Of all the poker players who have been just as stellar at creating a name for themselves with their undefeated strategies and styles as they’ve been with their play, Mike Matusow would have to rank at the top of the world's best poker players.
Mike Matusow is better known for being one of the games most vocal players. He is as well a very emotional player, and never holds back and flares up at the table. Matusow got his nickname “The Mouth” by being too run off at the mouth a lot at the table.
Though some think him one of the true entertainers in the pokergame. Others mull over him as one of the most peeving players at the poker table. Either way, both poker aficionados and television producers are exulted when Mike makes a televised final table, because they know that Matusow is both great entertainer and a great poker player.
His first experience with video poker left him addicted, although the instinctive casino advantage in such house games usually got the better of him back when he was just about 10 years old when he is interested in gambling that led him until he was old enough to visit several casinos and played.
At the end of the day, his friend taught him how to play table poker in the early '90s. He became at the top of the tree in a short period of time and would grind out his living at the low-limit tables. Becoming a knacker with the work-like environment of long hours at the low-limits, he became a dealer at a local casino in order to save up a substantial bankroll to take part at the higher limits.
After his shifts as a dealer, Matusow began to play games like Texas Hold’em and Omaha Hi-Lo. Eventually, he put on the back burner of being a dealer and decided to try his hand at making it as a professional poker player on his own.
While becoming a professional poker player at the $30-60 level, Mike's winnings were most often used up over the weekend due to sports betting. While his tournament and cash game winnings usually keep him well-off these days, Matusow often has several open debts due to his side-game gambling.
Mike Matusow's table manners is aggressive as his playing style constantly ranting at his opponents while unable to control his own emotional reactions to any bad break. Regardless of his debts, Mike won 2 World Series of Poker bracelets in his poker career and plays online at Full Tilt Poker.
Moreover, Mike Matusow has a strong record in poker tournaments, including WSOP wins in 1999 No-Limit Hold'em event and 2002 in Omaha High/Low event. He also finished 2nd in the 2004 World Poker Tour UltimateBet.com Poker Classic for $250,000.
He also made final tables at both the 2001 and 2005 WSOP Main Event. Perhaps most memorable was Mike's win at the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions, an invitation-only event that paid him $1,000,000 for the win following a brutal beat that left him in 9th place in the Main Event.
While making many final tables, the "Mike Matusow blow-up" is often held over his head for going down to close out tournaments and blowing off his remaining chips.
Despite his 2 WSOP bracelets and innumerable high finishes in other tournaments, Mike Matusow’s career hasn’t been without controversy. He did jail time in 2004 and 2005 after being caught with cocaine and has had to bend over backwards with a drug problem over the years.
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Mike “The Mouth” Matusow
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 | Labels: Best Poker Players, Male Poker Players, Poker Players, Poker Pros, WPT, WSOP | View Comments
Playing Texas Hold'em Poker
Texas holdem poker is a smash online casino game without distinction. From being a fairly small game only played by old-school Texas gamblers, it’s now played by tons of people online and around the world.
Texas Holdem Poker is most popular from all the poker variants. It is very easy to learn poker but it is quite challenging and it can be also very time consuming to learn to play winning poker. Texas Holdem Poker is most popular from all the poker variants.
Playing Texas Hold'em
Texas Hold'em usually has a 9 or 10 players; any less and the game may be referred to as short handed. To know who starts the game a single card is dealt to each player; the highest card will be the first dealer. The dealer position is shown by a white plastic chip referred to as the button, which is also what the dealer position is called, sometimes referred to as being on the button.
After each round of play, sometimes called a hand, the dealer button rotates to the left, ensuring that everyone gets to play in this and all other positions.
First, the betting structure can differ. Sometimes bets are used, but most games start with 2 players to the left of the dealer placing out a regulated amount of money so there is an initial amount to get things started. This is called blind bets.
Next, the dealer shuffles up a standard deck of 52 playing cards.
Each is dealt 2 cards, face down called the hole or pocket cards.
