YoH ViraL's Tanking Leads to Clock Called Three Times in a Single Hand

07:35
03 Mar

Excessive tanking during live tournament action reached a new low of sorts at the EPT Paris Main Event late last month when Johan "YoH ViraL" Guilbert had the clock called on him three times in the same hand.

A prolific content creator on YouTube with 165,000 subscribers, Guilbert drew the ire of many within the poker community for needlessly wasting time. His deliberate stalling in the €5,300 buy-in event may have been the last straw with regard to the tanking issue that many have considered problematic for quite some time.

WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage is one such poker honcho who has evidently had enough of players tanking. He took to social media to poll players on the issue and the results surprised absolutely no one.

Savage revealed that new WPT rules have been formulated in an effort to thwart tanking.

"We already tweaked our Action Clock rules this season with @TVPokerRoom to be the first Main Tour Event to use it one table within the money. 15 seconds pre/30 post flop with time bank chips based on players 'in the money.' I consulted with players about these changes," he tweeted.

For those interested in how the three-time clock calling hand went down, it occurred on Level 15, Day 2, with blinds of (2,000/4,000/4,000). YoH ViraL (Ac-10h) opened to 8,000 from middle position, followed by a three-bet to 17,000 by Daniyar Aubakirov (As-Kc) in the hijack. Guilbert pondered at length before a tablemate called clock.

A flop of 7h-10s-7d saw Guilbert check and Aubakirov bet 9,000. Another long delay by YoH ViraL was making his tablemates restless before the Frenchman check-raised to 23,000. His opponent called.

The 2c on the turn resulted in more procrastination by the tanker, who didn't check until clock was called on him again. The hijack pushed 20,000 into the pot and YoH ViraL continued his stalling tactics - and clock was called for the third time.

Another check-raise from Guilbert was a 66,000 shove. Aubakirov had him covered and made the call. The river was an inconsequential 4s, allowing YoH ViraL to take the pot with his pair of tens.

The Frenchman finished the tournament in 78th place for a payday of €16,200 ($17,311), adding to his lifetime tournament winnings that now stand at $4,188,823, per the Hendon Mob.

If anyone is looking for a silver lining regarding YoH ViraL's tanking other than the new rules at future WPT events, it appears that Guilbert is well aware that procrastination is one of his faults. Prior to the EPT Paris Main Event, YoH posted the following tweet in an attempt to make better use of his time:

A month has passed and nary a tweet has been posted on Guilbert's account following his 24-hour last call. Let's hope his desire to avoid procrastination can someday include his time seated at the poker table.