This is my review of the DBDealer button with built in tournament clock.
This review has also been posted in our
reviews section.
I came across this product a few weeks ago whilst looking for a good poker blind clock for home games i attend. Plus i was keen on giving it out as a prize every now and then at THF so i decided to buy a few to see what they're like.
So what is it?
The DBDealer button is a dealer button with a built in clock. Its a very nifty idea - everyone passes around the button anyways so they can always have a quick look to see how much time is left in the current round of blinds.
The official website of the product can be found at
http://www.dbdealer.com
Here is what the website promised
• Large LCD display with 1/2" tall digits
• Tamper proof design
• One minute warning
• Pause and restart timer
• Auto shut-off
• Battery included
• Packaging designed to fit in chip case card slot
• Blind time at your finger tips
• Lifetime warranty
• Satisfaction guaranteed
I contacted dbdealer to order the product. As you all know, im from the UK and the order form on the website is only for american and canadian customers and havent got the payment system set up for the UK etc yet so i paid via paypal. The button sells for $24.90 ($19.95+$4.95 packaging) for USA/Canada customers. The packaging costs are reduced with the more buttons you order (pretty standard really
)
The owner Jeff Klein got back to me within an hour (it helped that my sleeping habits are crazy and are more in tune with the usa clocks!). He stated that "One DB Dealer with shipping costs $29.95 to ship to the UK, two would be $42.95, and three would be $54.95" - so i decided to buy 3. I'm gonna keep one myself and give one to my local poker club to try out to see if they like it.
Anyways, i placed the order on late 22nd February 2006. He emailed me back directly saying that he would ship first thing in the morning. The package arrived early on March 2nd. One week for an order to be sent from the USA to the UK is pretty good in my opinion. I order from the US a lot (ebay, games etc) and most items take a few weeks so i was very pleased in this respect (and with the initial support).
Ive taken some pics and vids for this review. The battery for my sony t7 5 mp camera is dead so i just used the 2 mega pixel camera on my ericsson w900i. They quality isnt as good as a 5 mega pixel camera but they should do. If anyone wants a better video let me know and ill get off my ass and charge my camera battery - lol
My initial impression from the website was that the button was gonna be huge. Its actually pretty small and very light and just a little bigger than the usual dealer button size...i actually prefer that its a little bigger as i always seem to have to remind people to move the damn button on!
The button comes in a box which is identical in every dimension to a standard set of playing cards. Height, width and depth. As you can see from the pic - the button is a good size.
The button has 3 buttons
*
Start/Pause - Starts and pauses the timer.
*
Set - This button increments the blinds in 5 minute intervals. It goes up from 0,5,10,15 all the way up to 95 minutes
*
Reset - You need to hold this button for a few seconds to reset the timer
Its incredibly easy to use. The time will beep a minute before the blinds are due to go up and will then beep continously until you stop it when the blinds are due to go up. You then set the timer again.
ie. if you want a crapshoot and set it at 10 minute blinds then it will tick down from 10 minutes, beeps twice at 1 minute and then beeps continuously when the timer reaches 0 - at which point you would start the blinds again. When you do press the start/pause button at this time the timer will go back to the blind level you set it at (in this example 10 minutes) and one more press of the start button will start it again. This is a good system as it allows you to just leave it alone if the game has finished or the blinds have been capped.
Ive taken some videos of me playing with the button. It shows how you set and reset the timer etc. One thing i would point out about these videos is that it doesnt pick up the beeper sound of the button. The sound on my phone taking videos is pretty bad - the only noise you will hear will be my fingers. Bear this in mind. I can assure you that the beeper is loud - not annoyingly loud but loud enough for everyone to hear it go off when the blinds go off.
You can see at the back of the button in these videos where the watch style battery can be replaced
Video One, 6.34mb :
Setting and Resetting the Button Video Two, 3.66mb :
Times Up
You'll notice that there isn't an off button. This isnt a problem since the timer will shut off automatically if it hasnt been used for 2 hours.
Overall, i have been very impressed with the button. It's very easy to use, fairly cheap and saves a lot of hassle worrying about when the blinds are going up.
The only gripe anyone could have is that its fairly easy to reset the thing. This isnt a design flaw in itself but just make sure you dont have any a'holes at your table who want to mess with the buttons and reset the timer (hopefully you wont have any people like this at your table anyways!
)
If anyone has any questions or wants more comparison pics/vids let me know.
Review of the DBDealer.com Dealer Button with Built in Tournament Blind Timer 
vn 
"Only On Pokerstars Gotta Luv It!!!!" 
