Thoughts on William Kassouf in Main Event

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ticotexas

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what do you think about Kassouf's behavior early in the main event broadcast? at first, i found him to be entertaining. but then later i thought he was "too much," and crossing the line.
 
87shorts

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I think hes an idiot and he should have gotten a bigger penalty than 1 orbit for baiting matuson. that was embarrassing to watch.
 
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smilekg

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I think he was playing unfair, but this is poker and it's not restricted. And when he got penalty, it was a good desicion of manager, I would give him couple more rounds of penalty. But on the other hand, his behavior gives clear tells of bluffing and I think he was very nervous
 
KUN_AGUERO_KROOS

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Poker is a mind game and the goal is to induce the other players to make a bad play by either calling with worse or folding the best hand.

Speech play should be allowed.
 
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Cardkillerz

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I think it whas oke. Maybe a bit much after the warning. But i like characters like that. Even when im personally facing people like him. Now its all online players that dont talk a single word.
 
champyun

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I, personally, think he's a douche', however, it's part of the game. There need to be limits on talk during a hand, especially, when your opponent's tournament life is on the line. When the floor tells you something and you continue to ignore it, you should receive 2-3 rounds of rail time, while also being told that if it continues, you'll be DQ'd.

The guy calling the clock was a douche' as well.
 
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Rodrigo sampaio

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talks a lot

HE just unbearable. I THINK SHOULD BE DISQUALIFIED
many times he clearly encouraged the player to make a bad decision or even leave the nervous player, it makes the person ends up acting differently to this plan, I believe that this could not be allowed, he talks a lot
 
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Matsyendra

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He is a master of throwing people off their game and making them play poorly. He would tilt the hell out of me if he was at my table. He's entertaining to watch though.
 
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Knightdyce

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I think it should be allowed, just cause he is good at throwing people off he should not get penalty for that, in the setting u want to get out last and make money and they best way to do that is improve ur game play or throw others off so they are not better than you, I might be little off the top, but the players should learn to keep their cool. how u gonna play strip poker - wink
 
jsteppps

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um i'm one for speechplay - i believe it is indeed a part of the game - however, kassouf was repeatedly told to stop talking and gesturing. Personally i felt the officials were too lenient on him but how in the heck it didnt cross the poor lady's mind that he seemed super weak is beyond me.:confused:
 
Shumkoolie

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I disagree with most of what was said on here. Generally speaking, poker on TV was starting to become borderline unwatchable. It was getting to the point where all you saw was people sitting mute in their seats, desperate not to give away any tells, playing robotic, etc. I think Kassouf is great for TV, and his speechplay, while it probably gets to be a bit much if you were to sit at a table with him, is fine. He's not being rude/insulting to his opponents. You, as a player, always have a choice to engage with him or not. It's about making the correct decision in whatever situation you are facing.

It's like Norman Chad said - he's Jamie Gold 2.0. What I'll add though is that Gold was obnoxious in his table talk.

What Kassouf was doing that was getting to be ridiculous was his excessive tanking. If there's something that's going to hurt the game, it's that, and funny, I don't see people making a big deal out of that. If anything, THAT is what is hurting poker far more than anything else. People taking 30-60 seconds to fold 73 off, or if they enter a hand, taking that much time on every street.

That was mentioned on a recent edition of the Tournament Poker Edge Podcast, with guest Chris Kusha, who ran very deep in the Main Event. He talks about excessive tanking, and that people are calling clock on other players way more than ever. That's one podcast that is a great listen. Norman Chad repeatedly was putting players on blast during the Main Event coverage this year, and in past years.

William Kassouf's speechplay is good for poker. For too long, poker was starting to become the "anti-social" game where nobody was talking at the table. It's supposed to be a game where people can converse, and have a good time, while still competing for whatever it is they are competing for.

Excessive tanking, however, is going to ruin live poker.

Anybody remember the amount of time Jesse Sylvia took to tank over every decision? It was the 2012 Main Event Final Table and he took a lot of heat over that. It has only got worse since then.
 
Erpherk

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i think he is a hilarious character but hated by most, i like his speech's but i wouldn't be able to stand him if i was at a table with him all day. is good to have variety of characters in the Main Event for entertainment value, gives everyone someone to root against.
 
KUN_AGUERO_KROOS

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I like his speech play but talking crap when a player is all in as an underdog is just wrong. Let the dealer do his job and stfu.
 
smallfrie

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Some people just love to control what others say. I think he should be able to say whatever he wants.
 
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Nbrooks985

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Regardless of his behavior, he paid 10k to play just as everybody else did and has the right as a human to open his mouth and speak, regardless of how ignorant he may sound. With that being said I think the penalty was definitely warranted in my opinion. 9 high like a boss was funny though!
 
Shumkoolie

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What about excessive tanking? That's FAR worse for poker than a guy who talks as much as he does. Why aren't people talking about that?

Even on Facebook, it seems people are putting way too much stock on this particular issue. It's so misguided.

Norman Chad is bang on.....excessive tanking is FAR worse than somebody who's talking incessantly.
 
champyun

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Excessive tanking is definitely killing the game. Like Doyle Brunson said, "If you have to think about your hand that long, there's something wrong."
 
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donkcentralFF

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Eventually a clock will be implemented for live tourneys.. Also I think Kassouf is great for game and provides great entertainment.
 
okthishard

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the tanking every hand is bad

the rest is funny
 
Shumkoolie

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Check out the blog post I just wrote about him and other jerks from recent WSOP Main Events.

