The Stalling Epidemic

[user127999]

Level 16 : 2,000/4,000, 500 ante

The EPT appears to be experiencing a stalling epidemic, with short stacks forcing others to call the clock on them every single hand as the bubble approaches.

It's a tactical move most agree with, considering the less hands a short stack sees the slower they will go broke, but seems to be a breach of poker etiquette at the same time. Some say the solution lies in going hand-for-hand three or fives spots off the money bubble instead, but the tournament staff said previous attempts at that proved to make the bubble last even longer.

Christopher Andler was one guilty of stalling with just a few big blinds in his stack moments ago. Eventually a ruling was made shortening his clock to 30 seconds as they will do for any player who appears to be stalling.

Chris Hunichen raised it up with Andler on his left and was forced to wait through his stall to pick up the blinds and antes in a hand with 98 players left.

"It's annoying," he said. "But at the same I understand it as a strategy. If I was him I would do it too. This is what's encouraged when you don't go hand for hand earlier."

The stalling continued and the frequency of players calling the clock increased before they reached the 97 player mark.