The 10 most hated poker players

Since there are many different reasons for a person to be hated -anything from being dull to being a cheat-I’ll give a quick explanation about my list and the criteria that I used to determine who the lucky 10 poker players would be:

First off, pretty much any type of behavior can land you on this list, but what I did was take a look at the poker players who make me cringe, in addition to my scouring of the online poker forums to hear what others have to say. In the end I chose the players who came up most often in a negative connotation, and were rarely defended -at the end of the article I’ll list five players who seem to have a love/hate relationship with poker players.

Here are a few of the things that will land you on this list:

• Acting like a Jerk to other players
• Hamming it up for the cameras
• Acting foolish and foregoing polite etiquette
• Having a bad reputation in the poker world -such as dealer abuse or angle-shooting
• Having a holier than thou attitude

So without further adieu, here is the list of the 10 most hated people in poker, and keep in mind how awful a person’s behavior would have to be to make the list from a single TV appearance!

• 1. Eric Molina – The 21 year-old Molina burned more bridges during the 2006 WSOP Main Event than Bernie Madoff! Molina’s ridiculous behavior has pretty much made him the poster child for how not to act at a poker table. And has spawned more poker forum threads with the word “Douche” in the title than any poker player in history. Molina even had people siding with Jamie Gold when the two got in a confrontation. Congrats Eric! One tournament appearance and you top the most hated list!

• 2. Shawn Sheikahn – Sheiky, burst onto the jackass scene during the 2005 WSOP when his ongoing feud with Mike Matusow made for some interesting television. In subsequent appearance on television it has become clear that Sheiky doesn’t just dislike Matusow, but pretty much everyone who isn’t named Shawn Sheikahn! Oh, and there is also that statutory rape conviction…

• 3. Jamie Gold – Only Eric Molina could keep Gold from being absolutely loathed at the poker tables. From his annoying table talk, to his breaking of numerous poker rules, Gold is perhaps the most hated Main Event Champion of all-time, and considering who is next on this list that is REALLY saying a lot!

• 4. Russ Hamilton – few people could pick Hamilton out of a crowd, but the 1994 WSOP Main Event Champion is definitely the most hated man in online poker history. Hamilton was behind the Ultimate Bet Super-User scandal, and even before this, Hamilton had one of the worst reputations in poker.

• 5. Phil Hellmuth – It’s a sure bet this name will appear on any most hated list, The Poker Brat is one of the biggest whiners in all of poker. It doesn’t help that his opinion of himself rivals that of the most megalomaniacal people in history.

• 6. Tiffany Michelle – If Hellmuth’s ego is out of control, than Tiffany Michelle has taken an ego trip right off the planet! With a claim to fame that features failed actress/model and later being the last woman left in the 2008 WSOP Main Event Michelle has drawn the ire of many in the poker world. Tiffany is the Paris Hilton of poker, she’s done nothing, but the cameras follow her around.

• 7. Josh Schlein – Another name that few people would be hard to place, but the description everyone will remember is: The absolute SPAZ from the 2005 WPT Ultimate Poker Challenge. Schlein’s behavior was so far out of the norm many people assumed he was on something. Schlein acted like the high school kid attending his first party and dropping acid.

• 8. Humberto Brenes – Brenes is actually only annoying when a camera finds him; at which point he turns into Snooki, and just begs for attention. His shtick is overly rehearsed, and just completely over the top, and makes most people sick.

• 9. Annie Duke – Duke rubs a lot of people the wrong way, and has a bad reputation for talking down to people and shooting angles. One of the reasons her off-the-camera behavior is so well known has to do with her ongoing feud with Daniel Negreanu; Negreanu listed a litany of Duke’s offenses in an online poker forum a few years back.

• 10. Hevad Khan – Unfortunately for Khan, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. And that one impression -during the 2007 WSOP-was enough for the WSOP to create the Hevad Khan rule, regarding excessive celebration. Although, it should be noted that Khan has dropped the hooting and hollering, and takes a much more respectful approach to the game now.

Here is a list of players that poker fans seem to wither love or hate:

• Joe Hachem
• Tony G
• Phil Laak
• Scotty Nguyen
• Mike Matusow