Call Me today on my show!!

I am doing the mouthpiece today once again. You can call me between 2:45 pm and 3:15 pac time. The number is 1-877-675-1306.

The show is taped then airs 2 to 3 hours later at www.cardplayer.com/tv

Mike finishes 16th in the horse event had terrible luck

Bad luck started right away in stud, when Mike had aakk against aaqq and allot of money in the pot the the other guy spiked a queen on the river.

He had a few pots like that and was beaten that way most of the session. He had one hand against Greenstein where Mike was way ahead with all his chips in in Omaha Hi/low and Barry made runner runner 78 for the low in a 2 way pot, so Mike had to settle for a split there with Barry of the 3 way action, instead of scooping the pot. He went out when he lead out for 25k one caller In omaha hi low and the other guy flopped the nut low straight, but Mike had some outs to a chop and actually picked up on the turn outs to the scoop, but did not hit. so that was that :)

However, on a positive note, He won just about all his prop bets, so he racked in some decent dough :)

Mike is playing very well now, he maintained his composure and never came close to blowing up and milked his short stack very well. I am happy to see Mike play this well and if He continues to do so, I am sure a final table, and/or a win is imminent. See you all later until next time!!

Just got up I feel good

K, I have not posted here in a long time so wish me luck today, I will try really hard to make the final table in the horse tournament. Every poker player's dream is to win this wsop bracelet in this event. I have good chips and have a good chance to make it if I play well and avoid making mistakes and getting unlucky.

Ok got to run gl everyone

Mike has 700k in chips heading into day 4, 21 people remain

In the Big Horse event;

I will be down at the WSOP at 2 pm for day 4 to watch and cheer on Mike. However, they will not allow me to blog update because of their GREEDY money grubbing policies of giving exclusive blog rights to those who BRIBE them with enough money so :)

Why Phil Helmuth is the best tournament NL holdem player ever

So why has Phil won 11 WSOP bracelets, all in Texas Hold-em? He also has near 50 final table appearances in various other tournaments and other wins as well.

Is Phil that much a better player than everyone else? Is he more talented? Luckier than most?

the answer is no to all of the above.
There are a number of top professional players who know as much about the hold-em game as Helmuth does.

so what is it you might ask?:

PATIENCE + SITUATIONAL READS over opponent reads. Phil can fold a hand and fold a hand prob better than anyone who has every played the NL tourney circuit. And it is not always because he believes he is beat in a hand, but sees THE SITUATION IS NOT GOOD TO MAKE A CALL, or chase a pot. Hence, many people think he is weak because he folds more, checks the ego at the door, and then slams those same players who try to make plays on him when he does have the right situation and the right read of it. and he will do this allot after a check raise, he is willing to let go a pot if the situation is wrong.

Also, Phil understands the value of not pushing all in for the sake to win a pot with a marginal hand. Mike has cost himself allot of potential wins because Mike sometimes will over play a situation that does not call for it.

Very rarely before a final table will you ever see Helmuth have all his chips all in when he has a decent stack. When Phil builds chips early, he usually continues to grind it out.

I discussed this with him a bit the other night at Mike's house.
Simply put, there is not a better NL player in the world than Mr.Helmuth.

Ask Mike and Mike will tell you the same thing. Mike learned and patterned his game after Helmuth when he was coming up some years ago.

and trust me, it is a semi act when he says "I am the best NL player in the world"..(although Mike and I agree with that statement) It is not his ego, he is saying that for a reason to gain a table advantage folks!!! Egotistical, true egomaniacs WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO FOLD AND ALWAYS TRY TO OUTPLAY EVERYONE!!

He wants to piss you off and have you dislike him so you might make an egotistical mistake in a hand with him, and allot of you guys out there would just love to bust him right? THAT IS WHAT HE WANTS!! I do not think people realize just how good a player he really is tournament wise. I hope this has enlightened some of you about some of his tactics that make him the winning est poker player tournament wise of all time.

Now off the tables, he is a quiet mild mannered guy, even a bit on the shy and reserved side.

Think about it, poker without people like my brother and Helmuth would be semi boring.

Don't hate Helmuth, RESPECT HIM AS A PLAYER!!

Play is done for the night, pokernews has wrong chip count Mike just called

Said he has 460k in chips, and that the last 20 minutes, the deck hit him really hard, So he is top 5 or 6 in chips after day 2. He said he played pretty good as well.

More to come later on.

Mike still has around 300k

Spoke briefly at dinner break. He was too amped and focused on poker to really discuss anything and wanted to lay down for awhile, so I have no info right now about his hands. He just said he is playing well. I am off to bed here in a bit will follow up asap.

