This week, with the 19th Full TiltOnline Poker Series (FTOPS) on the horizon, the PocketFives.com Podcastwelcomes three-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner Mike Matusow. A sponsored pro of Full Tilt Poker and instructor at Deepstacks University, Matusow is one of the most visible players in the game today. “The Mouth” hit on a plethora of topics with us, so let’s get into the interview.

Matusow released his autobiography, “Check-Raising the Devil,” in 2009 and the book has received a multitude of five-star ratings on Amazon. “Right now, I am working on a movie on ‘Check-Raising the Devil’ and I’m working with Deepstacks Live camps all around the country,” Matusow told the PocketFives.com Podcast. “I have a couple of books in the works that I’m thinking about putting out. One is called ‘Chasing Fame,’ which will be about all of these internet kids chasing the tournament trail trying to become sponsored.”

Every player has a moment of epiphany. For Matusow, the “a ha moment” came against former UB.comfront man and 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth (pictured): “When I was playing my first No Limit Hold’em event, Phil Hellmuth came to my table and played like an A-8 of diamonds against me and I had A-Q… I won the pot and then I said to myself, ‘Wow, how can you play that hand so super aggro against me? What do you think I have?’ I started thinking to myself that these guys weren’t so great and I was better than all of them.”

Matusow has become known for his table talk, which admittedly has waned in recent years. “My table talk isn’t that much of a part of my game anymore only because there are so many good players that you have to dummy up and just focus on the game,” Matusow explained. “Nowadays, you have to put your head down and focus because everybody knows everything, so it’s tough to win.”

Matusow has over $3 million in career WSOP earnings, three bracelets, a WSOP Tournament of Champions victory, and four World Poker Tour (WPT) final tables. He now imparts knowledge on others as part of the roving Deepstacks Live series. Matusow commented on his teaching style: “People like learning from me. I’m very stern with people. I really ride them hard… I’m [teaching] because I like to do it.”

On what types of players come to an average Deepstacks Live event, Matusow revealed that many amateurs find their way. “[They’ll] go from a losing tournament player or a losing cash game player to at least a breakeven or winning player,” Matusow heralded. “We teach mostly basic strategy and if we have people that come who want to learn more advanced strategy, I’ll pull them aside and talk for 15 or 20 minutes with them.”

Rush Poker and multi-entry tournaments are a large part of the upcoming schedule for FTOPS XIX, which kicks off on Sunday on Full Tilt Poker. “I think Rush Poker is a lot of fun,” Matusow expressed. “I think the best thing about Rush Poker more than anything is the fact that it makes it harder for people to track people… The multi-entry tournaments are kind of interesting. It’s really going to give the person with more money more of a chance to win.” Together, FTOPS XIX and MiniFTOPS XIX will shell out at least $30 million.

Finally, we asked Matusow to talk about how the game has evolved over time. His response: “In the old days, someone like me would have had an advantage playing a deeper stack. Now, with so many great players, it negates the edge you had. Up until the middle of 2006, I was still one of the top five No Limit Hold’em players in the world… There are probably 300 players who can play as well as I do [now], maybe 500.”

Check out the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Poker Podcast. We’d like to thank Deepstacks University for coordinating this interview.