An angry poker player got into a verbal dispute with another player at the table at the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) after having his cards mucked in the big blind.
The verbal altercation between Georgia’s James Heath and Maine’s Darrell Blodgett took place on Sunday during Day 1 of Event #43: $800 8-Handed Deepstack No-Limit, which drew 3,903 runners for a prize pool of $2,732,100. And there was no love lost between two of those players.
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Mucked Hand Leads to Heated Words
The hand, which took place on Level 16 with blinds of 3,000/6,000/6,000 and was captured on video, kicked off with a rise to 15,000 from Blodgett, a recent Circuit ring winner, and a call from the cutoff.
Heath, who was in the big blind, then realized there weren’t any cards in front of him. He claimed he “never received cards,” but others at the table said he had been dealt a hand.
“I know exactly what happened!” said Heath.
“You were dealt in, I saw it,” a player chimed.
“Then where are they?!” retorted Heath. “Why would I throw my cards?”
Blodgett, who clearly had a hand he wanted to play, lost his patience and explained the situation, as he saw it, to the floorman.
“(There was ) already had a bet and a call,” said Blodgett. “Now he’s realizing (his cards were mucked). Too late. Sorry. It’s significant action.”
The floor then counted the cards in the muck, which resulted in him confirming that Blodgett had indeed been dealt a hand that at some point had been mucked. Heath was forced to surrender his big blind and ante, as someone at the table warned him to protect his hand next time.
“TARGET!”
Blodgett tried to smooth things over as he and the cutoff finally saw a flop, but Heath wasn’t having it.
“I don’t need your sh**, sir. “F*** you,” Heath said before zeroing in on Blodgett and announcing “TARGET!”
“It’s not my fault you were trying to help somebody and you were the one that didn’t pay attention to your own hand,” replied Blodgett.
A few hands later, and the two were still going at it. “What’d you say?” Heath asked as he stared down Blodgett. “Keep going. Keep going.”
And after that, Heath gave a mocking wave at his nemesis and motioned to the hallway.
History of Verbal Disputes at the WSOP
There is a rich history of intense verbal disputes at the WSOP.
Shahram “Shawn” Sheikhan, who was recently released from prison after being sentenced for running an illegal cannabis business, infamously had a verbal dispute with Mike Matusow in the 2005 Main Event. Matusow, for his part, got into it the previous year with eventual champion Greg Raymer.
Another Main Event champion, 2006 winner Jamie Gold, had a verbal altercation with the young Eric Molina, who made his return to the live tournament circuit in 2024.
PokerNews live updates for the $800 Deepstack event kick off today, so stay tuned for more moments like these.
Connor Richards
Senior Editor U.S.