Mike Matusow: Poker Mind In Depth Part XIV

[Content Disclosure: Poker Mind In Depth series]

I spent some time with Mike Matusow on Day 1A of the Main Event. Mike was at the Rio to sign books and greet the WSOP fans at the PokerPalooza extravaganza. Our conversation wound around the book signing, some time in the VIP lounge talking with Mike while he harangued the Chinese poker game, which he apparently took for $50,000 the day before. And we had some off-the-cuff discussions about post-Series book promotion. Finally, Mike registered for his seat for today's Day 1B. Here is cobbled together coverage of Mike's preliminary event WSOP and his preparation for his start today in the main event.

Why Day 1B?

That was a Full Tilt request made just the night before, they actually wanted Mike to play Day 1A but they made that request at the party the night before and Mike told them that was too late to ask him to play the next day, so he agreed to Day 1B. Why all the moving about? Well as you all know, the Day One television coverage is all about "who" ESPN chooses to focus those cameras on. And they always give a lot of coverage to the players seated at the two feature tables. Yesterday on Day 1A, Mike would have definitely been selected to sit at one of those tables, the field was very lite in poker celebrities, particularly entertaining ones. Today is a toss-up but don't be surprised if Mike is featured on Day 1B. Those table selections are not random.

And you thought the WSOP was all about poker. No folks, this is show biz!

[Update: Yeppers, feature table for Mikey]

The preliminary events you played?

Mike entered 16 of the 54 preliminary events he was eligible to play, which means just on a numerical basis, he played more tournaments this year than in previous years. He was happy with the number of events he chose to play but not so much with the results.

"You can't be happy with only one cash in 54 events or one in 16 for that matter. But I played well and was just not getting cards or opportunities. Last year, I got locked up in several big events, particularly in the main event, with really tough, tight tables. This year it was more the cards and the opportunities. I did what I could with what I was dealt, sometimes that is not enough."

This year feels a bit like 2005.

"Well in '05, I monied in event #1 and then was blanked until the main event. I made the final table in that one and won a million bucks and got a seat in the Tournament of Champions, which I won for another million. Yeah, we could certainly do something like that again."

How are you feeling?

"You know I like to take some time off before a big event, I want to rest and not play poker. I also want to get off some of the medications and then restart the prescription regime fresh for the main event. So it has been six days since I played any real poker. I was at the Ante Up for Africa tournament but that was about fun not poker. So coming into the main event, I am as ready as I can be, now we have to hope for some cards."

Phil Hellmuth plays Day 1C tomorrow.

Daniel Negreanu has not picked his Day 1 yet.

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Previous posts in this Series:

Part XIII: H.O.R.S.E. Controversy

Part XII: Daniel Negreanu

Part XI: Phil Hellmuth

Part X:   Mike Matusow

Part IX: Daniel Negreanu

Part VIII:  Phil Hellmuth

Part VII:   Mike Matusow

Part VI: Daniel Negreanu

Part V:  Phil Hellmuth

Part IV: Daniel Negreanu

Part III: Daniel Negreanu

Part II:  Phil Hellmuth

Part I:   Mike Matusow

Introduction to Series

WSOP Burnout: Second Notice

[Content Disclosure: Another Shrink Warning]

Just over a month ago I offered some advisory comments to my fellow media members regarding the inevitable WSOP burnout from long hours, bad food, poker playing and ridiculously high standards for tournament reporting that nearly no one reads. I received several comments from my writing buddies, but nearly no one took my advice. Hats off to Dr. Pauly who actually did take time off and is now fresher than yesterday's bagel. Today I want to expand on those cautionary comments to include the 6 or 7 thousand plus players who are about to descend on the World Series of Poker.

First, you should be resting. Resting does not include clubs (night or gentlemen's). You might consider some exercise, again that would mean a gym not a gentlemen's club. There are parties in full swing this week; the barbeques are fine, the all night drunken rolls with or without running Twitter commentaries are not. Those of you who will not take this advice, please do tweet all the details, I can use the drunken data points for my research.

Getting back to the Series, remember, you are the one who said:

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

"I have been running bad the whole series, but now the main event is here."

"I am going to focus and be prepared to play" is not a line that should be followed by "Another round for the table."

