Mike Matusow

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Mike Matusow

Mike Matusow at the 2006 World Poker Tour 5 Diamond Bellagio tournament
Nickname(s) The Mouth
Hometown Las Vegas, Nevada
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s) 3(+1)
Money finishes 22
Highest ITM main
event finish		 6th, 2001
World Poker Tour
Titles None
Final tables 3(+1)
Money finishes 6

Michael Matusow (born April 30, 1968 in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table. He is also known for sometimes ruining hours or days of good play with a single spectacular misjudgment, (known as a "Mike Matusow Blow-up" or "Mike Matusow Meltdown").[1]

Matusow began playing poker seriously in the early 1990s, first while working as a poker dealer, then as a professional player.[2] His successes include being a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner,[3][4][5] and the winner of the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions.[6] He has played in many tournaments around the world and his winnings (as of 2008) total over $6,500,000.[7]

Contents

[edit] Early years

Matusow suffered from bullying when going through school and did not attend college. He attempted to get work as an auto mechanic, but did not complete the required studying for the job. He later worked at his family's furniture store.[8]

Matusow's first experience of poker was playing video poker in the Maxim Casino at the age of 18, which he played regularly, to the extent he suffered from repetitive strain injury in his shoulders and arms. He occasionally stole money from his mother's purse and at one point attended Gamblers Anonymous meetings. Matusow was taught Texas hold 'em in 1989 by a rounder named Steve Samaroff. Early in his career, he won 51 out of 53 sessions and $250,000. It was first believed that it was 81 out of 82, but he corrected that statement on the Rounders Poker Show. [8][2]

[edit] World Series of Poker

At the 1998 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Matusow paid one-third of Scotty Nguyen's entrance fee into a satellite event for the $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em main event. Nguyen went on to win, and gave $333,333 to Matusow in return for his partial stake.[8] In 2001, he finished 6th place in the WSOP $10,000 no limit Hold 'em main event. Matusow says that the decisive hand was when he was bluffed by eventual champion Juan Carlos Mortensen, but did not trust his instincts to call.[8][9] At the 2004 WSOP main event, Matusow was a focal point of ESPN's coverage, as he verbally attacked eventual champion Greg Raymer.[10][11][12] In the 2005 WSOP, Matusow finished 9th out of 5,619 players in the main event, winning $1,000,000.[13] Several months later, he won the WSOP Tournament of Champions in a heads-up battle against Hoyt Corkins, earning another $1,000,000 in the process. He also placed third in the Tournament of Champions the following year, winning $250,000.[6][14] At the 2008 WSOP, Matusow won a third bracelet in the $5000 No Limit 2-7 Draw with rebuys event defeating Jeff Lisandro heads up for the $537,862 first prize.[5]

[edit] World Series of Poker bracelets
Year Event Prize Money
1999 $3,500 No Limit Hold 'em $265,475[3]
2002 $5,000 Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or Better $148,520[4]
2008 $5,000 No Limit 2-7 Draw w/Rebuys $537,862[5]

[edit] Other poker events

In October 2004, Matusow made his first World Poker Tour (WPT) final table at the UltimateBet Aruba Classic, earning $250,000 for 3rd place.[15] In 2006, he finished runner-up to Tony G in the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II in heads-up play.[16] Matusow also appeared in Poker Superstars III, where he made it to the Elite Eight. In the winner-take-all championship match, Matusow beat seven other players to win $500,000. He also appeared in the second, third and fourth season of High Stakes Poker.[17][18]

In September 2006, Mike made his debut on the European Poker Tour (EPT) in Barcelona; however, he was eliminated on the first day. In early 2007, Matusow appeared on two episodes of Poker After Dark where he finished 3rd and 2nd respectively. He plays online poker under the following aliases: "dill pickle" (UltimateBet); "mrpokejoke" (PokerStars); and "Mike Matusow" (Full Tilt Poker, where he is also a member of "Team Full Tilt").[1][2]

In July 2007, Matusow won $671,320 after coming in second place at the World Poker Tour Bellagio Cup III Championship after online pro Kevin "BeL0WaB0Ve" Saul defeated him during heads-up play.[19]

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,500,000.[7]

[edit] Personal life

Matusow is both loved and disliked by many poker fans. At the 2007 WSOP Main Event final table, Tournament Director Jack Effel asked the audience to recognize one of Effel's "favorite" players. The fans cheered and booed.[20]

Matusow has had several personal problems. He has battled drug issues, including a six-month stint in jail in 2004 and 2005 after being caught with cocaine.[21]

He has also dealt with weight issues, detailed on ESPN's broadcast of the 2007 WSOP. During that tournament, Mike made a six figure bet with Ted Forrest that he could get down to 181 pounds by June 3, 2008. Mike won the bet on June 3, weighing in at 179 pounds.[22]

Matusow resides in a 3,700 square foot home in Henderson (with a cathedral ceiling) and bought a $90,000 BMW 645 CI cabriolet from a $750,000 winning session at online poker.[8] He often wears a gold chain with the Hebrew symbol 'chai' around his neck.[8] Additionally, Matusow hosted Card Player's poker radio show / podcast, the Circuit, before being replaced by Gavin Smith and Joe Sebok.[23] He Is also the host of Card Player's online video segment The Mouthpiece.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Anonymous. Mike Matusow - Poker Player Profile. www.PokerListings.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  2. ^ a b c Anonymous. Mike Matusow. Full Tilt Poker. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  3. ^ a b Butt, Robert. 1999 World Series of Poker $3,500 No Limit Hold 'em event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  4. ^ a b Butt, Robert. 2002 World Series of Poker $5,000 Omaha hi/lo event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  5. ^ a b c 2008 WSOP Event #18 $5,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw w/ Rebuys: Matusow Tops Lisandro for Win. Poker News (June 12, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-06-12.
  6. ^ a b Butt, Robert. 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  7. ^ a b Butt, Robert. Mike Matusow - Stats. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  8. ^ a b c d e f Kaplan, Michael. "Me and My Big Mouth", August 2006. Retrieved on 2007-06-01. 
  9. ^ Butt, Robert. 2001 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  10. ^ Butt, Robert. 2004 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  11. ^ Raymer, Greg. FAQs. www.FossilmanPoker.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  12. ^ Rosario, Shirley. Mike Matusow. www.PokerBabes.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  13. ^ Butt, Robert. 2005 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold 'em main event results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  14. ^ Butt, Robert. 2006 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  15. ^ Butt, Robert. WPT Aruba Poker Classic results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  16. ^ Butt, Robert. WPT Bad Boys of Poker II results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  17. ^ Anonymous. FSN: Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament 3. Fox Sports Network. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  18. ^ Burton, Earl. 'High Stakes Poker' Back For A Second Season In June. www.PokerNews.com. Retrieved on 2006-08-06.
  19. ^ Butt, Robert. WPT $10,000 Bellagio Cup III results. The Hendon Mob. Retrieved on 2007-07-15.
  20. ^ 2007 WSOP Final Table coverage on WSOP.com
  21. ^ USA Today: Millions come and go for 'Mouth' of poker Matusow
  22. ^ Mike Matusow poker video blog from April 1st, 2008 http://www.pokersavvy.com/blog/Matusow
  23. ^ Anonymous. The Circuit. www.cardplayer.com.

[edit] External links

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Winners of the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions
Annie Duke · Mike Matusow · Mike Sexton