Mike Matusow

It’s often said the great No Limit Hold’em players often have instincts that outweigh their intellects – think of a drunken Layne Flack terrorising a table or a Phil Hellmuth throwing a tantrum. Mike Matusow, however, takes the stereotype to a new level, threatening to unleash destruction in any direction. Take the fact that ‘Mike Matusow blow-up’ is the blanket term US sports broadcaster ESPN has made for an act of tournament hari-kari.

Perhaps this is because he has suffered some of the cruellest blows ever dealt in high profile events. The most famous – and possibly brutal – televised hand of all time came at the 2005 WSOP main event final table, just months after he’d finished a jail sentence for drug related offences. Picking up Kings against Aces, he hit a King on the flop, and still lost to a rivered flush.

This blow sent him spiralling out in ninth with a fat cheque that allowed him to pay off a few markers instead of changing his life.

ESPN followed his run to the final table in detail that year and also his 87th place finish in 2004, both of which included some spectacular run-ins with players of all type. One of the most entertaining was with the inflammatory Shaun Sheikhan, who sought to provoke Matusow at every opportunity and had his friend Phil Gordon trying his hardest to avert disaster from the rail. Even the stolid and reserved Greg Raymer’s aggressive play managed to rile The Mouth. He declared he was going to bust the then unknown PokerStars qualifier, but ultimately ended his chances when Raymer hit a flush draw after Matusow made a brave call.

In person Matusow is not quite the over-animated cartoon character that television makes him out to be, but he is constantly talkative and looking to become involved with the games of the players around the table with him. He’ll hold monologues with himself instead if that isn’t possible. ‘I’m playing so bad right now,’ he repeated over and over at a mostly friendly final table of the British Poker Open earlier this year, punctuated with quips such as, ‘Why do you play so bad, Mike?’

Method in his mouthiness

This engaging and sometimes aggressive table talk is a defining element of American poker which is for the most part frowned upon in European cardrooms. Try acting like Matusow at the London Victoria and the stony-faced regulars will stare back with silent contempt (in the past they would probably have tried to have you disqualified from the hand thanks to the moody rule). But it’s hard to deny that in the greater scheme of things it has its effect, whether it be stirring a game up to boiling point, or forcing opponents into fearing the aggressor or wanting to take him on. Many would say that it is a necessary part of the psychological aspect of any ‘real’ poker game.

And it’s certainly worked well for Matusow, who has recorded some astonishing results in his chosen speciality of no-limit hold’em tournaments (he is somewhat less feared at the cash tables) including back to back million-dollar wins. And in a modern poker world craving personalities to follow and full of sponsorship opportunities, the guaranteed exposure is usually a welcome spin-off. Players like Marcel Luske have managed to garner attention through a more friendly style of table talk, and others like Tony G have taken it even beyond Matusow’s limits, actively inciting opponents with comments and crazy stunts to try and disrupt their game.

Matusow, on the other hand, rather than being a performer or a cry-baby, just appears as someone who is genuinely trying his utmost to play at his formidable best and is constantly struggling with these self-imposed pressures. For all of the bluff and bluster, The Mouth is a very solid poker player. He doesn’t play wildly aggressive poker, and is skilled at all the variants, with Omaha his game of choice. His considerable talents are borne out by the fact he never struggles to find backers when he hits one of his bankroll lows.

However, he is a player who is prepared to trust his instincts to the end. This often results in the spectacle of the all-in moment when he is variously calling cards, goading an opponent or howling with agony. This is, more than anything, the result of the sheer effort and energy he invests in each tournament he plays, and as such he acts as a great example to up-and-coming players of the will and motivation required to succeed in the world of tournament poker.

‘This is the sickest thing a human being can do’ he has commented in the midst of one tournament run, and he may well be right. Tournament poker requires the stamina of an athlete, the calculating mind of a chess grand master, the heart of a matador and the cool head of a survival expert. Mike only lacks the latter. And it is perhaps this that could stop him from ever becoming one of the true greats.