Should Stars take action against stallers?

[Thundercat32]

I don't know if you are a basketball fan, but this is like saying you can't allow a team who's down by 9 points with 42 seconds left to foul and "slow down" the game.

It's part of the strategy of the game.

Every basketball fan knows the last minute of a close game especially in the playoffs really takes more like 5-10 min, that's just part of it.

Does it suck, yes but it's part of his tools available

[jpgarc01]

Though it sucks, the staller, by the rules of the tournament, is allowed to use the time on every turn. The only fix is to limit the decision time for all players, and sometimes I need that time too [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Rocco]

[ QUOTE ]

While I HATE stalling, I don't agree with this. First of all, how do you judge whether it is deliberate? I know it appears pretty obvious, but how do you judge in a fair manner. He could say he is slow, connection is slow, etc. Secondly, unless there is a set number of extended timebanks per player (e.g. 2 for the tourney), it is not fair to reduce one player's time based on his playing style. As already stated, he paid the buy-in and the juice, it is his choice.

All that said, QUIT STALLING.

-Jaxx

[/ QUOTE ]

Well... It cannot be judged 100% fair, but as I said, if someone takes 20 seconds EVERYTIME to fold trash hands, and weigh in other factors, you can be 99,99 % sure he/she is stalling. No-ones connection is ever that slow and no player needs to think about his/her action on 72off when it's raised and re-raised before them. I think it can be programmatically determined whether a player is stalling or not. And it's not like the punishment of having their time bank shortened is the end of the world for someone.

[Thundercat32]

Rocco,

stalling is part of the game, it's why there is a clock in the first place so the player has to act within a specified time. As long as that player acts within that specified time, he is doing nothing wrong. It is his right to stall. As soon as he fails to act within the amout of time given his hand is folded, that's the only recourse that can be taken.

Personally I play for 1st every time out so I myself am not going to stall especially when short stacked because I want to get in there and hurry up and double up and double up again before the blinds increase, but some players are using this as a way to improve their chances of making the money.

If you really want to punish them, take the time they are providing you, to go to every other short stack on the bubble in the tournament and make them aware of the situation, than they can stall too, and Villian might miss his beloved money when the other short stacks realize what he's doing, that's what I do and it seems to piss off Villian pretty good, I recommend it

[vikefan24]

You can't make a program that can judge a persons feelings on a certain hand.. A short stack could consider going all in with a garbage hand with a few all ins before him to trip/quad up even if its terrible cards

[registrar]

OK, I've got quite a few points to make about this, which I will, in time.

However, on this rules of the game/pays your money takes your choice point, I will say that Stars can set any rules, particularly operational rules, that they see fit.

Two examples.

1. I pay to go swimming at the pool. This doesn't mean that I am allowed to start dive-bombing or pissing in the pool. It wasn't agaisnt the rules when the first pool was opened. It is now.

2. In soccer, you used to be able to pass back to the keeper. Italian teams and my beloved Liverpool abused this. They would take a one goal lead and then pass the ball around the back four and keeper for the rest of the match. It spoiled the game. The rules were changed.

Tournament rules were created with live play in mind. No live player would have the stones to take the clock every hand. The anonymity of online poker has created new conditions. The rules can accordingly change. In principal.

Whether a change of rules can feasibly be inforced is a different matter and suitable punishment is difficult to decide. Stars, a business, is never going to ban customers.

However, I do think that something can be done to lessen the problem. Bots have been mentioned, as have incrementally decreasing time banks. This would surely increase everyone's enjoyment?

I'm from the UK. On Sunday, within three hours, midnight, 80% of the field had been wiped. Great, I thought. Then the stalling started. At 5am, we were at two tables. That just sucks.

[censored] happens. It doesn't necessarily need to.

[Frank Zappy]

I spoke to Lee Jones about this and he said there was nothing that they could, or wanted, to do.

I was seated to the left of a player who magically "Disconnected" when we were near the Bubble.

He disconnected every single time it was his turn to act and all PS does is reset his Time Clock afte rhe magically reconnected.

I can understand one disconnect, but more than once you should sit out an orbit.

If you "disconnect" or time out again, you sit out 2 full orbits.

Third time, you sit the Tournament out.

[Wubbie075]

The worst is when some moron does not understand what hand for hand means and stalls anyway... and if you try to explain it to them they think you are just trying to trick them into playing faster so they will bust

[adanthar]

I love stallers. They're how my stack magically grows around bubble time. How much more can they telegraph "I will fold 95% of my hands here"?

also, part of the game etc.

[gumpzilla]

[ QUOTE ]
I love stallers. They're how my stack magically grows around bubble time. How much more can they telegraph "I will fold 95% of my hands here"?

also, part of the game etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

What makes it part of the game? I could easily argue that collusion is part of the game as well. The primary difference, it seems to me, is that collusion has already been made illegal. If that's too over the top for you, replace collusion with any other kind of angle shooting scheme that's out there and generally recognized to not be part of the game.