Mike has about 300k now

and doing well.. Will post later about my visit to brother's home and hot tubbing it discussion with Mike, Helmuth, and myself, ( not to forget my brother's very nice GF as well :) interesting stuff to say the least :)

Helmuth as many of you have heard before is much different a personality away from the table. Personally, He is my all time favorite poker and I beleive him to be, and Mike agrees, the best NL tournament player of all time. There are many reasons why this is other than just the high amount of tournament wins which I will get into, in a post to come either later today or tomorrow. Basically, it is his correct technical approach to situational poker.

Day 2 of the horse event and the WSOP+prop betting galore!!!

Mike like allot of other top players in day 2 are doing fine. Mike has about 200k in chips as of this posting. When you get this high amount of "pro players" they tend to fold more, and are more familiar with each others playing styles, so bust outs will take awhile. Expect this event to last another 2 to 3 days. It is the "real main event" of the WSOP. Next to no amateurs involved. Mike has some prop bets along with his betting buddy Phil Helmuth. 3 against 3, Mike and Helmuth are 2 on one side. Ivey is one on the other side with Gus Hanson already busted out yesterday ( big surprise there, heh!!) There is a ton of side action prop betting going on here. You name it, they have propped it!! This particular prop bet is odds to win, odds which team has more players still standing as time progresses. In case any of you are wondering, they do not put these guys at the same table because the event directors know damned well about all the prop bets. Even if they did, there is a strict honor code among professional poker players that has existed for many years!! Remember, most of these pros in today's event have borrowed and have lent to each for over a decade in most cases. There will not be any "Jamie Gold" type of "misunderstanding" I can assure you of this fact:)

Anyways, will post when I am around and have relevant information how things are going for Mike!!
Peace, out:)

Mike finishes 15th in event 36, Omaha Hi/Low 5k buy in.

Talked a bit on the phone, says there was one hand where his gut told him a guy was bluffing, but he didn't call and was right, and there he could of been back around 200k in chips. He said he played well and made maybe one or 2 mistakes. He gives allot of credit to a guy who checked raised him on the river and said " I didn't think that guy was capable of making that play."

Mike is looking forward to the big horse event which I believe starts tomorrow. He believes He is playing well, and with an 11th and 15th place finish, it sure seems that way. That is very close to making 2 final tables so..

I will try to cover the Horse event as best as I can later.

Just talked to Mike briefly, he is up to 155k in chips

Event 36 WSOP Omaha hi/low 5 k buy in.


And He says He is playing really well and finally catching a few cards.

Mike is in the money in event 36 omaha hi/low 5 k

He is a short stack at around 50,000 chips, but we are down to 27 people. Mike is in the top 10 WSOP history in total cashes all time in terms of number of times making the money. More to come as I get it.

Mike still hanging in there in event 36

has around 40k in chips. Will try to keep you posted on developments as they come my way.

Day one of event 36 has ended

Mike has 19,000 chips heading into day 2. Mike informed me that he had no cards at all for hours but was playing his "A" Game. Also, Phil Helmuth has bet Phil Ivey, Ivey laying Helmuth 13 to 1 on Mike making the final table, and 35 to 1 for Mike winning the event, betting 10 and 20k respectively on each prop.

so Helmuth gets allot of money if Mike wins or even makes the final table, GO PHILLY!!!

They are on dinner break event 36, Mike still has around 15k

Just talked to him, he says he is playing very well and feels good. More to come later.

Mike is playing WSOP event 36 5k Omaha Hi/Low

Which of course Mike has always been recognized as one of the worlds best players in this poker game. Currently he is among the chip leaders at 14k as of this post. More to come when I get it.

Mike busted out in 29th

and he is very upset over this one, he really did not want to talk much, he is just peed off that terrible poker play keeps getting rewarded.

Mike was pissed off when we spoke

about 2 pots that he lost a good deal of his stack. One against Scotty Nguyen, which i don't blame mike guy called all the way to 6th street with nothing more than a low ball gutter ball and nailed it. then one hand against Dutch Boyd, who i consider a horrific player, hit 4 suits to a flush and bet every street. so mike has 20k, so he is still alive, but I tried to calm him down. I think he will get over it during the dinner break.. that's it for now, will update as i get it later.

Mike has 38,000 chips now in event 24

Just talked to him, he says he is playing very well. will try to keep you guys updated when I talk to Mike.

Day 1 event 24 done, Mike is one of the chp leaders

He has around 24,000 chips.

Mike has around 12k now

and I am off to bed, getting way too late for me folks :) Updates coming in the AM. Peace

Mike has around 12k now

and I am off to bed, getting way too late for me folks :) Updates coming in the AM. Peace

Mike has 10k on the dinner break event 24.

