Change is usually resisted in all spheres but especially amidst the gaming community as players take time to cope with change and can upset their play. So when the World Poker Tour (WPT) announced that it was introducing a new action clock at its first ever WPT Tournament of Champions there were a lot of mixed reactions.

The WPT Tournament of Champions event started on April 22 and saw a total of 64 players from the WPT Champions Club take part to stand a chance to win the first place prize of $381,600 and a special 2016 Corvette that was sponsored by Monster. The players had to use the Action Clock which was developed by Protection Poker.

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The rules for using the Action Clock were pretty simple limiting each players time to thirty seconds. Players who needed more time could make use of the additional four thirty second time extensions. While the use of a time clock is not a new thing in poker, it has not been used for a long period of time and players have had to get used to the new concept. The reason the WPT decided to introduce an action clock was to limit the amount of time wastage and also to provide fans with a fast paced format.

Poker fans were critical of the slow style of play that took place at the 2015 World Series of Poker Main Event final table. The WPT wanted to make sure that their first ever Tournament of Champions event would not receive the same flak and decided that an action clock was the best solution. Based on the response of the players, the action clock has turned out to be a big success.

One of the reasons for the smooth transition to using the action clock was due to the fact that it was seamless and had no teething issues that posed concerns for players. The action clock worked on iPad Pros and had simple buttons that allowed the dealer to control the time slots pretty easily.

In a statement, Matt Waxman, WPT Season 10 Rendez-Vous à Paris winner said “I like the Action Clock. The speed of play is so much better, and we’re probably getting in twice as many hands today. People are acting more urgent, they’re more on edge. I definitely like the Action Clock. I’ve been a fan of the concept for years.”