There is an old saying that talks about how wicked folks don’t get the opportunity for the occasional breather. This may be true; anybody who has read the book “Wicked” will notice that Oz’s evil Witch of the West didn’t often let the grass grow under her feet. Darth Vader may be the exception to this rule; he had his own little meditation chamber where he could kick back, take off the big black helmet, and take a break from being the dark lord of the sith. Those who consider poker some sort of moral vice could have watched the World Series of Poker tournaments that became marathons last year, and applied the saying to anyone with a PokerStars hat on their head. A new rule this year is ensuring that the wicked of the poker world have the opportunity to get some rest.
Apparently the powers that be at the WSOP decided that having players competing until breakfast time, then turning around to play the next day of the tournament wasn’t really a good idea. In situations where the necessary number of players has not been eliminated, the WSOP often allowed the players to decide if they wanted to slug it out until sunrise. Thanks to rule #95, the decision is now taken out of the player’s hands.
This new rule states that play MUST end by 3am (unless the tournament is being shown over the internet or ESPN). This gives the poker players the opportunity to get some rest before the next days play. Of course just because they have to be done at 3am, doesn’t mean they will be in bed by 3:30; in a town where the bars are open 24/7, sleep is often a very low priority. In short, you can lead a poker player to bed, but you can’t make him sleep.
Will this new rule be a good thing? We won’t know until the end of the season. The WSOP will need to get creative due to larger tournament numbers, and the fact that the day doesn’t always end with the number of players the organizers are looking for; often it is way above. We will see how the 3am finish time works in the real world.