Update on event 24, wsop 7 card stud;

Mike has 10k in chips, above average. Mike is getting a massage right now as we talked on the phone. He says he is playing really well. Mike said his 11th place finish the other day could of been higher, that making the final table was easy, but he was playing to win and get most of the chips to the final table. That is how Mike plays. He does not care about where he finishes other than first as the money pay outs mean nothing to him, only a bracelet!! Thought you guys would want to know his mindset. Mike tomorrow will be shooting a poker rap video with Phil Helmuth, Layne Flack, and Johnny Chan for MTV. I will post and let people know when it will air Stay tuned tonight as I try to get more updates.

Mike near top of chip leader board

Heading into day 2, catch live updates at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/2007-wsop/event-19-no-limit-holdem/

also cardplayer.com and bluff magazine. I will not be here today as I have a prior commitment. When I return I hope to get some updates from Mike.

Mike now has 100k

Moving on up Mr. Jefferson!! Go Mikey!!

update on event 19 2500 NL

Mike has informed me he is top 5 in chips right now with about 170 people left. sorry i did not update earlier. I was busy helping a buddy with a job he needed help on..

I was gone for a bit, I see Mike busted out

Oh well, better luck next time right? Still allot of events left!!

Mike is playing in Event 13 $5,000 Pot Limit Holdem today at 12 pm Pac time.

Will try to update as best as I can thru out the day.

Call Mike today!!

Call Mike today for his show the Mouthpiece!
1-877 675 1306
2:55 to 3:15 every thursday pacific time. The show then airs about 2 to 3 hours later at www.cardplayer.com/tv

Mike is taking the day off.. AT LEAST FROM LIVE POKER!!

However, he is up bright and early playing some big games in full tilt poker. You can watch him there if you so choose to endure the carnage that is online poker!! So no WSOP event play today for Mikey :)

ok you can stop checking out the blog, Mike went bust

and that is that :)

K, Now I am out for awhile

Get your updates at http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/blog-tags/Mike+Matusow/

Mike just won a nice pot

Scotty Nguyen raises under the gun and Matusow calls in the small blind. Seat 1 calls in the big blind. The flop is 8h 5h 3c Matusow bets and both call. The turn is Jc and Matusow bets and gets called. The river is 3 of spades, Matusow bets and one player calls - Nguyen folds. Matusow has A224 to his opponent's - A107x. Matusow is up to 62,300.

Starting to get Merchandise up on cafepress

Stuff is basically only black and white now. Got designer coming over in the next 2 weeks to get some really cool stuff up there, stay tuned!! Also, we want to hear from you out there suggestions of what kind of designs on shirts you would like to see, so leave your comments here about that!!

Ok looks like Mike is doing well

Well I tried to take the day off, I am beat people!! Mike has, it looks like 43k in chips as of the last update.

I have the day off

Go to http://www.pokernews.com/live-reporting/blog-tags/Mike+Matusow/

There you can get great updates.. Will try to interview Mike after the play ends today/Tomorrow for Mike.

Mike must have fallen asleep

Sorry I could not get an interview with Mike. He must be really tired. Will try tomorrow

Online had some wrong updates in chip counts

Ok, they were wrong online, Mike had 27,000 chips and was among the chip leaders all day, as He was never short on chips. He is going to call when he gets home and I will get more information. My press pass if they grant me one, which there should not be a problem, will allow me to live blog from the event. Now I have to rely on online updates and Mike occasionally calling

Play over for the night, will try to do a short interview with Mike in a few

Stay tuned!!

Go figure. Mike is now top 5 in chips

39,000.. I will interview Mike and find out how he has gone on such a wild roller coaster ride.

Mike went way down

Under 3000 chips now. He has to make a double soon or the blinds will eat him up.

Mike has around 14,000 chips now in event 5

will try to get an interview with Mike when the day is over

Mike just won a big pot in event 5

He has around 20k now in chips..

Mike has about 12,000 chips

Latest update on event 5 at the wsop.

Mike makes a bet with Ted Forrest

a $100,000 weight bet with Ted Forrest. Mike must lose 50 pounds and weigh in at 181 on June 3, 2008 to collect..

Update on event 5

Just got off the phone with Mike. He has 7000 chips. More to come as I get it.

Mike was a little late for event 5

Over slept a little bit for the 2500 split event, Nothing to report as of yet. For those asking, No, I am not at the Rio. The plan is to be there if and when Mike goes deep into a tournament, Otherwise, Mike, his GF, or a Friend of mine who is covering the event calls me to let me know any pertinent info.