The first move, falls on the player to the left of the big blind. He can either call the bet, raise it, or fold. Betting continues around the table, clockwise.
After the betting round ends, the dealer discards the top card of the deck. This is called a burn card to prevent cheating.
After the betting is completed, three cards are dealt face up in the center of the table, which is referred to as the board. The first 3 cards in Texas Hold'em are called the Flop. These are communal cards that anyone can use in combination with their 2 pocket cards to form a poker hand.
From the flop on, betting commences with the player to the dealer’s left, who can check or bet.
A 4th card is dealt face up onto the board. This is called fourth street or the turn card. Players can use this sixth card now to form a 5 card poker hand.
The player to the left of the dealer begins another round of betting. In many types of games, this is where the bet size doubles.
The final card is dealt face up. This card is also called fifth street or the river. Players can now use any of the 5 cards on the table or the 2 cards in their pocket to form a 5 card poker hand.
Finally, all of the players remaining in the game begin to reveal their hands. This begins with the player to the left of the last player to call. It's called the showdown. Players use a combination of their pocket cards and the community cards to form a poker hand.
The player who shows the best hand wins!
The game is fast and furious, with more players, bets, raises and re-raises than many other typical poker games. No wonder that Texas Holdem so enjoyable, and therefore the best online casino game at online casino.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 | Labels: Casino and Games, Online Poker, Online Poker Players, Poker, Poker Strategy, Poker Tips | View Comments
Hottest and Sexiest Male Poker Players
Poker is one of the most accomplished casino game both in land-based casino and in online. But what if it's being invaded by some of the Hollywood industries hottest and most accomplished celebrities and some of the gambling industries finest? The poker table sure will sizzle with red hot fiery men!
His real name is Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California. He is an American actor, film director and a screenwriter. He became known in the mid 1990s, after his involvement in the film Mallrats (1995) and later played the lead role in Chasing Amy in 1997. Affleck has since become an Academy Award winner for his screenplay in Good Will Hunting in 1997. He has established himself as a Hollywood leading man, having starred in several big budget films, such as Armageddon (1998), Pearl Harbor (2001), Changing Lanes (2002), The Sum of All Fears (2002) and Daredevil (2003).
Ben Affleck Pictures
Poker Career
He has been a poker enthusiast and was mentored by poker pro and author, Annie Duke. Since he enlisted the help of Annie Duke, everyone started to notice his poker skills. He won the WPT $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Tournament at the Commerce Casino. He became one of the player to watch out.
Born December 13, 1980 in Helsinki, Finland. A Finnish professional poker player, former tennis player and coach, and model from Vantaa, Finland. He currently resides in Monte Carlo. Antonius was mentored by Marcel Lüske as a member of Luske's “Circle of Outlaws” and later advised by Jennifer Harman.
Patrik Antonius Pictures
Poker Career
Antonius began making a name for himself on the poker tournament circuit with two finishes near the final table of a European Poker Tour (EPT) event and a World Poker Tour (WPT) event, 12th at the EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, then 15th at the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Stars event two months later, in early 2005. He went on to finish in the money in three events of the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Matt Damon Pictures
Poker Career
Ben Affleck's childhood friend is one of Rounders main character. Before he shoot the film, he and Ed Norton studied how to play poker. He attended The Cannes Charity Poker Event.
Tobey MaGuire Pictures
Tuesday, September 08, 2009 | Labels: Best Poker Players, Celebrity Poker Players, Male Poker Players, Poker Players | View Comments
The Robin Hood of Poker: Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is known as The Robin Hood of Poker for his generosity giving his net earnings from tournaments of each year. He is born on December 30, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois. Barry learned to play card games at a young age by his father. He knew Gin Rummy, Hearts and Poker but he was particularly gifted in Poker. Because of his undeniable intelligence, his parents encourage him to develop a calm and analytical game.
