Year of The Mouth?

I just finished watching Poker After Dark. After 10 straight losses, Mike Matusow FINALLY won one!! He was playing against Andy Black, so I would have been fine if either one of them won. Andy’s a gentleman player with some real skill and Mike has become a personal favorite of mine.

Sure, when I watched Matusow play several World Series of Pokers ago, I couldn’t help but notice what a complete dick he was. Taunting other players, strutting, screaming, CRYING. The man actually cried after taking a bad beat. What the hell? There’s no crying in poker no matter how much it’s warranted. They call him The Mouth for a reason, but still. Not the sort of guy who grows on you.

I don’t keep track of personal stuff with these players, but he’s changed. Mike’s still The Mouth, but he’s toned it down just enough for me to relate to him. Sure, it may be obnoxious, but who hasn’t carried on a bit too much after a savory win? Haven’t we all flipped some grief to other players no matter what game we were involved in? Then there’s Poker After Dark. Mike’s been in 10 of these things without winning once. Many times, he gets beaten by truly horrific strokes of bad luck that would have brought ME to tears. But Mike kept plucking away.

Any writer who’s made it to any level knows a thing or two about coming back from being knocked down. The more I see Mike play, the more I find myself rooting for the guy. He does make some truly great plays. His skill at reading other players can be uncanny. Then, again, he may just throw it away with a famous blow-up where he puts it all in for some unknown reason with a crappy hand. Even then, more often than not, he’ll admit he screwed up. Plenty of professional players out there would rather call someone an idiot for calling a bluff than admit any sort of mistake was made. As a guy who’s screwed up plenty of times, I can respect someone who at least admits it when they derailed. And still, Mike comes back with his eyes on the prize.

Well, tonight Mikey won! I hate to see Andy Black lose, but Mike put in his time for this one. It’s nice to see good things come to those who keep fighting for them. Go get ‘em, Mouth. Just don’t let this go to your head.