The World Series was rife with supposed controversy over a few lapses in poker etiquette. There are two situations that should be compared to illuminate the prejudices at play here.
First up is Tiffany Michelle at the WSOP in Vegas. Second is European poker player Bengt Sonnert at the WSOPE. We’ll be investigating whether Tiffany Michelle at the WSOP got treated differently to Bengt Sonnert at the WSOPE for doing the same thing.
Tiffany Michelle at the WSOP calls for a clock
Tiffany Michelle at the WSOP calling for a clock as a woman
The trouble erupted from a situation where Tiffany called for a clock on a hand that was taking way too long (about 15 minutes). Given it was an all in moment for a pot of around $10M, but at stage of the tournament, any player, especially those who are short-stacked is well within their rights to call time on someone. Tiffany was an innocent bystander up until this point and wasn’t in the hand. But as soon as she called for the clock, she received a tirade of insults and vicious commentary from some of the other 9 male poker players at the table.
Not to mention the barrage of onslaughts that occurred int he media and particularly online in forms and chat rooms, where Tiffany Michelle effectively had her ass handed to her for this “despicable” act.
When the clock was called for, the tournament had roughly 20 players left. And as we’ll see, this is remarkably similar to a situation months later across the pond in London at the WSOPE.
Before we compare the situations, lets get up to date on the poker etiquette behind calling clock, or calling for time.
How does Calling for a Clock Work?
An excellent example of this is presented in this article on the poker etiquette of calling clock. To paraphrase the important parts:
It’s clearly stated in the Texas Holdem rules that no one but another player can call a clock, not the dealer and not the floor person, and every player at the table is well within their right to do so (some players have even called the clock on themselves!)
Just as you should hope that other players will not take offense if you call a clock on them, you should not take it personally if a clock is called on you. In most cases, the other player is simply anxious to keep the game moving or to stay ahead of the blinds, and has no personal investment in making your decision more difficult.
Bengt Sonnert at the WSOPE calls for a clock
Bengt Sonnert at the WSOPE calling for a clock as a man
Months later, in a virtually identical situation (about 20 players left in the WSOPE Main Event), Bengt Sonnert was in a frustratingly long hand and decided to call for a clock on his opponent Perttu Bergius. Aside from a hard stare from Bergius (which also seemed to acknowledge with his eyes that it was a fair play to make), not a single word was said by ANYONE.
Dost Thou Smell a Double Standard?
I reckon so. I would show video footage from both of them, but only Tiff’s video is available at this point as they’re running the WSOPE on TV right now.
Poker is clearly still not an even battle of the sexes
These observations make it clear to me how big the divide between men and women of poker still is (at least on a psychological level). On a positive note, I see the stature of women poker players grow almost exponentially year over year right now, so maybe one day soon this type of berating for playing by the rules will be limited to a hard stare and nothing more.
Exclusive Interview with Tiffany Michelle
Next week, Pkr Grl will be posting an exclusive one-on-one interview with Tiffany Michelle, where we get to hear some more of her side of the story. To get Tiffany revved up for this years WSOP, we’ve made the interview a bit different from the standard questions and I think it really shows Tiff’s personality in the positive light that it should always be shining in.
Sneak Preview of our Tiffany Michelle Interview
Pkr Grl
Will you call for the clock on someone again?
Tiffany Michelle
The clock is a rule in poker that is there for a reason. I understand that there is a time to have etiquette and allow someone the appropriate amount of time to make a decision but there is also a time when the situation calls for a clock to be called. I would/will have no problem calling the clock (like I did at the WSOP) if the situation calls for it. Specifically I think calling the clock is necessary when your opponent is CONSISTENTLY taking a long time on each decision and SURELY if their delay is effecting MY tournament life.
Well said Tiff. So check back next week for the full exclusive Interview with Tiffany Michelle.
Videos of Tiffany Michelle at the WSOP
Tiffany Michelle at the WSOP defending her actions
Cheers,
– Pkr Grl
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Great article! I’m going to start calling the clock and see who yells at me.
http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/tourney/updates.asp?tid=5895&grid=459&dayof=768&curpage=4
Scroll down to “Titanic Disaster Hits Bergius”.
Compare that to “Scott Montgomery Wins A Huge Pot From Paul Snead”
http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/tourney/updates.asp?tid=4948&grid=411&dayof=727&curpage=9
Are you serious? Are you really serious? How is this an example of a double standard? Bengt was in the hand. Tiffany was not. The WSOPE’s field is a lot smaller with a higher standard of play overall. They aren’t the same standard tournament by a long shot. The hands are only similar in that both winners won with aces on the river. Surely you realize that Bengt’s ace on the river wasn’t as miraculous as Scott’s. Surely you see that Bengt had about 1/3 of his stack in the pot and had no intention of folding. Neither player in the WSOPE was trying to bluff.
We can’t shout “DOUBLE STANDARD” or defend Tiffany’s actions based on her gender. 50 big blinds, even accounting for effective M and the loss of a player at the table isn’t a short stack. The reason a 3rd party calls the clock isn’t just because they’re tired of waiting and have the right. It’s because they’re genuinely short stacked and feel that the tournament clock is being manipulated(intentionally or not) to take advantage of short stacks. Without a genuine short stack she was hurting herself in the process of disrespecting Paul and Scott.
Do you appreciate others interfering in your hands? Phil Gordon was called an idiot simply for commenting on a hand he wasn’t involved in on PAD. People took sides on that as well. Most were siding against Phil. Last I looked, Phil’s a man.
You need to find an example where a man isn’t involved in the hand, has a healthy stack, and calls the clock just because he’s tired of waiting. I’m a woman and see the many differences. Surely men see them as well.