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Is it ethical to abuse the clock?

A look at the pros and cons of using stalling tactics in tournaments and Sit & Go’s

By Phil Shaw on Wednesday 19 Aug 2009 18:45


Chips spread on the table

Many players argue that manipulating tournament poker by letting the clock run down is an abuse of time banks. We explore the ethics and practicalities of stalling

One of the most controversial subjects in Sit & Go’s and tournaments is the use of the clock to manipulate the action (often referred to as stalling). This is most commonly a problem in online poker, where players have a fixed time bank and cannot see their opponents face to face. It has become a heated subject at times, with pros like Daniel Negreanu fiercely opposing the tactic, while other online pros defend the practice as just part of the game. Despite this though, most sites do not give out any penalties for stalling, since it is hard to enforce and players are seen as being allowed to use their time bank as they wish.

It’s worth nothing that you’re not actually breaking any rules by stalling. However, if you are going to use this slightly underhand measure you should consider the circumstances and possible consequences carefully. Firstly you should check to see whether other people are doing it already in your tournament. If so it is perfectly within your rights to do the same thing so that an equal number of hands is played on your table (for example, on the bubble of a MTT or Sit & Go). If you don’t pay attention to this kind of play you could be the one forced into paying for a crucial blind increase. The logical outcome of this, however, is that everyone starts stalling and the game grinds to a halt on the bubble, so you want to be careful about initiating such tactics.

Secondly, you should ask how important the situation is. If you are short-stacked on the bubble of an MTT or there is a very big blind increase coming you should clearly be more inclined to stall, so save this tactic for only the most crucial situations.

Bad karma?

Finally, you should ask what negative consequences there might be if you start stalling, and this is the main reason people are more reluctant to do so live. As already stated, the game might grind to a halt, which could be bad for you if you have an edge on the bubble. Worse still, other players might get upset at your tactics and decide to try to knock you out, or spite-stall to ensure that the blind increases hit you instead. Similarly, you may find your reputation being attacked by vocal players with different views on the move’s legality. Therefore, if you are going to stall make sure it’s mainly in response to the behaviour of others. At least try to restrict your use of this tactic to key points in tournaments and Sit & Go’s and hopefully you’ll minimise the negative reactions of other players.

Stalling in practice

Assuming you've decided stalling is a tactic you are happy to contemplate, we can now move on to the practicalities of clock abuse. The most important thing to note here is that to be aware of the best times to stall you must have a good awareness of your overall situation in a tournament or Sit & Go. This means that in an MTT you should be keeping an eye on the lobby to know how many players remain, when the bubble is and where you stand overall. In a Sit & Go you should be even more aware of when the blinds are going up, which are the biggest jumps and when an increase is going to significantly influence the game because of its effect on one or more players’ stack sizes.

Multi-table tournaments

In terms of MTTs, stalling takes place mostly around the bubble, with many short stacks wanting to ensure they get into the money before they risk their remaining chips. If you are in the bottom positions, therefore, you should probably stall in the run-up to the bubble, especially since it’s likely other tables will be doing the same (you can look for these by finding the smallest stacks by table in the lobby). This will also help you if things gets tight and you want to see how many hands people have left before blinding out. If you are a few places off the money spots with just a few players left to get KO’d you can usually make it without playing any hands. Slowing the action makes even more sense here, particularly since there are few hands you actually want to be dealt at such a point.

An average stack is a different consideration. If there are a lot of scared short stacks at your table you want to get in as many hands as possible. If there are bigger stacks playing aggressively you may want to slow things down.

Sit & Go’s

In Sit & Go’s the situation is even more extreme. If you are one of the short stacks on the bubble and a large blind increase is coming your best hope may be to use stalling tactics. In this spot you can gain a significant advantage by stalling so that you pay the blinds just before they go up, forcing the players behind to pay more and allowing you to win more chips by shoving, or even forcing another small stack into being pot-committed in the big blind.

While stalling in MTTs is fairly normal and straightforward, manipulating the clock in Sit & Go’s can be much more crucial. Obviously, it only comes into play when you are one of the short stacks and the blinds are so high that you and the other short stacks have close to five big blinds.

For example, you could be in a spot where both you and another short-stacked player have 1,000 chips on the bubble with the blinds at 100/200, and you can stall in the small blind so that the blinds increase to the next level of 150/300. The cumulative increase will have a devastating effect on your opponent since he now has no fold equity and will be pot-committed when the big blind gets to him. This effectively allows you to wait and see if he gets knocked out before you are forced to make a move.

Putting your foot down

This kind of stalling is typical in Sit & Go’s, as it has such a huge effect on the outcome of the game, but there are still situations where you might deviate. For example, in the above situation if you were in the big blind and the opponent with 1,000 was on your direct left, it would be better to stall so that you pay the increased small blind of 150 but he pays the increased big blind of 300, since this does him more damage than you.

Of course you should also be aware of other players who are likely to do this to you and try to outfox them by thinking a few hands or minutes ahead. Always make a note of such players in your notes – it may get confusing but it can become a fascinating strategy subtext to your regular game!

Just remember that stalling can be a controversial subject, so you shouldn’t use it too much, or to the extent that it is obvious and will cause other players to try to do the same back to you more in future. Nevertheless, it still has legitimate and important uses in poker tournaments and Sit & Go’s, so make sure you always keep an eye on your cards, opponents and the clock. It’s just another part of the balancing act that is poker!


Comments

i fuckin love this article and i love stalling. i even do it in life games but no one understands me. and then when i really need time to think about a hand, people say im stalling and i can't think clear!

