know its not nice for the other players also, but they often get it , and join in.
It cheers me up to have some numbskull going PLAAAAYYYYYY
ZZZZZZZZZZZ GOOOOOOO, tells me all I need to about them, but they also sometimes temper the nonsense.
I have played with you many times, in MTT you are no slouch. I have been at Omaha games here, where the all the players at the table will attack an all-in every hand player by running the clock all the way, a form of unity that is quite impressive, and sometimes very affective. Then one by one the unified players take a shot at Mr. all-in until he is busted. a site for sore eyes I say!
Hey Rain, I reckon the one trait the better players have in common is infinite patience, people using the full timer bothers me a lot less than someone spoiling the game by going all in for no real reason, particularly in Omaha games, I’m usually just listening to my tunes anyway, folk can take as much time as they wish, doesn’t bother me at all
Sometimes at the beginning of a tournament I’ll be seated at a table with just one player. He, she or it will play bridgejumper, all in on most every hand. In that case I’ll run out the clock in hopes of getting a second, third and fourth player to join the table.
Some use the clock as a weapon, however I believe you will find the winning players will use it at times as a strategy and they will prevail most of the time !
I agree that it does ruin the game for everyone else at the table. RP used to have a paragraph in the rules stating that a player may NOT hold the game up by using the clock up completely on every Street, that it is rude to the other players at the table. I notice the paragraph is not in there any longer.
Time Clock - Players are entitled to use the clock provided to them on Replay Poker. Please do not react rudely if others are considering their strategy, including spamming “zzz” in chat. However, staff may investigate if players are consistently and intentionally trying to disrupt the flow of play.
That is funny, “May Investigate” ! There is one player who is bad, I mean she is the queen of the clock rangers. I’m in a MTT tourney getting down to the bubble and here she comes. Just stopped the game dead in its tracks.
So I reported it and did they investigate ?? Yes they did !!! They investigated ME, and suspended my chat for a day saying I was harassing her. This player is the poster player for for the most obvious , intentional delay of game and when you protest, she reports you. Now that is the ultimate Troll.
I shouldn’t have to wait to register for a game late, just to make sure this player did not enter the game, and that’s exactly what I do.
I’ve played at tables numerous times with you that you slow played the clock in order to get in the money and pass up on winning hands and chatted about it .
@Craig_Anthony do u mean in this thread which is based on the subject of Using the Clock? Sir u Do Not Play enough and have not in years to have been at any tables numerous times for this to have occurred. So once again please Stop Trolling Poker related topics
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and join in.