Three Poker Troll Speech Play Masters

William Kassouf

Before 2016, U.K. citizen Will Kassouf wasn’t very well known to most of the poker community until he made a deep run in the 2016 WSOP Main Event by driving every player — and some dealers — at his table crazy with his nonstop talking, mannerisms, and general behavior.

He wasn’t really rude or brutal, to be honest, but he talked so extensively that other players literally couldn’t wait for someone to finally bust him and give everyone a break.

For example, on Day 5, Will annoyed the co-owner of a dealer academy, Stacy Matruson, so much that the tournament director was called over to tell him to stop talking — but in the end, Stacy folded the better hand anyway under the pressure of Kassouf’s character.

So, when he finished the Main Event in 17th place, taking $338,288, the remaining players were wholeheartedly relieved that no one would have to play against him at the final table.

Has Will learned his lesson? We could say so, considering he continued to use the power of his troll-word-salad speech to pressure, disorient, annoy, and tilt opponents to gain extra value. At least, that’s how he himself explained his tactics in an interview:

Martin Kabrhel

Another master of causing irritation with just his words is a Czech businessman with an expressive face and a very special voice — which some players describe as being “like nails on a chalkboard” — already a legendary poker character, Martin Kabrhel.

Photo Credit: Tomas Stacha

What makes him special? Well, he uses his unique voice and specific pronunciation to comment on everything he wants during the game, but he also asks and repeats questions constantly and with great persistence in the most annoying manner until someone finally answers him.

For example, when he secured a spot at the 2025 WSOP $250K Super High Roller final table after Ben Heath folded, Kabrhel said to Jason Koon:

Koon answered him abruptly and reluctantly, to which Martin paid no attention and continued talking.

Another example from the same tournament: he verbally characterized one of Daniel Negreanu’s limps, saying:

For context, Amanda is Negreanu’s wife, whom he could text nothing to at that moment because of WSOP rules about electronic devices at final tables.

You too can become “Kabrheled” quickly by watching the video from the 2025 WSOP $250K Super High Roller, where Martin managed to annoy the top of the poker community, including Daniel Negreanu, Bryn Kenney, David Peters, Alex Foxen, Chris Brewer, and Ben Tollerene.

No matter how much hate Martin gets for his behavior, he always tries to stay positive and approach his controversial status with humor. For example, during the 2025 WSOP, Kabrhel tweeted that people now want a selfie with him so badly that he has priced them at $1,000,000 with discounts:

• 90% off if you don’t waste his time
• 70% extra if you’re a non-smoker
• 50% extra if you’re clever
• 40% extra if you radiate positive energy
• 20% extra if you’re a GTO player

By the way, the secret of Martin’s troll speech is simple: he isn’t a troll — he’s just different, and he knows how to use it in poker.

Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot

A regular in nosebleed high-stakes poker games, Nik Airball can rightfully be called the most famous speech-play troll on live cash game broadcasts of the 2020s, who sometimes can be a bit extreme in his disposition.

Nik’s style of speaking at streamed games is at least controversial because he has the ability to freely throw very harsh words into opponents’ faces (and even the dealer’s sometimes).

Just remember how he said “Fuck you hard” to Pipi on the HCL show, or “You are my bitch” to Dan “Jungleman” Cates on The Lodge cash game stream.

Interestingly, Nik started to build this image of a bully long before hitting the streams. During public games, he was noticed by high-stakes cash game scouts who scooped him into broadcasted games. So, by acting like a loudmouth whale who throws money around left and right, Nik literally opened the door to high-stakes cash game streams and, for at least three years in a row, was a participant in major live cash games:

• Hustler Casino Live
• Poker at The Lodge
• High Stakes Poker
• Bally Live Poker
• No Gamble, No Future

Funny enough, outside these games Nik does not make the impression of a bully or aggressor. During a 2023 Dan Cates podcast, where Airball was very relaxed and polite, he explained his choice of public image simply:

And what do you think — is trash talk really fun to watch, or does it have no place in poker because it raises the toxicity of the community? Share your opinions in the comments below this article.