Mike Matusow Receives One-Round Penalty at 2026 WSOP Main Event

Mike Matusow received a one-round penalty on Day 2abc of the 2026 WSOP Main Event after exposing one of his hole cards while playing on the streamed feature table.

“The Mouth” may have earned his reputation through decades of table talk, including his famous verbal clash with Shawn Sheikhan in this very event back in 2005, but this time it was a different kind of infraction that got him into trouble.

Matusow was forced to watch the action from the rail for one orbit before being allowed back into the tournament, leaving the table with around 75,500 chips, roughly half the average stack, before returning as he looks to find a bag for Day 3. Check out the action that led to the penalty below:

Matusow Recieves One Round Penalty

Steven Ross, a real-estate investor, looked down at A♣J♣ and raised to 4,000. Matusow called on the button with K♣Q♠, and a third player named Lee called from the big blind with A♥7♣.

The flop came 9♦K♠5♣. Lee checked, Ross bet 3,000, Matusow called, and Lee got out of the way.

The turn brought the 8♣, giving Ross a backdoor club draw. Ross checked, Matusow bet 7,000, and Ross — flashing a diamond-encrusted watch — made the call.

The river was the 10♣. Ross bet 27,500, leaving himself just under 41,000 behind. Matusow, with 75,500 behind, chuckled and went into the tank.

Eventually, Matusow turned to Ross. “Show me one,” he said. “If you show me one first,” Ross replied.

Matusow flipped over one of his cards, and the dealer immediately called for the floor. “We’re heads up, we can do that,” Matusow protested, but the rest of the table quickly set him straight, with “that’s not allowed” audible. Matusow correctly mucked his hand and was pulled away from the table for a chat with the floor.

When he returned, he broke the news to the table himself that he’d received a one-round penalty. “It’s kinda bullsh*t, I didn’t know,” Matusow added. “I had no idea, man. I’m sorry,” Ross told him.

Matusow kept arguing his case with the table for a bit longer before finally walking off to serve his penalty.

Not Matusow’s First WSOP Main Event Penalty…

It’s not the first time Matusow has received a penalty at the WSOP Main Event. Most famously, in 2005, he and Sheikhan were both hit with ten-minute penalties by WSOP Senior Vice President Jack Effel.

Poker fans will remember Sheikhan pounding the table in frustration after folding once the flop was fanned. Matusow snapped, “You know we’re in a hand, you need to shut the f*ck up,” to which Sheikhan repeatedly shot back, “What did you say, Mike?”

The two continued needling each other through the hand, and after Matusow raked in the pot, Sheikhan called him an idiot. That set off “The Mouth,” who jumped up shouting, “You cannot talk about a hand while we’re in a hand, we’re playing for a lot of money! You jumped off your chair like you threw away part of the pot.”

Effel stepped in to settle things down. “We’re not going to start out the tournament this way,” he said. “So guess what, right now both you guys are on a ten-minute penalty. Both of you are on the rail for ten minutes, and listen, if I hear a word from either one, it’s going to be twenty.”

There were no such fireworks this time around, but it’s a fitting full-circle moment, with Matusow visibly frustrated on both occasions in this event, over two decades apart.

Eliot Thomas is an Editor at PokerNews, specializing in casino and poker coverage. He is currently on the ground in Las Vegas covering the 2026 World Series of Poker and has previously worked at the European Poker Tour and Triton Super High Roller Series.