Vegas & The Aftermath - Diary

[tikay]

I'm not particularly for or against Will Kassouf generally, we exchange the usual pleasantries when we cross paths, & I don't dislike him, but I think I'd rather stick needles in my eyes than endure sharing a poker table with him for hours on end.

The jury remains out on whether he is "good for poker", but I'd bet good money that John Hesp has been better for poker in the UK than Mr Kassouf. There IS a "Hesp Effect", & it's positive. I'd need a lot of convincing that Will Kassouf has been genuinely "good for poker".  

Meanwhile, feel free to enjoy - or not - this 8 minute hand which should have taken 30 seconds.


As an out and out fun player I would rather chew my own head than spend one second of my life with that tool.

I'm ambivalent about Will. I know him quite well; we're not drinking or playing buddies, but I got to know him over a long weekend in Gibraltar when we were there for the SuperStack comp. He's certainly not got an inflated ego, I just think he's lost sensitivity of where "banter" becomes mocking. If I recall correctly, one of the hands on his 2016 WSOP journey involved flopping set over set against a very quiet, humble Chinese (?) gentleman and rather than show some respect he kept chirping all the way to the river. I found that a painful watch. In the same way, he continues what he calls "banter" in the face of an opponent who is clearly not happy and struggling to not grab WK by the throat.

Despite all this, I honestly feel that he's a decent guy, and would no doubt extend a helping hand whenever asked. Good for the game? It depends on the definition, really. If it simply means bringing more people into the game and raising interest in it from outside the game's natural boundaries then I guess it's a yes. Is Hesp a far nicer person/a than WK? Definitely. All IMO of course.

It's the mocking that is the problem. Nobody wants to be mocked on a poker table (or a forum for that matter) so they just abstain eventually. And that is why Hesp is a zillion times better for poker & the poker ecology than Will.

Will is not a bad bloke, no, I agree, he's fine. Very good player, too. But he is one of those types who gets his kicks from belittling others, which is an awful trait to have. Belittling & mocking others means more to him than winning. If he could sort that, he'd be fine, & probably good for the game.

IMO, obv.

Steve Swift's reply got lost in all those quotes.

He wrote;


As an out and out fun player I would rather chew my own head than spend one second of my life with that tool.

[tikay]

One thing about him is he hasn't changed in the slightest in the 9 years since i first played with him.  Fair play to him for that.  He used to never fold 29off in 2008.  I have seen him bust out of a live MTT 5 bet shoving 29 off because he never folds it.  He used to say '9 high like a boss' back then when he won with it.  This isn't some act for TV.  He has just always been like this.  He still uses all the same verbal 'material' he did back then.  The only thing he really needs to do to reinvent himself is some new material speech wise as he has been using the current stuff nonstop for ten years.

Hesp is definitely 100 times better for the game than Will.  Hesp will bring way more long term losers into the game than Will, who will appeal to the kids and nerds more who could become good at the game.

He is a terrible blackjack player as well.  Literally clueless about how to play.

Can take or leave Will.. not a fanboy like some..always say hi to him and.. Having played with him often he used to rile me something rotten but just stick my earbuds in now and let it all wash over my head.. I think his most annoying trait is to play every single box of a blackjack table for £5..thats just being a dick

Hi Spangles,

So it does not bother you that he eats up the clock un-necessarily every time he plays a hand? To my mind, that's just plain selfish.

[tikay]

If you fancy watching maybe the best made "Celebrity documentary/biography" ever, take a look (a 100 minute look, I might add) at "Can I Be Me?", the story of Whitney Houston's life & death which aired on BBC Four over the weekend.


It's on the BBC I-player here;


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b094f49s/whitney-can-i-be-me


Utterly captivating TV. Never mind if you liked or disliked Whitney, this is a great, great piece of TV.

It ends in tears, of course, when Whitney drowns in a bathtub due to over indulging in cocaine. Almost beyond belief, her 22 year old daughter died in identical circumstances just 3 years later.

