Best Free Poker Tournament Clock
Have you ever organised a poker tournament at home and wondered if there was a better way to keep track of the poker blind levels? Well, you don’t have to wonder anymore. If you have a personal computer or laptop on hand, you are in luck. There are many free poker tournament clocks out there you can use to enhance play. Here are three of the best of them.
For any home poker tournament organizer some kind of tournament clock software is a necessity. Some of the options available include Poker Tournament Supervisor, Poker Timer, and The Tournament Director. All of these are excellent pieces of poker tournaments clock software. Welcome to 'The Clock', the poker tournament software used at Binion's WSOP, WPT, featured in the movie 'Lucky You', and seen on TV at special events, this is the poker tournament software chosen by many of the card rooms and casinos around the world. Big Slick Professional Edition Big Slick Professional is the most sophisticated software on the market today for managing poker tournaments. Our timer was designed by players for players with well thought out screens that help you setup, manage and run a poker tournament. PIO solver is one of the best poker tools to analyze game theory optimal strategy in heads-up play and probably is the most advanced one, thus it just has to make this list. You can see what hands to bet or to check in any given situation, how frequently you should do that or even recommended sizings based on your set-up.
The blind structure calculator lets you create the perfect blind structure for your tournament in just a few clicks Concentrate on your cards Stop running back and forth to the computer, connect as many devices as you want to the tournament and manage everything from the poker table.
Poker tournament clocks
As you are probably well aware, any decent poker tournament should have some kind of tournament clock software. Check out these three best free poker tournament clocks:
1. The Poker Timer
The Poker Timer is a full-featured, internet-based program that runs on Microsoft’s Internet Explorer for Windows. The program is super easy to install and packs all the essential features you need to effectively time you home poker tournament. There is a free and paid version of the program. The free version is fully functional, but you will get a 'nag screen' for 90 seconds whenever you activate the program. The 'nag screen,' however, disappears for the rest of your tournament. The Poker Timer is quite handy if you are not looking for league or network poker tournament clock capabilities!
Website:www.pokertimer.com
2. The Tournament Director (TD)
The Tournament Director (TD) is a premier poker tournament clock and tournament manager. The full-featured program boasts a fully cusstomisable timer screen with tracking capabilities for players’ buyins, add-ons and seatings. Simply download the application for free and enjoy. You are, however, encouraged to make a small monetary donation to the author at least once a year if you find the program useful. The Tournament Director will meet all your timing needs in a home poker tournament.
Website:www.thetournamentdirector.net
The Poker Clock
The Poker Clock is yet another of the excellent free poker tournament clocks for organizing any kind of poker tournament. The free, web-based program is simple to install and use and also has a fully customisable timer screen. You can adjust the timer as desired in real-time to meet the exact needs of your tournament, whether it is a small home poker tournament or a larger tournament event with many participants. Quite a joy to use, really.
Website: www.pokerclock.com
David Sands has retired, and yet, the poker tournament shot clock debate rages on.
During last week’s World Poker Tour L.A. Poker Classic main event, the players in the field were asked whether or not they felt that poker tournaments should implement a shot clock into the game, speeding up the decision making process and preventing the rampant Hollywooding that’s flooding the circuit today. The result was surprising. An overwhelming 80 percent of those polled believed that a shot clock should be used.
The WPT’s own Mike Sexton, a long-time advocate of a shot clock, believes that the tour may put them into service as early as 2015.
Best Free Poker Tournament Clock Software
The benefits of a shot clock are obvious. When players make their decisions faster, the table is able to see more hands and as a result, the structure of the tournament improves. Short stacks can afford to breathe a little easier and be more patient. Players will no longer be forced to call the clock on their opponents and stalling, especially close to the money bubble, will be minimal.
The downside of a shot clock is the logistics involved with implementing them into the game and the initial cost for the casino or tour. Dealers will need to be trained to handle the additional job responsibilities, or more floor staff will be needed to police the time banks. Amateur players may also be intimidated by the new rules and avoid playing live poker as a result.
A poker purist would argue that the game has always and should always be self policed. After all, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? An optimist, however, may believe that a shot clock could spark the next mini poker boom. Here, were take a look at some of the pros and cons of the shot clock debate.
30-Second Shot Clock With Two 60-Second Time Banks
According to the WPT, the proposed shot clock would give players 30 seconds to act every turn, with an additional 60 seconds given for difficult decisions.
Pros: Players who learned the game online will be very comfortable with this process. The game is sped up and by the time the field has reached the money, the stacks will be deep enough to support more than just preflop poker.
Cons: Whose job is it to make sure a player doesn’t exceed their time limit? Is the dealer watching a tournament clock or does each player have a timer in front of them? Can a dealer declare a hand dead or will the floor have to get involved?
Shot Clock During Re-Entry Period Only
The shot clock would only be used during the registration period of re-entry and re-buy tournaments exclusively. Play would resume normally after the field is set.
Pros: Players looking to build a big stack or bust during the re-entry period would be able to see more hands and more entries may occur as a result, inflating the prize pool. Decisions made at the smaller blind levels shouldn’t take a long time anyway.
Cons: Players looking to avoid the shot clock may wait until just before the registration period ends, creating a flood of new players for tournament staff to seat.
Shot Clock In Major Tournaments Only
This idea would limit the shot clock to only participating big buy-in tournaments.
Pros: The players in these events are more seasoned professionals who could easily adapt to the rule change. Time is money and players who routinely put up thousands of dollars in buy-ins don’t want to waste theirs.
Cons: Amateur players who would have otherwise played in a major event are now intimidated and decide to stick to the lower stakes. As a result, the game experiences little growth at the higher stakes.
Shot Clock In Televised Events Only
Only televised events, or televised final tables would implement the shot clock.
Free Poker Tournament Timer
Pros: Anyone who has watched an unedited, full live stream or broadcast of a poker tournament knows that 95 percent of the hands can be a little boring to even a poker savvy individual, let alone a newcomer. Throwing a shot clock into the mix would at least keep the action moving and might attract some new eyeballs.
Cons: A shot clock added into a tournament only when the cameras show up, which is generally late in the event or at the final table, would be putting pressure on the players at the worst possible time, when the big money is up for grabs.
What do you think? Should poker tournaments implement a shot clock? Let us know in the comments section below.