I have always thought Mike “The Mouth” Matusow was the most interesting person in poker – a perfect blend of amazing talent, outrageous degeneracy, sweet disposition, and emotional maelstrom. Many other pros have some of these traits; only Matusow has them all. There have been so many times over the years where I’ve seen Mike on TV, or heard him on a podcast, and wondered, “What on earth is it like to be inside his head?” And now, we have an autobiography, with the promise to deliver long-awaited insight.Check-Raising The Devil begins Matusow’s story as a young man, working in his family’s furniture store and blowing his paychecks playing video poker at the Sam’s Town casino. He’s introduced to poker by a casino regular, and quickly determines the truth of the game: “Hold’em was a game of strengths and weaknesses,” rather than the cards being dealt. An obsession with the game, combined with a soon-to-be-forgotten frugality (Matusow lived in a trailer most of the 1990s, even while playing Table One at Bellagio), quickly leads Mike up through the ranks to high-stakes cash games and tournament success.
Matusow lives with bipolar disorder and bouts of depression for years before seeing a doctor, or even understanding he has a real problem. Friends (some well-intentioned, others not) suggest Mike try drugs, Ecstasy and crystal methamphetamine, as a cure for his mental instability. For awhile, Mike lives the “sex, drugs and high-stakes poker” most people in Las Vegas dream about. Eventually his lifestyle leads to a 6-month stint in jail, then a triumphant comeback in 2005 at the World Series of Poker and Tournament of Champions. Today, as a full-fledged member of Team Full Tilt Poker, and a self-admitted love of the camera, Mike is one of the highest profile poker players in the world.I already knew his story before reading the book. Matusow’s been doing podcasts and video blogs for CardPlayer, and tons of interviews with other sites for years. He’s not shy, and willing to share all kind of embarrassing details about his life if it makes for good storytelling.
And yet, “Check-Raising the Devil” is a worthy read anyway, because it delivers on my initial question. We learn about his ups-and-downs in staking relationships. We understand why he got into an aggressive verbal confrontation with Daniel Negreanu at a 2002 WSOP final table, his confrontation with Greg Raymer and meltdown after the 2004 Main Event, and his version of the events which led to his incarceration. We feel what Mike feels when the ADHD medication is working…and even more interesting, when it isn’t, and he’s torn between needing to make a living, his addiction to poker, and a suicidal-strength desire to stay in bed all day.
There are times when I’m sure he’s disingenuous about some of the details regarding his arrest (some folks in LVPD have a grudge the size of a rejected “Law and Order” plot if he’s 100% truthful). And like most poker players, Matusow doesn’t give his good luck the same attention and regard as his bad beats. He devotes two sentences to catching a flush on the river to stay alive on Day 1 of the 2004 Aruba Classic, but spends three paragraphs on Eric Brenes rivering two pair at the final table of the same tournament.
But as is the case with Matusow himself, the good far outweighs the bad in “Check-Raising the Devil.” By the end, we find Matusow at a happy and successful place in his life, and I was happy for him. One of my earliest articles for PocketFives contained the sentiment that I’d love to meet Mike and buy him a drink and chat. After reading his autobiography, it’s a truer statement than ever.
-Paul Herzog (grapsfan)
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