The Six Most Tilted Poker Players

William Kassouf

An argument can be made for William Kassouf to be the most tilting poker player ever, especially given his recent antics at the 2025 World Series of Poker that included wasting as much time as possible, including 10 minutes in a hand at showdown while holding the second nuts. The Englishman’s behaviour clashed with players and tournament directors multiple times during his run to 33rd place which ended up with him having a constant 10 second shot clock on every decision, and a ban from WSOP events through the end of 2025 when he was finally eliminated. 

This topped his 2016 performance where he finished 17th in the Main when Griffin Benger erupted with pocket aces against Kassouf, sending him to the rail.

There are few poker players out there who talk the talk to the degree that Kassouf does, and he does it all with the plan to put you off your game.  Simply sitting down at the table with him will cause many players to tense up and prepare themselves for the inevitable display that Kassouf will bring: lots of pokes, jabs, insults, and tanking.

Martin Kabhrel

If it wasn’t for Kassouf amping up during the 2025 WSOP Main Event, Martin Kahbrel may have been the most controversial poker player at this year’s series as he too was in the news for his excessive slow play and table talk that irked many poker players. 

One of the big distinctions though for the Czech player was his results: Kahbrel won the Mini Main Event for $843k and cashed twelve times in Las Vegas this summer, compared to Kasoouf’s only cash which was the Main Event, but that doesn’t mean Kahbrel didn’t stir the pot. He was charged with mixing chips within his stack and withholding information when in all-in pots; deliberately tanking and incurring a 10 second shot clock on every decision in one of the final tables he made, and constantly chatting to players in hands, even when he wasn’t directly involved.

One opinion that some share is that both Kahbrel and Kassouf are good for poker, creating that villain to root against that very few fans like. Both are talented poker players; both are wildly successful, and both draw a crowd when they play in bigger events like the WSOP Main Event. 

However the main difference between these two is the cheating element. You may recall back in 2023 Kahbrel was at the centre of allegations by top pros in the $250k Super High Roller at the WSOP where Kahbrel was accused of marking cards. While he was never publicly reprimanded for this by the WSOP, the sediments that he may have cheated in that event is still in the forefront of pros minds when they see their table draw and note Kahbrel’s name at their table.

Vanessa Selbest

Perhaps ahead of her time, Vanessa Selbest was one of the more feared players to go against at the poker table. An early bluff on a televised poker show early in her career garnered her a reputation for being unpredictable, fearless, and tough to play against which is something she always used against her opponents. However, Vanessa’s emotions did come out from time to time when players played poorly against her, or if she noted that they called when they should of folded.

Knowing game theory as she did, she understood how to use that against her opponents and put them is high pressure situations, but when the outcome didn’t go her way, she let her opponents know it. A balance between tilting others and tilting herself, Vanessa was a warrior at the table and always brought it, especially when the lights were shining bright. 

Today we only get very small doses of her as she plays a very limited schedule which may only be the WSOP Main Event. Regardless, in her heyday, Vanessa’s mere presence at the table could tilt an opponent, knowing that massive bets and tough decisions were to come. If she wasn’t careful, her plan would end up tilting herself.

Phil Hellmuth Jr.

This one needs no introduction. Phill Hellmuth is one of the most decorated poker players in history with more WSOP bracelets than anyone else, but what follows Phil around with his titles and lifetime earnings is a reputation of blowing up at opponents and sending him down a dangerous path for his poker game. 

You can search online and come up with a long list of incidents where Phil has imploded at the table, whether it was because he took a bad beat on the river, a player plays poorly in his opinion (usually winning a big pot in the process) or someone verbally goes at Phil to knock him off of his game. 

He is a logical player that has had issues controlling his emotions which results in these outbursts at the table and in some cases, the outburst results in a prolonged downturn for Phil that impacts multiple hands after the incident. Some players tread lightly when Phil is at their table, while other players will make a point to go at Phil on purpose and do whatever they can to disrupt his game, knowing what the eventual outcome could be.  All helped earn Phil the nickname “The Poker Brat”.

Tony G

One of the top poker players for intentionally using psychological warfare at the table is Tony G. Poker fans who weren’t around in the early days of televised poker would have missed the tirades that Tony G unleashed at his opponents, all with the goal of getting under his opponent’s skin and throwing them off of their game. 

His combination of his vast poker knowledge, his ability to intimidate his opponents using verbal jabs, and his timing has the ability to throw any opponent off, and in the early TV days of poker, came across as entertaining programming that attracted even more players to the game. While he appeared to play a LAG style, analyzing his hands and tables he played at, his table talk gathered intel early that was then used against those opponents later in the session.  He was as calculated and selective as they come, while giving off the appearance of a highly aggressive player that was looking to pick a fight.

Mike Matusow

Any poker player who earned the nickname “The Mouth”.  Unlike most of the players on this list, Mike Matusow isn’t using emotional reactions proactively but rather as a reaction to a bad beat or a bad play. It’s been documented that these emotional outbursts have cost him dearly at the poker tables, both live and online, to the point where friends and colleagues in the poker community had to step in to stop his losses when he goes on severe downturns. 

His aggressive play has led him to being too aggressive at times, chasing hands and pots that he never should have been in, and reacting negatively when those hands end up going against him. He has run his mouth at so many pros and amateurs alike, and has led to a decline of his poker appearances, generally only playing in the WSOP annually and sticking to non-televised cash games in Las Vegas. 

Having said that, he did have 10 cashes at this year’s WSOP so the potential of seeing Mike more in the future does still exist.