Mike will be playing today in the following event;

Sun, Jun. 03 - Tue, Jun. 05 Event 5 - Omaha/Seven Card Stud High/Low 8/OB
$2,500 + $0 No Rebuys
05:00 PM PDT

I will try to cover it as best that I can and get an interview with Mike at the breaks and after play ends for the night, or if Mike gets knocked out..

Ok we now have some Mike Matusow items for sale

OK , a ton of you are asking for poker geared stuff based around Mike and Mike's "infamous sayings" Now we opened up an online store in affiliation with cafepress.com, The address is;

http://www.cafepress.com/mouthpoker

We will be adding more stuff, changing things and getting high tech custom designs in the next few weeks.Any item suggestions are welcome.I can do some custom stuff, but it is limited as far as personal requests, and takes a ton of work to get it right.Right now it is mainly black and white stuff. So there you guys and Gals go, you asked for it, YOU GOT IT!!

Took day off since

Mike was basically knocked out very early of his 2nd event this year at the WSOP.

Mike eliminated on coin flip

raise in front, Mike moves in for 12k with 22, raiser calls with AQ suited, hits "Q" on the flop, that is that..


Oy!! right at the end too. that's poker, more to come, ill get a semi interview with Mike and ask him a few questions.

Mike -" I really at first did not play well, but I nailed a couple of sets when I had small pocket pairs, afterwards I started to play well, but I could not pick up the cards I needed, and I needed to make a move because the NL round was coming back again and the LIMIT round the blinds were getting too high for me to sit around."

Scott- "Mike, what did you think about the new deck they were using?"

Mike - " I thought it was a practical joke at first, seriously. but then when I realized it was for real, I at first, along with most of the other pros refused to play. I was calling for the tournament director, me and everyone else. They had to on the dinner break call around all the casinos to get the regular deck back since they needed so many decks"

Scott "Mike, how do you feel now?"

Mike= " I am tired, they said you can get a pass, you just have to fill in some stuff, I am going to bed, I got the tourney tomorrow and there might be 3000 people in it, so good night"

Mike now has 22,500

He just doubled Thru Devilfish Ulliot about 4 minutes ago, Mike had pockets 8's verses the Devil Fish's Pocket A's and Mike Flopped a set of 8's to double to 22,500 with blinds and antes.

More to come as I get it. This update was provided by a friend who has a cell phone and saw the hand.

Correction, Mike has 10,000 still

He had nothing, built it back to 10k Confirmed with him just now. my bad..

Looks like Mike got the axe..

No answer on his phone, he is prob pissed off. Pretty sure he has been knocked out of the first event at The WSOP..

Mike down to 7k last time I checked with him

He said he was coolered when he had pocket 4 against pocket 7 and the flop was both a 4 and a 7. He is still in there as of 30 minutes ago.

Mike has 18,600 after first break

EVENT ONE, 2007 World series of Poker - The Mixed Holdem (Limit/NL)

Mike has 18,600 chips after the first break;

Just got off the phone with him, was all He could really tell me at this time because He was pressed for time. More to come after the next break.

The nuttyness of it all!!

Starting in just a few short hours, The Rio Hotel and Casino, one "long" block away from the famous Las Vegas Strip. will officially become a MADHOUSE!! Thousands of poker players, in the next 6 weeks will be all trying for one thing, a WSOP GOLD BRACELET!!

There are so many events, everyday, up to 3000 a day are registering and playing in some sort of tournament at The WSOP. On top of this, we have hundreds playing in the side cash games. The WSOP playing floor, itself must be at least 100,000 square feet, if not more. ( I have not measured it personally)

One cannot fully grasp the humongary just seeing it on TV. For a first timer at The WSOP, this can be very intimidating. a virtual sea of poker tables; NOW TRY TO FIND THE TABLE you are starting at!!

"Where the hell is my table"?
"over there sir"

"where"

"Ok walk about an 8th of a mile, see that guy in corner wearing the Green shirt"?

" Who the Lepracaun?"

"NO, that is Mini me, Verne Troyer; not him, The Big guy"

" oh ya, ah ok, I see it table number 27-a"

"BINGO" !!

And let me tell you out there who have never seen the poker hall at The Rio Covention Area, IT IS LIKE ONE GIANT BINGO HALL!!

Now imagine a space that large totally and fully populated with fellow human beings ( some might debate that many of these people are in fact, not human)

This is the place of dreamers, where legends are made, where future and current celebrities come to find that dream, TO BE A WSOP CHAMPION!!

Mike has done it twice, a very few more, and most never!!

Stay tuned in 5 weeks for the main event. That my friends, is a real plethra of discombulated donkeys :)