Patience of a saint
Anyone who has played live poker has probably had to sit through someone thinking long and hard about a decision. Maybe you were the one who took an inordinate time to make a move once! The subject of tanking has been up for debate for eons, but generally poker players are ok with a little extra consideration in an important spot.
On Monday, Mike Aman took tanking to an entirely new level while heads-up against Taylor Hart at the end of the WSOP Circuit Turning Stone Main Event.
According to Poker.org’s live reporting, Hart shoved for more than 15 million chips with the board reading 8♠-5♠-2♥-9♥-Q♥. With his tournament life on the line, Aman gave his next move some serious thought, as he should. But then he thought…and thought…and thought some more.
For 20 minutes, a period of time which cut into the tournament’s scheduled break, Mike Aman pondered his decision. During long tanks, players often hem and haw out loud, fidget in their seat, or even pace around. But Aman barely moved. And neither did Hart, who just stared at the cards.
Finally, Aman mucked his hole cards, giving the pot to Hart. Hart went on to win the tournament, $280,770, and the gold ring shortly thereafter.
How good of a sport would you be?
Naturally, a 20-minute tank has sparked debate in the poker community. Many people say they would have called clock a few minutes in, while others, acknowledging that Aman took way more time than usual, would have been happy to give him room.
Clearly Hart was ok with it, joking with Poker.org afterward, “I have good advice: if someone is tanking for a long time, have a very good hand. It makes the tanking experience a lot easier if you have it. I’d love to go into a different universe and not have a good hand and experience that 20-minute tank. I think that would be very hard.”
It probably helped that the break hit while Aman was considering his move and that there were no other players besides Hart remaining.
Both players were probably going through the psychology in their heads, a la The Princess Bride: “he’s not showing any impatience, so he must have a good hand, but that’s what he wants me to think, so he must have a weak hand…but he knows that’s what I would think, so….”
The $90,000+ pay jump was significant and the WSOP Circuit was likely a prize coveted by both players, so why not give your opponent every second he needs? Then again, wouldn’t 15 minutes be enough? Ten minutes? Five?
And would asking for the clock to be called be any sort of tell?
What would you do if you were Taylor Hart in this situation? Would you have forced the issue or just have been content to let your opponent take his sweet time?
The post Player Tanks for 20 Minutes Heads-Up in WSOP Circuit Main Event: What Would You Do? appeared first on Poker News Daily.
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