Mike Matusow - Player Biography & Tip(s)

[The Loner]

* Nickname "The Mouth"
* 2 WSOP Bracelets
* Winner of the 2005 Tournament of Champions
* First player to collect 2 separate million-dollar cashes in 1 year
* Mike is considered to be the best Omaha poker player in the world.
* Honed his skills at Sam's Town Casino in Las Vegas

Mike Matusow plays online at Full Tilt Poker.

Mike Matusow http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...-8&sa=N&tab=wi

Like many other professional players, Mike's career began as a dealer. After countless hours spent turning cards and analyzing hands, he decided to put his money where his mouth was and start playing for himself. He honed his skills playing late-night games at Sam's Town Casino in Las Vegas and, after achieving some success, decided to play full time.

Mike earned his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 1999 and his second in 2002. He had another strong showing at the 2005 WSOP, finishing ninth in the Main Event and cashing for $1 million. Shortly thereafter, he followed up his Main Event performance by winning the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions and earning his second million-dollar payday of the year.

In 2006, Mike finished second in the No-Limit Hold 'em event at the Las Vegas "FullTiltPoker.Net Pro Showdown from Red Rock Casino," and three days later he finished third in the No-Limit Hold 'em event at the Tournament of Champions, also in Las Vegas. Just a month later, Mike had a final table appearance in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold 'em event at the 2006 WSOP, where he finished seventh and cashed for almost $90,000.

In 2007, Mike took second in the prestigious Bellagio Cup III WPT No-Limit Hold 'em Championship event, taking home $671,320 for his effort. Mike's performance follows a successful campaign at the 2007 WSOP where he posted three top-20 finishes and cashed for more than $125,000.

If you want to learn more about Mike, you can chat with him at FullTiltPoker.

[The Loner]

A while back, I played a hand in an Omaha Hi/Lo Limit tournament that had everyone at my table jumping off their chairs. They thought I was crazy and couldn't believe my play. But I made the right move. In fact, the play illustrates an important Omaha Hi/Lo concept that's not widely understood.

Here's how the hand went down.

It was a nine-handed table. The under-the-gun player raised and another early position player three-bet. Two other players called the bet cold. It came around to me in the big blind, where I held 9-K-Q-2. This is usually considered a pretty trashy Omaha-8 hand. But I didn't fold here; I four-bet. I then flopped the nuts and took down a huge pot. When they saw my hand, the players went crazy. How could I four-bet with that kind of trash?

I could do it because I made some good assumptions based on the way my opponents played their hands. This was a tournament, where most players tend to be pretty cautious. Few will play any hands that don't contain Aces, and just about everyone is sticking to hands with a lot of low cards.

So when the under-the-gun player raised, I felt pretty confident in assuming that he had an Ace with some other low cards. The same goes for the player who three bet. The two callers must also have had hands that they thought were pretty strong. I could be all but certain that all four aces were dealt to these players, and that they held a lot of the deck's low cards.

I was also confident that, in this hand, the flop was going to come at the high end of the deck and that I'd have a chance to sweep a huge pot because there would be no qualifying low. And that's exactly what happened.

This hand shows that in Omaha Hi/Lo, you can often make some good assumptions as to what cards remain in the deck and what the flop is likely to hold. For another example, say that you're in the big blind and it's folded to the cutoff, who raises. You see 9-T-J-Q. With all but one player folding, you can be pretty sure that almost everyone else held a number of medium and high cards. So the deck is ripe with low cards, which will probably help your lone opponent's hand. Your best move is to fold this hand pre-flop and wait for a better spot.

Of course, the better your position, the more information you'll have. So you shouldn't even consider playing certain hands in early position. Something like 2-3-4-5 might be playable from the button or the big blind if there hasn't been a lot of action. The lack of raising would show that the Aces haven't been distributed and are still in the deck. But in early position, you just don't know what's out, so you need to muck the hand. The same goes for hands like T-T-J-Q and T-J-Q-K. There are times when prior action will show you that these hands are worthy of a three-bet or four-bet. But in early position, it's best to just let these kinds of hands go.

Being able to predict a flop is part of what makes Omaha Hi/Lo so much fun. You really can't do these sorts of things in Hold 'em. If you hone these skills, you're sure to be a tough Omaha Hi/Lo player.

Mike Matusow

[The Loner]

Mike Matusow: how can u fking rs the 5 high flush
and rs an dthen call.
Mike Matusow: u wonder why u never win

Brad Booth: whatever mike.

Mike Matusow: imean fk u think im a sucker
Mike Matusow: if u dont think igot a flsuch wtf is
rsing gonna do rs i fold with out a ffluch.

Brad Booth: what ever mike.

Mike Matusow: ok
Mike Matusow: another idiot born everyday

Brad Booth: critisize me publicly all u like if it makes
u feel better.

Mike Matusow: no just trying to teach u to not be a
fking idiots
Mike Matusow: casue u my fried
Mike Matusow: dont know why i help friends out
trying to allthe time

Brad Booth: i played it like i didnt have a flush

Mike Matusow: just said the callof re rs notthe rs
how the fk can i re rs without having u beat.

Brad Booth: which there fore u could have put that
reraise in just said after ire rs u u gotto be beat.
Brad Booth: ya of course.... cause u not good
enough to play poker and reraise there huh??
Brad Booth: i was just giving u vredit for your
vreativity.

Mike Matusow: actually ireally am not good
enough to re rs with out the nuts online caue no one folds to me.

Brad Booth: anywayzzz.. id rather u be on my side
that belittle me.

Mike Matusow: seee they just keep betting like im a
fking empty chair.

Brad Booth: see what... that u missed a unit??

Mike Matusow: guess when this idiot calls bet in
un rspot out of bb i cnat have trips beat

jakz101poker: i'm not worried about it mike

Mike Matusow: iknow lol.

jakz101poker: you'll be asking me for a loan again
in 3 days anyways.

Mike Matusow: wow

poltergeist: this conversation has scared me

Mike Matusow: u gonna be a %&#%

jakz101poker: <-------returns favors

Brad Booth: play nice boyzz

Mike Matusow: we can play some head u jake as
hig as u wnat to want to tak chit.
Mike Matusow: hu.

poltergeist: if i play bad will you help me erik.

Mike Matusow: fk u dont im me again ever, ever.

jakz101poker: guess I hit a nerve

Brad Booth: u can Facebook me anytime jakz. jakz101poker: :-* tx brad.

Mike Matusow: now fking nerve i m done

withfriends =no ones myfkignfriend but e dog in
this game the.

Mike Matusow: rest u allfking scum.
Mike Matusow: so donttalk to me.

poltergeist: MIKE!!!
Brad Booth: u gotta be kiddin meeee

Mike Matusow: sorry poler u ok polter.

poltergeist: hehe

Brad Booth: what the hell i doo, cant we agree to
disagree?

Mike Matusow: try and be nice help people and
they think im bad mouthing them its sofunny

Brad Booth: thats what friends doo hunnibear

jakz101poker: Coach Matusow ladies and

emb7779 (Observer): WOW Miker FLIPPED