"Hey, ask that guy to pipe down. Seriously. Shut up."
The loud request came from Daniel Negreanu, who was competing for his eighth bracelet in the $10K 2-7 Single Draw Championship on the back feature table in the Horseshoe Event Center.
Players, media, and staff in the room did not have to look to know that his target was Martin Kabrhel, number one Czech player in the world, three-time WSOP bracelet winner, and one of the loudest players in the game. Kabrhel was about 30 feet away in another event, where he had a player all-in on the bubble of the $50K High Roller. A large crowd had gathered with a $102K payout on the line.
The board ran out and Kabrhel's opponent survived. A player at another table was not so lucky and the stone bubble burst, cashing Kabrhel and 25 other runners.
But the story of Kabrhel being told to shut up started much earlier (perhaps days or weeks), and I was there on the soft money bubble where the Czech was holding court at a table with Brian Rast, Chino Rheem, Viktor Blom and Alex Foxen. What started as a discussion about one of Kabrhel's favorite comedies led to a potential movie date at the house that Foxen and Rast are supposedly sharing. As with most Kabrhel encounters on a long night at the WSOP, we couldn't help but listen in.
What have the Romans ever done for us?
"Brian, I’m going to fold because I want to know if you enjoy (Monty Python's) Life of Brian," Kabrhel said as he tossed his cards into the muck.
Rast, who did not appear phased by Kabrhel's regular programming of antics, responded with a needle of his own. "I was actually hoping you would go all in there."
"So do you enjoy the movie, or do you not remember?" Kabrhel pushed.
"I remember that I liked it, but I don't remember much. I remember a few basic things. It was a guy who was alive at the time of Jesus."
"It's one of the best movies ever!" Kabrhel shouted. "Top-notch movie. Top ten, top five maybe."
Another player at the table jumped in. "It's a cult classic."
Kabrhel's attention shifted instantly to his new friend. "You know it? You saw it? You understand it? It's one of the best movies ever. No, seriously, one of the best movies. It's so good and hilarious. If you see it 17 times, you find a new funny thing every time. A lot of people wouldn't understand it today."
Everyone was still playing poker, and Kabrhel was still talking. He moved his attention back to Rast and Foxen.
"Let's watch it together! We three!"
Kabrhel took out his camera and set up a selfie with Rast. "Let's make a picture on it!"
If you've observed Kabrhel as we did today, you know there's no space in between his thoughts. He will shift from his favorite comedy back to poker on a dime. This one gave the dealer whiplash.
"Where is the button? Is it good? Is it correct? Ok, then we can play!"
Everyone else already knew it was correct, but Kabrhel was catching up. "You know what, I think you're doing a lovely job." He told the dealer.
He sings, too
A few moments of silence ticked by before we heard from Kabrhel again.
"Is this real life, or am I dreaming?" Kabrhel turned to Rheem, who was seated two seats to his right. "This Chino guy. Please."
His attention then went to the tournament clock. "We have 28, no? Not 29?" It was 29. Back to poker.
"Can I see your stack, please," he asked Brandon Wittmeyer, who had clashed with Kabrhel earlier. Something Kabrhel was not letting go. "Your greens are by 20?"
Kabrhel raised, and everyone folded. His attention now turned to Wittmeyer.
"Let's make a song. When someone dies, what is the song called? It's like a sad song. What is the word? Mourning? A mourning song for Brandon..."
To no one's surprise, Kabrhel started to sing. "Oh poor Brandon, aces not good. Can you sing with me?"
"I'm not a good singer," Wittmeyer responded.
"I am not as well, but together we can be good."
Kabrhel stood up and checked his phone, providing a few moments of relaxation for the rest of the table. It was short-lived.
"All in," Kabrhel declared with his last 865K, good for around 20 big blinds. Rast folded and Rheem went into the tank before he joined Rast in the muck.
"Not like that!" Kabrhel yelled. "I was bluffing! You wanna see, Brian. Tomorrow, at the final table, I will show you everything. This is a very tough table. One of the worst. So tough I cant even breathe. You have tens? Good fold, Chino. You had zero outs. No outs. I'm telling you because you're a nice guy. To Brian, I would not say a word."
'I think you owe me an apology'
Kabrhel turned again to Brian. "I tell you something, I think you owe me an apology."
"For what?"
Kabrhel was incredulous. "You pretend you don't know? Be honest with yourself. Look at the mirror and admit it. Be a grown man and just say sorry, and we can be friends after watching Life of Brian together."
Rast didn't say anything. Kabrhel continued.
"When are we watching? Tomorrow or today? When do you want to watch?"
"Hopefully tomorrow because I am final tabling this," Rast said. "It's a really big ask."
"Why are you smiling? I don't like it. (starts singing again) I wanna be in some very nice place. Not this crazy desert."
A few more moments of silence went by, and Kabrhel seemed to once again notice Viktor Blom to his left.
"Viktor is the beast from the east! You know Viktor? You know him? He's one of the best Swedish players. Right Viktor?"
His eyes shot back over to Rast.
"When do we watch the movie, Brian?"
"After the final table," Rast said, still not visibly annoyed but mostly done with this.
"Do you want to be in my winner's photo? Tell me now."
Later, Kabrhel turned to Foxen. "I think you should stop playing poker. Do something more reasonable."
"Like what?"
"I'll tell you when we finish watching the movie. Which house, yours or Brian's?"
"We have the same house."
"Be serious. Brian, are you serious? We watch it together, yes or no? I don't have a house here. Which house? Will Kristen be watching with us?"
Suddenly, Kabrhel's attention shot back to the dealer.
"What happened the last hand?"
More followed, like Kabrhel trying to get tournament staff to increase the dinner break to 75 minutes. "Sixty is not enough!" and some pestering of Foxen ('Foxy') as he busted on the soft bubble. Eventually the money bubble burst, and everything was fairly quiet for the rest of the night after Kabrhel busted on a failed slow roll in 22nd place.
And that's why you heard Daniel Negreanu tell someone to shut up on the PokerGO livestream.