Yes, Las Vegas is a lot of fun, lots and lots of fun. But not the night before the Super Bowl, if you are playing. This really is the World Series of Poker and if you are good, skillful and lucky; it will last nearly two weeks, you really think it is wise to go out and party the night before you or someone upchucks ten thousand dollars?

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Back to my buddies in the poker media. Repeat after me. Nothing happens on Day One, not Day 1A or 1B or C or D. There is not reason to further stress yourself out to report on anything but the funny hats and stupid costumes. Also no one makes the money on Day Two, not Day 2A or 2B. Lots of stuff happens but nearly none of it is worth reporting. Things get serious on Day Three, so pace yourself and next year remember all the resolutions you made this year. You know: eat right, use the gym, don't play poker after a 12 hour day writing, finish your screen play and read that book on Omaha 8. But for now -- go to back to bed!

That's all for now, the outcall masseuse has arrived with the pizza and wings.

Around the World of Poker

[Content Disclosure: Detritus, Brain Dump]

Today marks the beginning of the end. The final preliminary event (#56) kicks off today at the World Series of Poker. For those waiting for something other than poker content here on my little blog -- not yet. Today a hodge-podge, a melange even, of those items that have drifting past in the last several weeks. Bits of poker flotsam, foamy discards on the sea of green felt.

I sat with WSOP tournament director Jack Effel the other day while he fielded complaints from players about a staff decision to delay the start of a tournament. I felt a bit like the emperor's slave who stood by the king and whispered in his ear: "You too are mortal." What I told Jack several times was: "You are never going to satisfy all the players, there will always be complaints."

It's interesting how far the tournament staff go to explore the possibilities for what would seem a relatively simple game. Here I point you to a newspaper article about Jack's former business professor, who has been called on to consult on a more modern and equitable structure for WSOP tournament payouts. 

"Effel now manages more than 1,000 employees, and the tournament schedule from May through July grosses more than $200 million and has 57 events. The goal for the players in any event is not only to win one of the coveted bracelets, but also a share of the prize money. The problem was designing an equitable payout structure for a single event which could have over 6,000 players."

*     *     *

I mentioned before the communication changes brought about this year by Twitter. Players are now giving out not only their chip counts but also the blow by blow of an endless torrent of bad beat stories. The most common word in poker tweets could well be "donkey." If you missed the New York Times article on poker and twitter, it is well worth a read.

"It's completely changing poker for the audience," Joe Sebok says of Twitter. "Traditional poker media coverage is a lot of hand histories online. It's bland and basic. Now you get to hear players exclaim and interact - 'oh I feel so sick' or 'oh that player is a knucklehead.' They upload pictures and they reply to each other. It gives you a sense of the pressure these guys are under and what it's like to be here."

*     *     *

While we are visiting the esteemed New York Times, they also ran an article written by a mother about her son's poker playing; an article written by a mother about her son's poker obession; an article by a mother about her complete misunderstanding of her son's poker game.

I could go on, but the extremely uneven article goes from an indictment of online poker to a somewhat more level discussion. This only happens when the mom discovers her son is winning and winning a lot! I have read the author (the mom) before, she is a very good writer but in this piece she really lost her edge and never quite got back to a place of saying what she meant, which I can summarize thusly:

I overreacted because I did not understand the game of poker. I was an overprotective mother and tried to prevent my son from exploring an outlet he truly enjoyed and truly excelled at. I eventually figured that out, but I am still stuck in a conservative, backward paradigm which prevents me from saying simply that my kid was right and I was wrong.

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When you around anything for a long period of time, you eventually get sick of the cliches. That being the case, it is important to notice when someone manages to expand the model and come out with a new and fresh take on an old theme. Stud poker is often called the old man's game. You hear over and over: "No one under seventy ever sits at a Stud table." Or, "You know it's a Stud tournament because of all the oxygen bottles."

Howard Lederer came up with a new and refreshing insight on this the other night, when he twittered: "Why do I love playing the $1500 Stud 8 event? Ten times tonight I said to myself: I haven't seen him in 10 years. Good to know he's not dead!"

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Finally, take a minute, really only a minute and sign the PPA petition.