I can think of far worse ways to spend 100 minutes, though fair to say it's all dreadfully sad.

Click to see full-size image.

[Mohican]

Just seen two fabulous photos on the BBC News website;

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

They are not as nice on the inside,especially when you spent two days flying to get to Croatia in one.

[the sicilian]

One thing about him is he hasn't changed in the slightest in the 9 years since i first played with him.  Fair play to him for that.  He used to never fold 29off in 2008.  I have seen him bust out of a live MTT 5 bet shoving 29 off because he never folds it.  He used to say '9 high like a boss' back then when he won with it.  This isn't some act for TV.  He has just always been like this.  He still uses all the same verbal 'material' he did back then.  The only thing he really needs to do to reinvent himself is some new material speech wise as he has been using the current stuff nonstop for ten years.

Hesp is definitely 100 times better for the game than Will.  Hesp will bring way more long term losers into the game than Will, who will appeal to the kids and nerds more who could become good at the game.

He is a terrible blackjack player as well.  Literally clueless about how to play.

Can take or leave Will.. not a fanboy like some..always say hi to him and.. Having played with him often he used to rile me something rotten but just stick my earbuds in now and let it all wash over my head.. I think his most annoying trait is to play every single box of a blackjack table for £5..thats just being a dick

Hi Spangles,

So it does not bother you that he eats up the clock un-necessarily every time he plays a hand? To my mind, that's just plain selfish.

Hey Ho Boss ! hope you are feeling well... yes ofc forgot that.. every flipping hand.. same spiel same 2 mins to fold ...

[Marky147]

One thing about him is he hasn't changed in the slightest in the 9 years since i first played with him.  Fair play to him for that.  He used to never fold 29off in 2008.  I have seen him bust out of a live MTT 5 bet shoving 29 off because he never folds it.  He used to say '9 high like a boss' back then when he won with it.  This isn't some act for TV.  He has just always been like this.  He still uses all the same verbal 'material' he did back then.  The only thing he really needs to do to reinvent himself is some new material speech wise as he has been using the current stuff nonstop for ten years.

Hesp is definitely 100 times better for the game than Will.  Hesp will bring way more long term losers into the game than Will, who will appeal to the kids and nerds more who could become good at the game.

He is a terrible blackjack player as well.  Literally clueless about how to play.

Can take or leave Will.. not a fanboy like some..always say hi to him and.. Having played with him often he used to rile me something rotten but just stick my earbuds in now and let it all wash over my head.. I think his most annoying trait is to play every single box of a blackjack table for £5..thats just being a dick

Hi Spangles,

So it does not bother you that he eats up the clock un-necessarily every time he plays a hand? To my mind, that's just plain selfish.

Hey Ho Boss ! hope you are feeling well... yes ofc forgot that.. every flipping hand.. same spiel same 2 mins to fold ...

He's definitely one of the 1%ers for me, in that I'd have my headphones out, too.

If he were giving it the dwell ups, I'd TOFTT, and tell him to stop being a *****

[Woodsey]

Just seen two fabulous photos on the BBC News website;

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

One of those flew over my house the other day, heard it coming from about 30 secs away when I was inside with the doors and windows shut.

[celtic]

One thing about him is he hasn't changed in the slightest in the 9 years since i first played with him.  Fair play to him for that.  He used to never fold 29off in 2008.  I have seen him bust out of a live MTT 5 bet shoving 29 off because he never folds it.  He used to say '9 high like a boss' back then when he won with it.  This isn't some act for TV.  He has just always been like this.  He still uses all the same verbal 'material' he did back then.  The only thing he really needs to do to reinvent himself is some new material speech wise as he has been using the current stuff nonstop for ten years.

Hesp is definitely 100 times better for the game than Will.  Hesp will bring way more long term losers into the game than Will, who will appeal to the kids and nerds more who could become good at the game.

