ew2484:
What is the point of putting the player "on the clock" if there is no penalty? When a player is "put on the clock" it is the TD's responsibility to inform the player as to how the process works, ie., "I will time you for one minute, at the end of that minute, I will begin a countdown from 10 down to 1. If you have not acted by the time I speak the number 1, you hand will be dead".
Chet
I agree with Chet that explaining to players what will happen when the clock runs out is one of the best preventative measures that you can take to avoid problems at the end of the countdown. People get confused as to whether their hand will be dead at the count of "1" or at what would be the count of "0" or after the count of zero is made and then dead hand is announced, etc.
My approach now is "Ten, Nine, Eight ......, Two, One, Your Hand is Dead". That is, the hand would be dead at what would have been the count of zero, replaced with the Dead Hand declaration. I know that some other rules may explicitly state that the hand is dead on the count of 1, but I believe that really runs counter-intuitive to the concept of a countdown. We don't say, "Ten, Nine, Eight, Seven..., Three, Two, Happy New Year!" lol
