EXCLUSIVE: Mike the Mouth Speaks Part, I

Mike Matusow has two WSOP bracelets, has final tabled the WSOP Main Event twice and recently won Poker Superstars III for half a million dollars. Find out what "The Mouth" has to say about himself and the game he loves

May 28, 2007

By Janice Carroll
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

Mike Matusow's reputation as a legendary trash talker at the poker table earned him the moniker "Mike the Mouth". But underneath all that verbal abuse, lies a really nice guy. It's very easy to assume this bad boy of poker is every bit the abrasive bully he appears to be, but there's a lot more to Mike than his trash-talking image as you will see in this no holds barred interview.

Bodog Nation: How old were you when you began playing poker and at what levels were you playing?

Mike Matusow: I began playing poker in LA, where I'm from, when I was 23. I was a natural at poker, I just never lost. I learned by picking up a couple of books and the rest is history. I started playing 4/8 Limit. I didn't even know there were bigger games out there. Around 1995 I started playing 10/20 and 20/40 Limit and Holdem. To me, back then, that seemed like the biggest game in the world. I don't know how I ended up playing in as big limits as I play, but unfortunately or fortunately, I do. I don't know if that's good or bad. (chuckles)

I worked for my parents in their carpet and furniture store in Vegas and soon left their store. I lived in a trailer park where I paid $280 a month. I began dealing poker and got bored. I was playing then. I started grinding and started playing full time. I won a lot of money playing full time and worked my way up till I became one of the most respected players in poker.

When I was about 21 I was pretty much a lost soul without knowing what I wanted to do. I wasn't much good at anything till I got into poker. I was an absolute genius at it and maybe one of the only things at which I'm really good at in life. I tell people all the time, I'm not really the smartest guy around but I've got a great mind for poker and I'm very happy with the gift that God has given me, the gift for playing poker. I'm the type of guy who struggled with self confidence growing up. A lot of times I felt my esteem level was real low and poker brought me to a higher self esteem level because I was so good at it. It made me a better person. 

BN: Do you see any superstars out there?

MM: I like the way that Paul Wasika plays because he has the right mentality. He doesn't have an ego. He understands the game. He's very slow and methodical in making decisions. He's not a wild maniac raising. He's not a crazy guy. I think he's a good player. You just don't see that many great players.

BN: When you said that you noticed that "some of the less experienced players who have entered $10,000 buy-in tournaments don't fully appreciate what they've seen on TV," what did you mean by that?

MM: They see things on WPT and think that's the way poker is supposed to be. It's not like that. No Limit Holdem is completely different than what they see on TV. They see WPT and "all in" fast. It's not at all like that. It's about calling in position; it's about seeing flops; it's about reading your opponent and the WPT takes that away from them.

BN: Mike, can you tell me the funniest thing you've ever seen happen at a table?

MM: A well known poker player, who shall remain un-named, had been playing for 36 hours straight so he took a sleeping pill because he thought he was going to stop playing and retire; however, he got an interesting hand and decided to continue playing, then he passed out at the table. Just like that, he passed out. We thought he was dead because he wouldn't move. We had to call the paramedics but they couldn't wake him up. Nobody at all could wake him up. They had to take him to the hospital but they said there was nothing wrong with him. He was just sleeping. Everyone was just cracking up. It was probably one of the funniest things I ever saw at the table. (laughs)

BN: Which are the best places to play poker and what hours do you play?

MM: The Commerce in LA is the best. I prefer to play from 11 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. but it never happens that way. I end up playing all over the place. I sometimes end up playing 24-30 hours. I don't always have to play with the best players in the world, I like to play against the worse players. I try to play where the idiots are.

BN: What's the most you've ever won in one hand and the most you've ever lost?

MM: I won a $100K pot recently. That's probably the biggest pot I've ever won. I once lost $80K in one hand. My most significant win I ever had was when I finished second to Scotty Nguyen at the 1997 Omaha Championship. I got $100K for that. I was pretty ecstatic. It seemed like so much money. I went through the money like it was nothing. We rented a limo and I was throwing a brick around to all my friends. It was kind of cool!

Come back next week for Part II of this exclusive interview with one of poker's most talented and entertaining players as he discusses poker strategy, table talk and the World Series of Poker.

PHOTO: Mike "the Mouth" Matusow.