Kassouf did all\nthis using the technique he likes to call “speech play” which could\nbest be defined as an extreme version of your standard table talk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
If he gets\ninvolved in a hand, you can pretty much be sure that Kassouf will talk all the\nway to its conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the poker community has seen its fair share of trash talkers<\/a> in the likes of Mike \u201cThe Mouth\u201d Matusow<\/a> or Daniel Negreanu, Kassouf is next level. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His unorthodox\napproach to the speech play strategy has made him a celebrity of sorts in poker\ncircles, and it divided the community into two camps: Will Kassouf supporters\nand those who believe he shouldn\u2019t be allowed to do what he does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Will Kassouf\nsaga started during the 2016 Main Event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The UK lawyer turned\npoker pro had been running well during earlier levels and made it deep into the\ntournament, so TV crews quickly picked up on his presence \u2013 not that he was\neasy to miss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Brit was\njust one of many players making a deep run in that year\u2019s Main Event, but by\nthat time, almost every other player in the field had heard about him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He was the\nannoying guy who just wouldn\u2019t shut up. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone who got\nto share the table with Kassouf would quickly find out – they weren\u2019t just\nrumors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every single\ntime he was involved in a hand, he\u2019d start his speech play routine, and he was\nrelentless. Whether there was a response from the opponent or not, he just\nwouldn’t stop talking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Some found it\nfunny and entertaining, but for others, Kassouf was bending the rules a bit too\nmuch and was coming very close to breaking them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One particular\nhand that made Kassouf famous was against Stacy Matuson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Having reached\nthe river and missing on his slim draw, Kassouf forced the issue and pushed\nall-in, putting Matuson at a decision for her entire stack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Matuson was holding pocket queens<\/a>, an over-pair to the board, so she had a lot to think about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t\nlike Will to let her do that in peace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Stacy was\ntrying to think, he was going on and on, taunting her, telling her he wanted\nher to call, then suggesting she should fold so she doesn\u2019t embarrass herself\nin front of the cameras, and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What he was\nsaying didn\u2019t make much sense but his continuous talking was clearly making it\nvery hard to focus on the decision at hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Eventually, the\nfloor was called to intervene, and he told Will he had to stop talking, which\nhe did, to some extent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After he could\nno longer talk with his mouth, Kassouf continued his speech play using his hands\nto continue the ruse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Visibly\nfrustrated, after some five minutes, Matuson finally sent her queens into the\nmuck, after which the Brit proudly turned over his bluff, slammed the cards on\nthe table, and announced:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNine high \u2013\nlike a boss!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Over the years, the\nexpression has become a part of poker subculture, showing that his performance\nreally caught the attention of players and fans worldwide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And despite the\nfact he was given a one-round penalty after the hand with Matuson, Kassouf\nrefused to give up on his strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While floors\ncould intervene in some extreme situations, the fact was that his speech play\nwasn\u2019t against the rules. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Table talk has\nalways been allowed as long as it\u2019s not offensive and doesn\u2019t break specific\nrules, such as talking about your particular hand, which he never did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kassouf was\nbending the rules for sure, but he wasn\u2019t breaking them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n At the same\ntime, his speech play was working, as he was able to get players to do what he\nwanted, accumulating chips in the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the hand\nagainst Matuson gave Kassouf some exposure and notoriety, it was another hand\nthat made his name explode in the poker media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This one he\nplayed against Griffin Benger, a Canadian pro, and it took place with just two\ntables remaining in the Main Event, with big money looming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is where\nthings got really heated, and the fact that hand was a massive cooler that went\nBenger\u2019s way only helped fuel the controversy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pair got\ninvolved in a huge pot, which wasn\u2019t surprising given that Kassouf was holding\npocket kings, and Benger found pocket aces in the hole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n After 3-betting Benger\u2019s\nopen, Kassouf was waiting for the Canadian’s decision, and, as per usual, he\nstarted his speech play routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By this point in\nthe tournament, everyone knew the spiel: \u201cHow many miles from here to Hollywood?\u201d\nand all that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As he kept\ntalking and Benger refused to answer, you could feel the tension in the air as\nboth players were sitting on monster hands and could probably imagine\nthemselves sitting on a pile of chips and riding them all the way to the\nvictory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But out of the\nblue, Benger snapped, and he went after Kassouf, calling his behavior \u201crude\u201d\nand \u201cabusive\u201d, suggesting he should \u201ccheck his privilege\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was probably the most controversial moment<\/a> of the entire Main Event and although some people said that Benger went too far with his comments, at the time, it seemed like every other player at the table was with him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Everyone had\ngrown tired of the speech play routine, which was not just annoying but also extremely\nrepetitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Of course, the\nBrit wasn’t too upset about it, as his whole plan was throw his opponents off –\nand it was clearly working. <\/p>\n\n\n\n But when the\ninevitable happened and all chips ended in the middle, he could hardly keep his\nspirits up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He tried his\nbest, but Kassouf\u2019s face was that of a man who saw his dreams crumble before\nhis eyes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n As no magical\nking appeared on the flop, turn, or river, he was sent to the rail, and almost\neveryone in the room seemed thrilled about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite busting\nbefore the final table, Kassouf pocketed over $300,000, which was the biggest\ncash win of his career up to that point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, he\nmade a name for himself during the tournament by accident or not, and his\nreputation outlasted his Main Event appearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Kassouf\u2019s\ncontroversial style of play is pretty much his trademark and something he does\nwhenever he plays, regardless of the buy-in or the money on the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the Main\nEvent putting him on the map, Kassouf was invited to other poker shows, and he\nalso became one of the media favorites during bigger events. <\/p>\n\n\n\n No matter where\nhe played, his table manners were the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some of the\ninterviews, he even explained that this was how he learned to play poker and\nthat speech play was always part of his game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He saw nothing\nwrong with it and even stated that it made the game more entertaining to watch\ncompared to motionless players wearing hoodies and headphones \u2013 and we can’t\nreally argue with that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were some\nheated arguments on Twitter and poker forums about whether what he was doing\nwas okay and if it should be allowed, and it divided the poker world to some\nextent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n It was really\ninteresting to see how an unknown player could create so much stir and ruffle\nthe feathers of hardcore professionals who have seen it all over the years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kassouf didn\u2019t\nwin the Main Event that year, but I think it\u2019s fair to say he got much more\nmedia attention than the winner himself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Poker or no\npoker, people seem to care much more about controversy and emotions than they\ndo about chips and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whether it was Kassouf\u2019s\nstrategy that helped him make a deep run in the Main Event is up for debate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, one\nthing is certain – his performance and the controversy surrounding it made him\nsomewhat of a celebrity and created new opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2017, he was signed as an ambassador for the popular Grosvenor Casino<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n His clear love\nfor the game and unorthodox approach has made him a perfect choice for the\nvenue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately,\nhis deal with Grosvenor was somewhat short-lived, and it ended because of a\ndifferent controversy that had nothing to do with poker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One night in 2018, Kassouf went out with a group of friends to play some roulette<\/a> at a casino. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Shortly after,\naccusations started to appear on Twitter and 2+2 forum that the Brit was caught\n‘palming’ $100 chips from the table while his friend wasn’t watching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The claims were\nfirst spread by Shaun Deeb but as the two didn\u2019t have the friendliest of\nrelationships, people took them with a grain of salt.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Makings Of Will Kassouf: Taking Speech Play To A New\nLevel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/will_Kassouf.jpg\")
Kassouf And Benger Go To War<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A Trademark \u2018Strategy\u2019<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Will](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/will_Kassouf2.jpg\")
Will Kassouf Goes Rogue: The Roulette Incident<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n