He is a terrible blackjack player as well.  Literally clueless about how to play.

Can take or leave Will.. not a fanboy like some..always say hi to him and.. Having played with him often he used to rile me something rotten but just stick my earbuds in now and let it all wash over my head.. I think his most annoying trait is to play every single box of a blackjack table for £5..thats just being a dick

Hi Spangles,

So it does not bother you that he eats up the clock un-necessarily every time he plays a hand? To my mind, that's just plain selfish.

Hey Ho Boss ! hope you are feeling well... yes ofc forgot that.. every flipping hand.. same spiel same 2 mins to fold ...

Why does the way he plays blackjack mean that's him being a dick?

As for will, he is a nice guy. First time I met him was at a cash game at the vic about 8 years ago. Was going through all his chat and generally just being Will. He was irritating right up to the Point where I realised it was only me and him that were decent winners in the game because the others were too tilted to play. Being at a table with him can be good if you use it the right way. Phil k4suited said something about he hasn't got An inflated ego. I couldn't disagree more. His constant spamming of social media, a lot of the time it's the same thing shared multiple times, and whenever I've seen him on a stream or more noticeably on PAD he spent a large majority of the time on his phone checking social media. It doesn't seem quite right.

[Jon MW]

Just seen two fabulous photos on the BBC News website;

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

One of those flew over my house the other day, heard it coming from about 30 secs away when I was inside with the doors and windows shut.

They fairly often fly over my workplace; we spend a lot of time trying to get a good photo of them. Never really succeeded.

[the sicilian]

One thing about him is he hasn't changed in the slightest in the 9 years since i first played with him.  Fair play to him for that.  He used to never fold 29off in 2008.  I have seen him bust out of a live MTT 5 bet shoving 29 off because he never folds it.  He used to say '9 high like a boss' back then when he won with it.  This isn't some act for TV.  He has just always been like this.  He still uses all the same verbal 'material' he did back then.  The only thing he really needs to do to reinvent himself is some new material speech wise as he has been using the current stuff nonstop for ten years.

Hesp is definitely 100 times better for the game than Will.  Hesp will bring way more long term losers into the game than Will, who will appeal to the kids and nerds more who could become good at the game.

He is a terrible blackjack player as well.  Literally clueless about how to play.

Can take or leave Will.. not a fanboy like some..always say hi to him and.. Having played with him often he used to rile me something rotten but just stick my earbuds in now and let it all wash over my head.. I think his most annoying trait is to play every single box of a blackjack table for £5..thats just being a dick

Hi Spangles,

So it does not bother you that he eats up the clock un-necessarily every time he plays a hand? To my mind, that's just plain selfish.

Hey Ho Boss ! hope you are feeling well... yes ofc forgot that.. every flipping hand.. same spiel same 2 mins to fold ...

Why does the way he plays blackjack mean that's him being a dick?

As for will, he is a nice guy. First time I met him was at a cash game at the vic about 8 years ago. Was going through all his chat and generally just being Will. He was irritating right up to the Point where I realised it was only me and him that were decent winners in the game because the others were too tilted to play. Being at a table with him can be good if you use it the right way. Phil k4suited said something about he hasn't got An inflated ego. I couldn't disagree more. His constant spamming of social media, a lot of the time it's the same thing shared multiple times, and whenever I've seen him on a stream or more noticeably on PAD he spent a large majority of the time on his phone checking social media. It doesn't seem quite right.

not the way he plays but if you take up every box on a blackjack table for the minimum so other people cant play.. trust me ur being a dick..

Also must be have been a shock to be a winning player at a table

[the sicilian]

Just seen two fabulous photos on the BBC News website;

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

One of those flew over my house the other day, heard it coming from about 30 secs away when I was inside with the doors and windows shut.

They fairly often fly over my workplace; we spend a lot of time trying to get a good photo of them. Never really succeeded.

my office must be on some kind of flight path have often had a fleet of 3 or 4 come over together.. that deep thrumming sound they make does send a chill !

