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Triton Poker may have just solved a long-standing problem in poker after introducing Triton Tempo.
Triton Tempo was officially introduced by Triton Poker tournament director Luca Vivaldi over the weekend at Triton ONE Jeju. Zhao Wenjie won the $8,000 Triton One Main Event for $1,160,000.
Vivaldi describes Triton Tempo as a “fully networked chess clock system, pushing the boundaries of live tournament poker.”
How does Triton Tempo work?
Triton Tempo attempts to be an upgrade from time banks. In the current climate, a player must use a 30-second time bank card if they exceed the allotted time to make a decision, whether by one second or by the full 30 seconds.
Obviously, while better than not having time banks at all, there’s still plenty of room to make the time bank system more fair. This is what Triton’s new ‘chess clock’ aims to do.
Vivaldi explained how Triton Tempo works in a 90-second social media video.
“At Triton, we always try to evolve the game, making the player experience enhanced at every stop.
“Triton Tempo is a fully networked chess clock system pushing the boundaries of live poker tournaments.
“When action is on you, your name, your seat, and your grace time instantly light up for the whole table to see clearly.
“Triton Tempo puts the time management directly into players’ hands. It’s an entirely granular system of time bank. If you need two extra seconds to think about it, you don’t need to waste a 30-second time bank.
“We also reward the early birds and the deep runs. Similarly to the POY system, the earlier you show up, the more points you get – here, the more time bank you get. If you go on a deep run, we’ll add some seconds. Final table, late registration, redraw, we’re going to add seconds.
“Every player’s time bank balance is always visible, either when it’s up to them on these beautiful clocks or on the Triton Poker Plus app at all times. All the players will know if you’re on the clock or if you have time to burn.
“The Triton Tempo network tracks every second of the action. We are collecting data, analysing it, and we further enhance the experience of the players. Maybe even for different formats.
“The evolution of the game is here.”
At Triton Poker Series, the game is always evolving.
The Triton Tempo was introduced to keep the action moving and the pressure high at the table. Watch as Luca Vivaldi walks through the Triton Tempo and how the system keeps players on the clock. pic.twitter.com/v0WzjiSuMN
Daniel Negreanu hails Triton Tempo as a ‘game changer’
GGPoker ambassador, two-time WSOP Player of the Year, and seven-time WSOP bracelet winner, Daniel Negreanu, has been extremely vocal about the topic of time banks.
Negreanu, using his extremely large social media presence, described the chess clock solution as a game-changer.
“I’ve been wanting to see this implemented for a long time, an innovative game changer for poker. Shot clocks help, but chess clocks are a much more fair and equitable system.”
During the 2025 World Series of Poker, Negreanu called out numerous established pros for stalling, including Martin Kahbrel and Will Kassouf. Even someone as huge as Ike Haxton couldn’t be bothered to carry on with a $15,000 pay jump on the line in the WSOP Main Event. Haxton stalled for six minutes but still finished 99th for $70,000, missing out on his extra wad of cash.
In response to a controversial time-related occurrence during the 2025 British Open (golf), Negreanu called for chess clocks to come to poker.
“All sports (and poker) need to have fair rules for all. Using time to stall and suck equity away from others is a black mark on the game, and one day I hope chess clocks become a reality.”
Other poker pros react to Triton Tempo
Triton’s all-time winningest player, Jason Koon, said, “This is really cool,” while Rob Yong, Jeremy Ausmus, and Mario Mosböck also gave their approvals.
Mustapha Kanit was in Jeju for Triton ONE and said, “Honestly, this week was amazing! Insane improvement!”
It doesn’t appear that any professional poker players have said a single negative thing about Triton Tempo thus far, an extreme rarity in the polarized world of poker.
