7 times poker karma punished arrogance

In poker, there are plenty of situations where the offender gets his comeuppance — for dirty play, for insults, or for outright arrogant behavior. Sometimes the payback catches up years later, and sometimes a hefty dose of the karmic boomerang lands in the very same hand.

Here are seven striking cases where poker karma worked without taking a day off.

1. Dylan Gang vs Garrett Adelstein

Remember Dylan Gang from Hustler Casino Live? About four years ago he appeared on the show, and then enraged viewers when he slow-rolled Garrett Adelstein — at the time the most popular star of HCL.

On the river Gang bet $55,000 with a set, and Adelstein called with top pair. After the call, Dylan said: "Nice call." Garrett turned over his cards, and then the player with the better hand paused for a few seconds before showing his own cards.

"Just kidding," Gang said.

Karma struck exactly a week later. Adelstein called Gang's all-in on the turn with two pair, held up against a flush draw, and won a $390,000 pot from the offender. No one heard from Dylan again.

2. Tony G was silenced

In the era of the poker boom, The PokerStars Big Game gathered all the stars, including Tony G — one of the biggest trash-talkers in the history of the game. But his chatter was finally cut off. And it was done by Vanessa Rousso, at the time a PokerStars ambassador.

After Tony hit two pair and improved to a full house, he started provoking and needling Vanessa, trying to push her into playing aggressively rather than just calling bets.

"You can shut me up right now," he said.

"How?" Rousso asked.

"Push and take the pot," Tony replied.

Vanessa, with the nut full house, was happy to oblige! She shoved, he instantly called, and saw that he had lost.

3. From MTT king to outcast

Karma for Ali Imsirovich didn't come in the form of a brutal cooler — it's being dished out by tournament organizers who, one after another, deny him entry.

In 2022, Imsirovich was considered one of the strongest MTT players in the world. His career went off the rails because of a high-profile scandal involving accusations of online multi-accounting, using RTA (real-time assistance), and collusion at live tournaments. Jake Schindler was caught up in it along with him.

Since then, Imsirovich has been regularly banned from offline series. The WSOP remains an exception for now — he can still play there. But other venues act more strictly.

Last year he was shown the door before even registering for the Champions Club tournament in Houston, and in Florida he was thrown out right in the middle of play, while he was the chip leader.

(photo: Katerina Lukina, PokerNews)

4. Check your privilege

William Kassouf became famous not only in 2025, when he made a deep run in the WSOP Main Event. Long before that, the British player got people talking during his first successful run in the Main Event in 2016 — all thanks to endless table chatter and unbearable time stalling.

This behavior exasperated both the other players at the table and the viewers of the ESPN broadcast. And it all ended with one of the most memorable coolers in the history of televised tournaments.

In 2016, with 17 players left, Kassouf opened with kings and got a three-bet from Canadian pro Griffin Benger. Benger had aces. While the Canadian was thinking, Kassouf launched into his verbal merry-go-round. After a couple of minutes of nonstop chatter, Benger snapped.

"You're just being rude, man. There's nothing funny about it. This isn't a game. You're being abusive," Benger told his opponent.

Kassouf feigned confusion. In response, Benger shot back: "You're a bully," and then told Kassouf to "check your privilege."

"Do you want to gamble? Okay, I'm all-in," Kassouf announced.

Benger instantly called with the best preflop hand in no-limit hold'em. The aces held up, and Kassouf busted in 17th place, earning $338,288. Benger went on to the final table and took $1,250,190 for seventh place.

5. The slowroller went to prison

The 2005 WSOP Main Event is remembered for many memorable hands, and one of them was between the legendary poker lady Jennifer Harman and New York pro Cory Zeidman. Zeidman made a straight flush with 9♦8♦ on a board of 10♠J♦Q♥10♦7♦. Harman had Q♦Q♣ — a full house.

Zeidman's hand was unbeatable, but he decided to put on a dramatic act in response to his opponent's bet. Instead of instantly calling with the nuts, Zeidman went into a deep tank, and then delivered a line that entered the golden fund of poker slowrolls: "Looks like if I lose this hand, I'll have plenty of time to see the sights." After the pause, he finally made the call and doubled up.

Karma caught up with Zeidman from an unexpected angle: in December 2024, Zeidman pleaded guilty in a federal sports betting fraud case, and in October of that year he was sentenced to 46 months in prison.

6. The legendary Irish Poker Open slowroll

Perhaps Irish Poker Open fans never screamed louder than when they saw the river card in this hand. This is the dirtiest slowroll on our list — and possibly the most deserved river in tournament history.

At the 2015 final table, Irish legend Donnacha O'Dea made two pair with A♣6♣ on a flop of 6♦A♦8♦. He bet enough to lead his opponent Andreas Gann toward an all-in. But Donnacha himself was in deep trouble: Gann had K♦Q♦ — the nut flush already on the flop.

Gann, knowing perfectly well that he had the nuts, started thinking slowly before putting the chips into the pot. Commentator David Lappin tore into this obvious slowroll harshly.

"What's going on?" Lappin asked. "If there's any justice, an ace should come on the river."

The commentators kept piling on Gann, who finally called after a two-minute tank. Lappin proved to be a prophet: after the 7♣ on the turn, the 6♥ came on the river, giving O'Dea a full house. He took the pot and sent the slowroller home.

7. Justice at the Aussie Millions

Over the years, the Aussie Millions series has produced hundreds of striking moments — including a hand from the 2016 Main Event involving Sam Abernathy, which restored justice against a slowroller.

Samantha Abernathy went all-in with 6♥6, and all Mikel Habb had to do was call with K♥K♠. Instead, he put on a show with a long tank before calling a bet that was slightly smaller than her shove.

Commentator Jason Somerville absolutely shredded the slowroll and called for a six to come to the rescue. Habb got up from the table, walked around, and shouted: "Come on!" It already seemed like Somerville wouldn't get what he wanted: the flop and turn — 10♠Q♠9♦10♥ — left Abernathy almost no hope.

On the river came the desired six. Samantha got a huge stack and sent Habb home in 15th place.

Conclusion

The takeaway from these seven stories is simple: the poker boomerang never takes a day off. You can be an MTT king, you can mock your opponents on a live stream, you can slowroll, but the universe always reserves the right to strike back. A six on the river, aces against kings, a federal indictment twenty years later — karma's tools are varied. Nothing mystical about it — well, you've seen for yourself.