Do normal people really pay quarterly estimated taxes?

Maybe this was just a weird blind spot I had for way too long, but I didn't even know individuals were supposed to pay QET. I spend a fair amount of time on finance forums and I've never even seen it mentioned until a few days ago. And I've seen plenty of ads for tax filing services (H&R Block, etc.), and I've never seen one say something like, "Don't forget to pay your quarterly taxes for your side gig!" or something like that. So now I'm reading about it and I feel like I'm in a Twilight Zone episode. I remain skeptical that all poker players and Twitch streamers and guys who happen to have a lot of capital gains one year are duly making their quarterly tax payments, or even know that QET is a thing.

Am I wrong about this? It does seem very easy for the IRS to just automatically hit you with a penalty whenever your tax bill is over $1000 when you file yearly, but maybe they don't? I think I've just been super lucky that I've always been diligent enough about keeping my taxable income so low that I've never had a bill over $1,000 before. So I haven't tested it myself as to whether the IRS just lets it slide usually, or ever.

Any comments?