The Will Kassouf Effect

[blkmoney12]

The Will Kassouf Effect

I think it's pretty safe to say that Will Kassouf is at the very least a polarizing figure in poker for many reasons but mainly his inability to keep his thoughts to himself. In fact, there are some people who flat out despise him due to his history of verbal abuse and taunting. My question is a two-parter.

1) Do you think Will Kassouf and his antics are good or bad for poker?
2) During the Main Event, the TD put a 10-second time clock on him in response to multiple moments of tanking. Given others were using the time clock for long periods of time without penalty, do you think Will Kassouf was targeted unfairly during the wsop 2025 Main Event?

 

[rifflemao]

1. Bad for tournaments, maybe less bad for cash.

2. I think anyone abusing the time-clock should be dealt with according to whatever the WSOP rules are. Seemed like Kassouf was sufficiently warned, and not treated unfairly. He pushed boundaries and got the airtime he wanted I guess.

 

[Zennnyy]

Talk play a part of poker, as long as he's not disturbing other tables, constantly stretching thought time on purpose, harassing players, i say let him talk all he wants, it's good for poker.

I remember the clip of frank calling him annoying etc and i was just like so? hardly anyone uses talking during these events anymore and when you have someone like kassouf it looks disruptive more than it is.

i think his talk game was good, just limit to your opponent, respect the rules and don't take the piss and he's solid.

 

[Propane Goat]

Definitely bad for the game, I would not sign up for a tournament if I knew Kassouf was going to be there because I just don't need to listen to his shit. As far as whether he was targeted, there is a difference between legitimately using a lot of time because you have a tough decision vs. being a "timebank troll" where someone is delaying the game for no reason other than to delay.

 

[moots]

Good for poker. He makes it more enjoyable to watch, but I wouldn't want to be at the same table as him.

 

[David91V]

Bad for poker ... his mouth was a never ending story ... talking no problem but how Will acted omg ... think it was good television 🤪
But to be on the same table or the tables beside... nightmare

 

[dannystanks]

1. Bad for the game definitely. The talking wouldn’t bother me because it’s all part of live play, but the constant tanking of every hand just to piss players off is really pushing the line of angle shooting.
2. He got what he deserved. When you can’t follow the rules of the WSOP and can’t stop arguing with the floor then yeah you get what’s coming to you.

 

[hardongear]

Trash like Kassouf only took about 5 years to ruin the playing experience for the avg decent players at my local casino. Now it's only organized crime, the after 2am drunks on the weekends and the trash like Kassouf left playing. There a decent amount of homes games around that keep the trash out thou so that's good.

You wanna attract more people to poker and get them playing. Kassouf isn't the answer and only a huge net negative. Everyone likes watching a trainwreck....no one likes being in one.

If I was WSOP and making the decision it's an easy life-time ban from all MTT's and a life-time ban from properties of the casino world wide.

Cheers!!!

 

[NKGB13]

well, tbh it was kind of fun on the first 2 or 3 days but then he kept taking it longer and longer to fold a T2o delaying the game on purpose.

OFC organization was seeing that he was not thinking or trying to take a tell from his opponents but delaying for delaying. I don't believe this is any good for the game.

In the other hand, give him a 10s window to act is not fair, even for what he was doing. I like Padilla's logic when they discussed. "I'm giving you 45 senconds and calling the clock".

Well, Will is a professional and play online enough to be used to 45s.

Talk play a part of poker, as long as he's not disturbing other tables, constantly stretching thought time on purpose, harassing players, i say let him talk all he wants, it's good for poker.

I remember the clip of frank calling him annoying etc and i was just like so? hardly anyone uses talking during these events anymore and when you have someone like kassouf it looks disruptive more than it is.

i think his talk game was good, just limit to your opponent, respect the rules and don't take the piss and he's solid.

 

[Emily Trott]

I haven't seen all that much of him, but I have seen people just like him at the poker table and other casino games. From what I've observed he shouldn't be allowed to be disruptive and if he continues after being advised to tone it down, he should be escorted to the door. At the entrance he should be asked to go home and come back when he's cooled off. If when he comes back he does the same things again he should be told very nicely, "We're sorry that you aren't happy with the way we run things here, so we think that you'd probably be much happier playing somewhere else.

I was playing a tourney at Mohegan Sun once and saw a player behaving in a very similar manner to the cowboy in this clip. The only real difference was that he didn't get aggressive and still had his shoes on. He did however ignore the floor person when asked to take his feet off of the chair. He finally relented and put his feet back on the floor so nothing further occurred.

 

[MK_]

I think it's interesting you call it the kassouf effect and not the hellmuth effect, or the tony g effect,

or the airball effect or the kabrehl effect, .... I could go on and on with names of people who do

exactly the same thing and more...., he's annoying, he's not a big name, so he's an easy target,

the problems will continue until all the players who do this stuff are held to the same standard 👍

 

[Shells]

I think it's interesting you call it the kassouf effect and not the hellmuth effect, or the tony g effect,

or the airball effect or the kabrehl effect, .... I could go on and on with names of people who do

exactly the same thing and more...., he's annoying, he's not a big name, so he's an easy target,

the problems will continue until all the players who do this stuff are held to the same standard 👍

This would be in addition to the Phil H, Tony G, Airball, etc effect...Kassouf only seems to be making some kind of headline mostly through the WSOP (seems to be a bit of a habit for him).

We will see if he ever changes his tune or simply disappears from the poker scene.

 

[dannystanks]

I think it's interesting you call it the kassouf effect and not the hellmuth effect, or the tony g effect,

or the airball effect or the kabrehl effect, .... I could go on and on with names of people who do

exactly the same thing and more...., he's annoying, he's not a big name, so he's an easy target,

the problems will continue until all the players who do this stuff are held to the same standard 👍

I truly believe these cry babies made it ok or made it cool to tilt and berate people, then people want to be just like them as if that’s normal behavior at the table.

