Mike Matusow Profile

Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is a talented poker player but he's probably even more famous for his trash-talking antics and infamous "Mike Matusow Meltdowns" than he is for his poker skills. But despite his wild behavior, respect has to be given to Mike for starting at the very bottom of the poker ladder and working his way up.

He had a tough start in life, being bullied all throughout school to the extent that he decided not to attend college. Upon completing high school, Mike moved around from job to job but never really fell in love with anything. His favorite hobby at the time was bowling, a sport in which he was pretty talented, often bowling 290 or higher in a game.

At one point he learned about video poker and became engrossed in the game. He played it religiously, to the point of getting repetitive strain injury in his shoulders. Video poker was fun and all, but it was a breakeven game at best. To pay the bills, Mike took on a job as a dealer at a local casino.

It was there that he learned the ins and outs of poker, watching the good players and learning everything he could. As he got more involved in the game, he befriended a poker professional named Steve Samaroff who mentored Mike in the art of poker. Mike improved his game dramatically and built his own bankroll playing in cash games and tournaments around Las Vegas.

It's rumored that Mike got off to a tremendous start in the cash games, going on a heater and winning over $250,000 in his first months playing the game. Mike said that he won 51 out of his first 53 sessions during that time.

His first major tournament placing came in 1997, when he took second place to Scotty Nguyen in the World Series of Poker $2,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event. Even though the first place spot eluded him, Mike earned $82,000 for his efforts. Showing his good-sport side, Mike staked Scotty Nguyen in several satellites to the WSOP Main Event the very next year. Scotty went on to take first place and paid Mike $333,333 for his partial stake.

Mike's first WSOP bracelet came in 1999 when he won the $3,500 No Limit Holdem event and $265,000 in prize money. He continued to place well in tournaments throughout the early 2000s, including a 6th place finish at the 2001 WSOP Main Event and a 9th place finish in the 2005 WSOP. In total, Mike's live tournament earning total exceeds $7,000,000.

Tainting his success, however, is the fact that Mike battled drug and anger issues for much of his life. He's earned a reputation for blowing up after bad beats and going on massive tilt-sessions, at times burning through weeks' worth of winnings in a single night.

In 2004 Mike was given a 6 month jail sentenced after being set up by an undercover cop. The cop acted like a friend and earned Mike's trust until the cop asked Mike for some cocaine one day. Mike went out of his way to find some for his "friend" and he was promptly arrested. It seems like a lot of effort to spend on a 6 month sentence but apparently the DEA thought it was worth it.

Today, Mike still plays tournaments and consistently places well. If he can stay out of trouble and keep his temper under control, Mike will have many more poker achievements in his life. But that's a big "if" so only time will tell how the story ends for Mike.

Mike Facts:

Has earned 3 WSOP bracelets
Served 6 months in jail for a drug charge
Won a $1 million tournament two blocks away from his former jail
Won a $100,000 bet against Ted Forrest that he could drop from 241 pounds to 181 pounds
Regarded as one of the best Omaha 8/b players in the world