He started playing making rounds and cashing up to $50 a night. Barry craved more intellectual work than poker could give. When he was about 15 years old, he already made his own computer software. He once dreamt to be a doctor that will cure diseases. Barry was exceptional in his classes at Bogan High School especially in mathematics and computers. He kept up with his studies at day and building his bankroll at night. This didn't end when he gone to college at the University of Illinois. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Computer Science in just three years.
He also take an undergraduate studies to a Ph.D. program in mathematics and spent the next 10 years earning his doctorate degree. He met Donna, who had three children from his previous relationship, and married her. To gain full custody of the children, he was advised by their lawyer to get a job that didn't involved gambling. Barry give up school and poker and moved with his family to Silicon Valley where he joined four others in a starting company called Symantec (The software company behind Norton Anti-Virus). He and Donna gained custody of the children after that.
Because of his exceptional skills, he was one of the main man in Symantecs background. Making a debut on 1986. The Q&A was named the product of the year in almost every industry magazine. The success of the product lead Symantec on the road to becoming one of the top computer software firms.
But in the late '80s they began to serve a more serious purpose when Donna was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and their daughter Melissa began suffering from liver problems and have to have a liver transplant.
Barry began to spend more and more time at the tables, returning to the poker-playing/work schedule of his early years, except with crazier hours. It lasted until 1990 and Barry quit Symantec. He was unable to justify the time spent in poker tables and the lost time that he wasn't able to give to his family because of his work.
In 1992, he decided to enter his first tournament: the $10,000 WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.
He was undaunted by a 36 player starting field packed with pros like Johnny Chan, Todd Brunson, Bobby Baldwin and Berry Johnston, Barry made his way through and placed 22nd in the event for an $8,080 payday.
It was around this time he and Donna decided to get a divorce, and after a three-year battle Barry was awarded full custody of their children. During this difficult period Barry met Vietnamese player Mimi Tran and they cut their infamous deal: Barry offered to teach her poker in exchange for Vietnamese lessons, which he hoped would help him communicate with the many Vietnamese players he anted up against.
In the following years Barry kept up his No-Limit Hold'em game and began to play Limit Hold'em as well, ripping up the felt at ring games across California and Las Vegas and building a reputation as one of the top players in the world. He continued to enter and cash in tournaments through the '90s but his big break didn't come until 2003, when he won Larry Flynt's $1 million Seven-Card Stud event at the Hustler Casino.
It was after this tournament that he made his first major donation to his charity of choice, Children, Incorporated. He had been involved in the charity for some time, sponsoring several children in the United States through the organization and taking his kids to meet them. But with his Hustler win he decided it was time to make to take his philanthropy to the next level: He donated a large chunk of his $770,000 first-place win to the organization.
Over the years he has placed in more than 30 WSOP and 15 WPT events. He is a regular player in the highest-stakes cash games in Vegas and California, including the Big Game at the Bellagio, and has appeared in several major televised poker tournaments and TV shows, such as High Stakes Poker, the NBC Heads-Up Championship and Poker Superstars Invitational.
He also made a name as a poker author like other authors and co-poker players Annie Duke and Phil Hellmuth Jr. He was persuaded to write a chapter for Super/System 2, the highly anticipated sequel to Doyle Brunson's poker how-to book, Super/System. Barry found the experience so enjoyable he ended up writing his own poker tome, Ace on the River, which is more about the lifestyle of a poker professional than poker strategy.
Barry's game is still one of the best in the world. And despite 15 tournament cashes in 2007, including a seventh-place finish in the WSOP H.O.R.S.E. event, and nonstop ring-game action, he is convinced that a professional poker player's game will inevitably deteriorate with age. Humble about his talents, honest about his weaknesses, he may yet prove himself wrong. And if he does, he'll be the first to admit it.
