The Life of Mike Matusow In & Out of the Poker World

Some poker fans love poker professional Mike Matusow, while some hate him. This is probably because of his behavior at poker tables. His playing style includes trash-talking, which can be considered as very effective in irritating his opponents. As a matter of fact, it does not only irritate his opponents, but such behavior also annoys those who are watching his game. This is the reason why he earned the nickname "The Mouth." Poker players and fans know that he is present at a poker table as soon as they hear loud rantings and comments that sometimes offend other poker players.

Born in Los Angeles, California on April 30, 1968, Mike Matusow's attitude probably developed after experiencing being bullied most of his life as a student. This experience actually discouraged him to pursue further studies, which was why he never obtained a college degree. After high school, he aimed to get a job as an auto mechanic. Unfortunately, his educational background was not sufficient for him to be given the opportunity to work as such. He then opted to help his family run their furniture store.

Mike Matusow was eighteen years old when he started to play poker. That was when he tried his luck in a video poker game that he played at the Maxim Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. He became hooked in playing such game that he even suffered from arms and shoulders injuries. He somewhat became literally addicted in playing video poker that it came to a point where he started stealing money from the purse of his mother. He even participated in several meetings of the Gamblers Anonymous. Fortunately, his addiction to poker that had a negative impact on his life stopped. Nevertheless, he continued to learn how to play poker.

Mike Matusow learned how to play real poker games in 1989. The first poker game that he learned was Texas Hold'em. Eventually, he learned to play almost all types of poker games until he became a full-fledged poker professional in the 1990s.

The first time that Mike Matusow attended a World Series of Poker tournament was in 1998, but he did not participate in any of the events. What he did was he shouldered a portion of the entrance fee of poker professional Scott Nguyen so the latter could join the US$10,000 No Limit Texas Hold'em event. Luckily, Nguyen won the first prize, as he gave Mike Matusow a portion of his winnings.

In 1999, it was Mike Matusow's turn to earn a World Series of Poker bracelet. He earned it from winning a US$3,500 No Limit Hold'em game wherein the cash prize was US$265,475. In 2002, this poker professional earned his second bracelet after finishing first in a US$5,000 Omaha Hi/Lo Split 8 or Better event that also earned him US$148,520.

We hope that Mike Matusow can fully concentrate on playing poker so he can prevent himself from having some personal problems, which include substance abuse and weight problems.