[AndrewT]

Some trainspottery type went down to a level crossing to catch a glimpse of the Flying Scotsman as it went past, but things didn't work out so well for him as instead he experienced a train eclipse.

http://digg.com/video/flying-scotsman-miss

[Longines]

Sorry for delayed reply Grant, my cba-ness knows no bounds though it is improving slightly.

You seem to have coped with it very well. Yours was far worse than mine, & you are only 3 months in. I'm coming up to 6 months & I'm still moaning & groaning, & generally feeling shite & doing a good imitation of being Mr Grumpy.  

Keep it up mate, full recovery is the target.

How has it changed your life & lifestyle? Different diet, taking plenty of exercise?

PS - enjoy your holiday. Where did you go?

I don't think it's made a huge change to my life, I feel pretty much the same as I did beforehand. My youngest son and wife are the food police now, no takeaways, no cream buns, no crisps, no fizzy pop. That last one is massive, as someone who can't stand the taste or smell of coffee or tea I used to drink roughly two litres of Pepsi Max a day. When I came out of hospital I had proper withdrawal symptoms - headaches, cravings etc. - took a good six to eight weeks to get over it. I now drink one to two litres of sparkling water a day....

We went to Portugal, about an hour north of Lisbon in a secluded villa with my sister-in-law's family and we had a fantastic time mostly relaxing by the pool. We did a day trip to Lisbon:

Click to see full-size image.

Before we went I didn't know that Lisbon has trams dating from the 1930s. We tried to get on the number 28 which is supposed to take you up to the castle but somehow managed to end up on the wrong one and found ourselves in the arse end of the city - Uber to the rescue....

Click to see full-size image.

Another day trip was to Fatima which was about 30 miles away. I knew very little about it before we went, just that some children had claimed to have seen a vision of Mary and they had built a shrine there. The sat nav took us to a carpark right next to the church where two of the children are buried. We went inside and it's a nice church, not small by any means but not a St Pauls or Westminster Abbey in scale:

Click to see full-size image.

Then you walk out of the back of the church and I was blown away - there is a man-made standing area for half a million people. Photos can never do it justice but I was standing there with my jaw on the floor. It's indescribably huge, like something from a Bond villain's lair in scale:

Click to see full-size image.

At the other end of the standing area is a 'church' where I assume  they hold services if the weather is a little inclement. We'd guessed at 15 to 20,000 seats...

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

To the side is the original tiny chapel built soon after the visions. There was a queue of pilgrims who would do a lap of the chapel - from the angle we were standing at my son and I couldn't work out why they were all incredibly short and seemed to waddle very slowly (the lady with the black handbag and the one in orange). He thought they might be a coach load of dwarves, I thought they might have some other health issues:

Click to see full-size image.

Only when we got closer did we realise that the walkway is sunken and everyone goes round on their knees.....that's him and I going straight to hell when our time is up.

We returned on Monday and I was pleased to see that after drinking god knows how much beer and wine over the last two weeks I've only put on 2lbs. Back to the gym and the fizzy water...

[tikay]

Wow, you look great, Grant, well done you.

Same here for Sparkling Water, 2 litres per day, laced with copious amounts of ice to give it a kick.

29p for 2 litres. No idea how they turn a profit at that price. I know its only water, but it takes a bit of storing, distributing, handling etc.

[tikay]

That square you mentioned, goodness me, that's impressive.

Click to see full-size image.

I was instantly reminded - due to scale - of Palace Square in St Petersburg Russia, which is one of the few places on earth that have left me speechless. I really must try & return there soon, it's really very special.

See that sticky-up obelisk thing in the middle? The circular column weighs 700 tonnes & was hauled upright by hand, using ropes, winches, & the principles of leverage.

It is not fixed or secured to the base or plinth in any way - it is free-standing. Hard to believe, but true.

Click to see full-size image.