WPT Introduces Action Clock Developed by SharkfacePoker, G.A.M.E.

Recently the World Poker Tour announced its season-finale WPT Tournament of Champions Event.  The invite-only event will be replacing the WPT Championship and features a $15,000 buy-in with no rake, along with a bit more in added value with $200,000 in cash and prizes being contributed to the prize pool by sponsors.  WPT winners from this season already won their buy-in, while other players who were invited which include winners from previous seasons will need to pay the full cost of entry to take part in what promises to be one of the most exciting and pro-infested tournaments of the year.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of this tournament is that it will be featuring a shot-clock, otherwise known as the Action Clock where players will have a limited time to act.  It is believed the Action Clock will facilitate a more exciting playing environment in this tournament than would otherwise exist without it due to the elimination of stalling and slower play at any point in the tournament.

The Action Clock was the brainchild of Protection Poker with both the company and the software owned by Game Advancement Marketing Entertainment, LLC or G.A.M.E. for short. 

The software itself was developed by SharkfacePoker, the same company that just released the Poker Odds – Apple Watch Edition app, which we recently reviewed on PokerSoftware.

The history behind the product dates back to 2012 when the CEO of G.A.M.E. approached Matt Unks at SharkfacePoker about collaborating on some software ideas after he noticed two of the company’s earlier apps in Poker Odds+ and Cardshark Brain in the Apple iTunes store.  The two companies brainstormed a number of ideas, some of which are still in development.

In 2015 G.A.M.E. approached Unks with the idea of the Action Clock to help revolutionize live poker tournaments with hopes of speeding up the pace of play to make the game more enjoyable.  The Action Clock software was built using “Multimedia Fusion 2”, the same platform used for SharkfacePoker apps Poker Odds+ and the HORSE Poker Calculator.

When we discussed the development with Unks, he also pointed out that this software has been successful outside of poker stating, “Ironically, this is the same gaming software used for Five Nights At Freddy's which is smash hit game that has made millions in iTunes and Android app stores.”

In 2015, the WPT formed a working relationship with G.A.M.E. and expressed interest in using the Action Clock earlier this year for its year-ending WPT Tournament of Champions at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.  The development team made adjustments to the software to tailor to the needs of the WPT, and we will see it in action for the first time on April 22, 2016.

We also got an inside look at how the software works and how the WPT plans to use it for its marquee event in April.  The Protection Poker logo displayed below presents itself when the app is first launched.

The tournament staff and casino then will be brought to an easy to use setting screen show below where the parameters can quickly be set up.

From there, the Action Clock is entirely tournament staff-controlled, which may mean a little training might be involved.  Staff will be responsible for activating the Action Clock as soon as the final cards are dealt and will also need to reset it each time a player completes his or her action.

During the WPT Tournament of Champions, players will each have 30 seconds to act, however, will receive five time extension buttons.  When a button is thrown out, the dealer will manually add another 30 seconds to the Action Clock.

Additionally, once the tournament is down to its final six players, all remaining extension buttons will be removed from play with all players being provided with four new ones for use for the rest of their tournament.

Additionally, players can request a pause in the Action Clock whenever a player requests a chip count.  Once the count has been announced play will resume as normal with the Action Clock being reactivated.

With many players complaining of stalling and otherwise the slow pace of play in many live poker tournaments, we could be seeing a lot more of the Action Clock in days and years to come.

Perhaps the G.A.M.E. CEO puts it best sharing that the Action Clock is “Made by Poker Players for Poker Players.”

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