 

[Fallenglory]

The Will Kassouf Effect

I think it's pretty safe to say that Will Kassouf is at the very least a polarizing figure in poker for many reasons but mainly his inability to keep his thoughts to himself. In fact, there are some people who flat out despise him due to his history of verbal abuse and taunting. My question is a two-parter.

1) Do you think Will Kassouf and his antics are good or bad for poker?
2) During the Main Event, the TD put a 10-second time clock on him in response to multiple moments of tanking. Given others were using the time clock for long periods of time without penalty, do you think Will Kassouf was targeted unfairly during the WSOP 2025 Main Event?

1) I don't like his act, but it brings a lot of attention to poker. In the end I think it's a bad development if this were to become more common in live poker.
2) I think it's fair especially since we could see he was tanking in raised pots with hands like jack - x. I think it was pretty clear he was doing it to end up higher in the tournament, with some succes actually. In a lot of other tournaments you have timecards and you can only tank a limited amount of time. Not a fan of it for the WSOP main though.

 

[najisami]

simply disappears from the poker scene.

I truly hope he does. He's just too annoying.

 

[MK_]

This would be in addition to the Phil H, Tony G, Airball, etc effect...Kassouf only seems to be making some kind of headline mostly through the WSOP (seems to be a bit of a habit for him).

We will see if he ever changes his tune or simply disappears from the poker scene.

Well that's not entirely accurate, he's been making headlines in the poker world for a long time, .... a lot of it controversial and

a lot of it for doing well in various events not just the wsop, he won The EPT & The Irish open, the first time in the wsop he

finished in 17th place, also has various live events, some nice finishes and some controversies... even if he quits poker

this will continue on in the other players who think this is behavior that they can get away with.... and they're right👍

 

[Sunz of Beaches]

Talk play a part of poker, as long as he's not disturbing other tables, constantly stretching thought time on purpose, harassing players, i say let him talk all he wants, it's good for poker.

Well he does exactly that. Did u actually watch some of his play and antics?

No he is definitely not "good for Poker". How should he be? U can argue that he is maybe able to bring in some viewers but that's about it.

 

[mattiebumpo]

I think he is bad for poker, especially those unfortunate enough to be at his table. I think the 10 second time clock was too extreme. A 30 second clock would have been enough. However, when he kept arguing with the floor and Jack Effel, I think they let it go on too long. Once he was told he had a 1 round penalty, I would have told him if he didn't stop arguing and go to the rail, I would count to 3 and then it would be 2 rounds of penalty. If it went beyond that, I would say, I am counting to 3 and you will be disqualified. End of story. After the 1 round penalty, he would be on a 30 second clock for the rest of the tournament. Any subsequent violation (whether tanking or verbally abusing other players) would result in a disqualification.

 

[PokerRetreat]

The turning point for me was when he was busted and the jovial mask slipped. Calling the guy who KO'd him 'pathetic' and belittling the rest of his table. Had he taken it on the chin, made a point of shaking Hallaert's hand and wished everyone the best of luck, this wouldn't have been half the story it became.

 

[Shells]

Well that's not entirely accurate, he's been making headlines in the poker world for a long time, .... a lot of it controversial and

a lot of it for doing well in various events not just the wsop, he won The EPT & The Irish open, the first time in the wsop he

finished in 17th place, also has various live events, some nice finishes and some controversies... even if he quits poker

this will continue on in the other players who think this is behavior that they can get away with.... and they're right👍

Point taken.

I doubt that one episode of controversy will actually encourage Kassouf to quit poker, but it might be nice or even a better experience for everyone if he (and all the others who carry on like him) would cut out the antics and play poker.

 

[Zennnyy]

Well he does exactly that. Did u actually watch some of his play and antics?

No he is definitely not "good for Poker". How should he be? U can argue that he is maybe able to bring in some viewers but that's about it.

Yes i did and good for exposing how good the talking component of poker is extremely valuable to the game within it's limit, Table talk is a dying breed in big games these days, i think him and Martin Kabrhel are great at getting under neath your skin with the chatter, just need to respect the limit's of it, they aren't there to make friends or make you enjoy the game.

I didn't say i liked everything he done, it's created a hot topic over the controversies of his antics, i mean we are in this thread discussing it are we not? I'm sure everyone will want to know how he fairs next year after that departure, I'm secretly hoping for a revenge story, can't think of a time where I've said to myself i can't wait to see how it pans out next year for the WSOP Main, so how's that not good for poker? I can't be the only one wanting to see how that narrative plays out.

 

[rifflemao]

Justice.

 

[sibkaz]

Feeling superior sometimes makes people do things other than that...

 

[Kenzie 96]

Poker is supposedly trying to improve it's image & attract new players, who in hell thinks giving air time to class A ***holes like him is going to lead to increased participation?

Unfairly targeted no.

 

[MK_]

Yes i did and good for exposing how good the talking component of poker is extremely valuable to the game within it's limit, Table talk is a dying breed in big games these days, i think him and Martin Kabrhel are great at getting under neath your skin with the chatter, just need to respect the limit's of it, they aren't there to make friends or make you enjoy the game.

I didn't say i liked everything he done, it's created a hot topic over the controversies of his antics, i mean we are in this thread discussing it are we not? I'm sure everyone will want to know how he fairs next year after that departure, I'm secretly hoping for a revenge story, can't think of a time where I've said to myself i can't wait to see how it pans out next year for the WSOP Main, so how's that not good for poker? I can't be the only one wanting to see how that narrative plays out.

... you're not the only one by a long shot, do you see this many comments on other poker posts, nooooooo you don't😅👍