Comment by ALHOFMANN - 06/08/10 (Report)

but no I do not do it and never do it I use what time I have to think hard when I need to

Comment by tokeup2much - 05/08/10 (Report)

poker really is warfare and you do what you gotta do to win thats it thats all if you could get up and boot someone in the nuts while playing people would be doing it all the time

Comment by tokeup2much - 05/08/10 (Report)

All players get to use the timebank equally, it is not a bonus some players get over another.

It shouldn't be illegal as each player should be able to use their play time as they choose it should be part of their arsenal, however yes I believe it to be unethical, but then there's lots of moves in poker that are unethical, poker is warfare!

Now I'll support any player's right to stall although I don't agree with it. However...

Logically stalling is detrimental for a well stacked player. If you're well stacked compared to the blinds you want to keep it that way as you have an advantage, why narrow that strong advantage by letting the blinds increase? You want to see as many hands as cheap as possible to take out your opponents without putting your lead at risk.
*CONTINUED*

Comment by maverick1dj - 21/08/09 (Report)

Edited on: 21 Aug 2009 23:25

*CONTINUED FROM ABOVE*
How many times have you played at BT where the blinds have increased so much that everyone's stacks pretty much equalise (despite there being a huge spread before), because the short stacks have shot a one or two rounds?

Even if a player will be forced all-in on the next hand if you stall he must have been pretty much pot committed & crippled anyway if you didn't stall?

All it takes is a run of bad cards after you've pushed up the blinds and you'll regret it.

Also those that complain about stalling are usually the players who have made bad judgements calls prior to it happening and are short stacked as a result, you wonder are they really bothered about the stalling or are they steaming because they're behind?

Comment by maverick1dj - 21/08/09 (Report)

Edited on: 21 Aug 2009 23:26

The Clock is part of the game Stalling isnt illegal so no problem if it is used.
Deal with it.
If Y know an other player is getting nervous because y take my time Y will use the clock to a maximum.
It's all part of the game.

Comment by Wiseguy78 - 21/08/09 (Report)

Edited on: 21 Aug 2009 17:53

I agree with JaneRed here. In any case I always feel that rather than sitting waiting for the axe the only way to make money is to gamble, and the only way to do that is to see as many hands as possible. Delaying before a raise or breaking the rhythm of an aggressive raiser are respectable enough because they are active strategies but that is not the same as waiting til the last moment to fold on consecutive hands. It's boring, unskilled and ultimately not in your interests. DON'T DO IT!

Comment by shatsi123 - 20/08/09 (Report)

A good player should be able to out-play a stalling player both at and off the table so that it makes no difference to their strategy and success.

A good player should also be able to play good poker without the need of using a stalling tactic in their repertoire and use the Time Bank as an added Bonus feature for extra think time....

Comment by ceemsc - 20/08/09 (Report)

I think its all to do with the reason as to why you are playing. Is it for fun or money?

If its for fun then there is no real need, if its for money then anything that will give you an edge is a plus.

Comment by luxorlad - 20/08/09 (Report)

+1

Comment by LAZBOY - 20/08/09 (Report)

Firstly everyone needs to understand that using the time bank in any way you want is not against the rules.

It may be against the "spirit" of the game but so are many other things.

sometimes if a player is running over a table with constant raises slowing down the game is a way to put them off their rhythm and/or give you time to regroup.

sometimes using the time bank will put a player on tilt thus allowing you to take the money with more ease.

Taking time to think about a call when you are really doing a "hollywood" is a perfectly acceptable tactic both online and in real life.

In short if someone is using the time bank for a REASON other than just using it to be annoying then I don't have a problem with it.

If my game is ruined by someone using time bank then it is my problem not theirs

Comment by lemlin67 - 20/08/09 (Report)

Edited on: 20 Aug 2009 03:35

ååååhhh.......

Comment by komabulle - 20/08/09 (Report)

I think a little bit of stalling is fine, we all do it to hide the fact we have a dog of a hand and we're stealing, people ask how much you got? With no intention of actually calling or raising. We do it to in satellites to burst bubble elsewhere with above average stacks, even in SnGs if the blind is coming around to short stack in a few seconds etc.

If I think it is particular bad then I call TD or if online SnG just make sure don't play same opponent again, if can avoid.

I think I've only complained once in a sat to Sunday Million, when someone was running down the clock about 300 out from the bubble, which was just plain silly. Of course, site support (on PS) did zero. However, it was an utter abuse of the timeout function.

Comment by Numero37 - 19/08/09 (Report)

Edited on: 19 Aug 2009 22:31

Online poker gives you very little to work with and stalling is essential to building character and standing in a hand. Good luck to all the mugs who speed play without thinking they are'nt being read. It really is luck... or more underhand tactics by which you're winning.

Comment by skylarkin - 19/08/09 (Report)

Stalling is an awful practice, lacking basic etiquette or respect for other peoples time. I dont know how you even post an article like that. taking a minute to check the BB -for example- is IMHO a disgraceful conduct.

Stalling is just another of the stupid stuff idiot and mediocre players do... just like those donks who go all in first hand to double or triple up and sit out for the whole SNG hoping to get to the bubble or even past the bubble.

Come on PKR... article about stallin? oh my... hope this doesnt encourage players...

I recall Sklansky´s advice to "keep the game fast" to get more action than average and keep your table happy and playful... stallin is the mark of a true idiot, sorry.. TIME IS MONEY people...

shame on you... since when is stalling considered STRATEGY? /boo

Comment by JaneRed - 19/08/09 (Report)

Edited on: 19 Aug 2009 20:15

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