Friday, September 04, 2009 | Labels: Best Poker Players, Male Poker Players, Poker Champ, Poker Players | View Comments
The Hangover Movie Review
Characters:
Bradley Cooper - Phil Wenneck
Ed Helms - Stu Price
Zach Galifianakis - Alan Garner
Justin Bartha - Doug Billings
Heather Graham - Jade
Sasha Barrese - Tracy Garner
Jeffrey Tambor - Sid Garner
Ken Jeong - Mr. Chow
Rachael Harris - Melissa
Mike Tyson - Himself
Mike Epps - Black Doug
Jernard Burks - Leonard
Rob Riggle - Officer Franklin
Cleo King - Officer Garden
Bryan Callen - Eddie Palermo
I have fun watching the movie from top to bottom. It was so hilarious that have all this twist and twisted scenes. It is so not for the conservative types. Be sure to watch out for the ending credits. The pictures from their Vegas tour from the moment they started to get drunk. Hope you all enjoy the movie as I did. Sorry for the late edit.
This is the story of the whole movie. Warning: Spoilers.
Phil Wenneck was a grade school teacher, may be considered one of the bad ass in the movie. His character was like a man that is so bored with his life. Stu Price is a dentist always claiming to be a doctor with a fiancee that is so tight and had sex with a bartender on a cruise (or was it in a plane?). His character was such a goody-two-shoes that Phil always badmouthed about his girlfriend.
Allan Garner is Tracy's very weird brother. He always has his own world but there was a scene in the movie that he said "he was a lone wolf, but after he met Doug he felt that he wasn't alone anymore. That his pack went up by 1."
Sid Garner, Tracy and Allan's father, lend Doug his beloved car for his bachelor party but in exchange he will promise that no one will drive that car except him. Doug, who is totally astounded by the gesture, agreed to the deal. Allan who was so worried about the fact that he is not welcomed to join the party was comforted by Doug and still insist to come. They picked up Phil from the school where he teaches. And lastly, picked up Stu who was having a hard time saying goodbye to her fiancee.
When they arrived in Las Vegas they immediately checked-in in Caesar's Palace. Phil insisted that they should get a villa rather than Stu's already reserved room. At first, he was hesitant because his girlfriend constantly checks his credit statements. But eventually they take the villa. After settling in, Phil make the three change so they can get started with the party. While Stu is changing and talking with his fiancee, the others came in and making hurrying him up so they can party. After talking with his girlfriend, Stu takes out a small box that holds a beautiful ring. It was Stu's grandmother's ring. He revealed that he was going to propose to his girlfriend after the wedding ceremony. Phil was against it but they were shut off when Allan came in.
The four waits up in the elevator when Phil noticed Allan's bag and gave insults. The four continuing their trip to Vegas continue to the elevator and go up instead of going down. The three really did planned to go unto the rooftop. Allan revealed what's really in the bag. It's a booze for the toast they're going to make for the official bachelors party. Each shared their own message for the soon-to-be-groom and toast for the celebration.
The next day, nobody knows what happened last night along with the strange things surrounding them. Their hotel room wrecked, Doug's missing mattress, a chicken in the living room, a tiger in the bathroom and a baby in the closet. Things get worse when they found out that Doug was missing, his phone was left in the room. So they try to retraced what happened last night. While trying to remember what happen, Stu saw the hospital bracelet on Phil's so they rushed out to their first stop... The Hospital.
Before they even got to the hospital another weird events happened. The mattress was in one of the statues and the car isn't Sid's beloved car... it was a police car. No time to waste and be picky they rushed to the hospital. After talking to the obviously annoyed doctor, they were given a hint where they might have another clue. A small church, the kind of church which accepts on-the-spot wedding (It's really Vegas baby!).
Every clue and hint they find, they found theirselves in a loop hole. It just goes round and round. With every answer they found themselves in yet another problem or puzzle. But 5 hours before the actual wedding, Black Doug (not their bestfriend and soon-to-be-groom) gave Stu a hint that could lead them to where Doug is. And luckily, they found Doug sitting on the rooftop unconscious. After a very long day, they rushed to the wedding. After a lot of bad lucks they finally they received good luck. They came exactly on time. More On This Article Here