I read your blog, and you do bring up some interesting points, but where I do have some constructive criticism is that you are implicitly doing an apples to apples to apples comparison of William Kassouf, Justin Schwartz, and Curtis Rystadt.

Kassouf - From all appearances on TV, comes off as a friendly chap, one that while he talks a lot (maybe sometimes too much - after giving it some thought, I concede that maybe he does cross the line), he's not being malicious or mean to the players at the table.

Schwartz - He's the anti-Kassouf. He's a brooding, negative presence at the table that demonstrates a lack of social skills. Yes, his issues have been well documented and we all hope that he can stay clean, and be successful at the tables and in life, but he explicitly got involved with trying to influence action when he wasn't in a hand.

Rystadt - He's an interesting one. I think he's really just a hot air balloon that, when he got on TV, he played up to the cameras. Of course, I could be dead wrong, and people that have played with him in the Main Event, or other tournaments can tell me I'm full of crap. He strikes me as the kind of guy that wants to build himself up as some kind of underdog that when he sees somebody that he KNOWS is in his way, he'll go out of his way to try and knock that person down off his/her perch. Kyle Keranen was just simply playing his game and winning lots of pots, many uncontested. Rystadt was doing anything and everything to try and throw him off his game. He might have ultimately been successful, but when Keranen flopped the nuts on him, he let his single-minded focus of knocking off the bully affect his decision making and ultimately bust out of the tournament, though two pair is usually good in Hold'em.
To me, he comes off as friendly enough when you first encounter him. But he's the kind of guy that can go from friendly and affable to mean and agitating. It's like he's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I suppose the commonality here is that they may come off as annoying, but not all "annoying" people are annoying to the same levels as each other.

I think what also hurts poker is the exact opposite - a bunch of players sitting at a table, headphones on, hoodies up, sunglasses on, looking "down" on the "fish" or the "recreational players" because they don't play a certain way. In a way, it's good to have a "dose" of Kassouf, Schwartz, and Rystadt at the table (not as much as they're willing to give perhaps).

Norman Chad's position is that people who talk are good "up to a point" and I agree. To suggest that they're 100% bad for the game is inaccurate. Here are things that are 100% bad for poker.

1. Excessive tanking (if it's an important spot where it's a big pot and may affect your tournament, that's one thing). I'm talking about taking 30 seconds for every single decision every single time.
2. People who "tap the glass". Shaun Deeb gave me that impression when the cameras were on him. He's a top flight professional, but throws in snide remarks every so often.
3. "Lack of talking" - Poker's a social game. Sure, maybe when you're playing for millions of dollars, you might want to avoid letting off tells, but people who seemingly cover themselves up don't help sell the game to new players.

Just some thoughts on your blog. It's well written, and for those who haven't read it yet, I suggest you do so.

FWIW - My impressions of Kassouf have varied as I've watched him play, and from reading what others have said. In the end, I'd rather have somebody like him at the table instead of somebody who only says things like "GTO, polarizing his range, 3 bet light" or looks down on others he/she perceives aren't as good as they are.
 
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Loud, obnoxious,aggravating(at times), but all in all a fairly strong player. If he can get under your skin, he will simply stay there.
 
fiveohtwo502

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Its ok and all but he takes up wayyyyyy too much time. When I saw him call clock on someone I was shocked that would even be an option for him at this point. Pretty fun to see people interacting a little though...
 
Shumkoolie

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FWIW - My impressions of Kassouf have varied as I've watched him play, and from reading what others have said. In the end, I'd rather have somebody like him at the table instead of somebody who only says things like "GTO, polarizing his range, 3 bet light" or looks down on others he/she perceives aren't as good as they are.

I've now seen all 8 episodes of the Main Event coverage, and have listened to an interview with Shaun Deeb on the 2+2 Pokercast, and I've gone from thinking I'd rather have him at the table than somebody who says "GTO, polarizing his range, etc." to being not really good for the game. The one thing I think I underestimated is that for many people (I would be one of these people), playing in the Main Event is a once in a lifetime opportunity. How would you like that to be affected by somebody like William Kassouf? He would likely negative affect most peoples' experience at the Main Event and clearly the players at his table didn't appear to love his antics.

If he talked in smaller doses, it would be fine because really, he's not being malicious. I think Norman Chad has it might when he said he's good.....up to a point. Terrance and Adam on the 2p2 Pokercast first thought that he was fine, but Terrance, most notably, seems to see Shaun's side of the argument.

He's definitely polarizing though, no doubt about it.
 
Propane Goat

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I think Kassouf knows exactly what he's doing and why and it is definitely working in his favor. I do think he's pushing it way too far at times with respect to etiquette, especially when he's in the hand and it's not his turn to act, but as far as keeping people off balance it's definitely worked on some of his opponents. What I would liked to have seen is another player start doing the same thing to him, although with this much at stake it's probably too risky to try and play in a style you're not accustomed to.

If you're not feeling strong mentally and are already fighting frustration from earlier bad beats, then listening to Kassouf's constant verbal diarrhea is definitely going to make things much worse, especially if it's the same 5 lines that he's been repeating for hours on end. Would I want to be at the same table? No.

There is a reason a motormouth gets put on the feature table every year, it's all about the show and I'll bet that the producers of WSOP are probably even more upset about Kassouf not making the November Nine than Kassouf himself. They're never going to have a feature table with 9 statues wearing hoodies and sunglasses, and never saying a single word.
 
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