Slow Play

Author: Simon Dexter

It doesn’t have to be poker – online card games of every description tend to become frustrating when players are faced with an opponent who takes an age to consider their hands.

In some instances, this can be a deliberate ploy on the part of the slow player, one designed to obstruct and hinder free-flowing play in order to take advantage of his opponent’s seething frustration, especially if he senses it could turn to anger. Mostly, however, when an opponent ponders for ten minutes over his next play, it’s a sign that you’re up against a particularly indecisive player who wants to make sure their hand’s just right before making a move.

We’ve all been there and while little can be done to improve matters, especially in ‘live’ online card games, if this type of behaviour has you tearing your hair out, you may want to consider a much faster version of the game - one in which everyone knows from the outset that they have to perform rapidly or else they’re folded.

Around two years ago, an Australian entrepreneur, Keith ‘Bendingo’ Sloan, came up with a simple but effective idea designed to put an end to slow play when he introduced ’speed poker’, rather modestly described as “the most exciting development in the game of poker for 30 years.” Well, Aussies have never been known to undersell themselves and Mr Sloan’s description may slip easily into the category marked ‘far-fetched’, but if you like fast action in your online card games, you will love Littlewoods’ Poker version, called Lightning Games.

The current World Speed Poker Open (WSPO) champion is an Irishman named Ollie Boyce, a giant of a man who enjoys a pint of Guinness or seven and who can still reel off the most outrageous jokes with perfect timing. There’s a certain irony to hear him pause for effect before he delivers his punch-line considering he won £50,000 playing poker hands in double-quick time. When I met up with him in Dublin recently, he was on great form, explaining the subtle differences in the faster game’s rules.

“The concept is simple,” he said. “There are six players, two dealers and an average of more than 70 hands an hour. Two dealers are required because the game moves so rapidly. One shuffles while the other deals the cards. But here’s the clever bit: players have a maximum of just 15 seconds to act or else their hand is declared void. The countdown to the 15 second cut-off point is indicated by a flashing light on purpose built tables.”

That sounds like one busy table, but what about the blinds? “Blinds last 20 minutes for any given level,” Ollie declares, “and because there are no stoppages in play, it’s little wonder that no-nonsense players get through around 74 hands per hour.”

It’s a simple idea and, just like time-limited Premier League snooker, it is especially appealing to broadcasters. Televised poker tournaments are intense affairs at the best of times, but the WSPO comes with the promise of “more tension, more excitement, and more action than previous televised poker tournaments.” There is, of course considerably more pressure on players.

Littlewoods Poker has taken this fledging ’super-fast poker’ idea a stage further with their Lightning Games, developing a compelling online version which has a completely different level of pace and energy that regular Texas Hold ‘Em Poker players will find attractive, particularly if they’re able to make fast decisions.

“It’s a marvellous way of improving your decision-making,” big Ollie told me. “I found it improved my performances in regular games no end.”

The main difference in Littlewoods Poker Lightning Games is in the amount of time allocated to decision-making. Players have 12 seconds to raise, call or fold otherwise they’re automatically folded. That may not sound a lot of time in which to make a decision, but once you’ve played a few hands, it’s incredible how rapidly you’re ‘up to speed’.

Serious poker players appreciate the discipline and mental agility required to adjust their speed of thought, while novices find the fast-moving action absolutely compulsive before they too move up through the gears. The most exciting development for 30 years? Well, perhaps not (what about internet poker?), but if speed poker encourages more people to get a move on while playing, I’m all for it.

Tags: 12 seconds, Ollie Boyce, time-limited, World Speed Poker Open, WSOP

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 26th, 2006 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Poker Strategy.