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Have I been asleep, or haven’t we been trying to pull poker out of the public opinion trashcan for the last 10 or 20 years? Haven’t we been trying to clean it up, so that it can take its rightful place next to all the other great mental sports? Don’t we fight huge legal and political battles everyday all over this land of the free just to allow free people the right to play their great sport when, where and how they choose?
Sadly, our sport seems to be haunted by the ghosts of riverboat gamblers, saloon degenerates, tricksters and cardsharps. Anyway, a lot of good folks still think of poker as just another evil vice. One, for the protection of society, that should be regulated right out of existence.
Then, comes along world class poker champion, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, with a greasy, whiny autobiographical tabloid. Will Matusow become the poster boy for the staunch poker opposition? Will his book become their evidence in the courtroom of public opinion? And, add the fuel needed for their continued opposition? Probably.
Public opinion can be fickle, and easy to manipulate. Ask any politician. Ask any lawyer. Matusow may have worldly ways, but he continues to be naive when it comes to the ways of the world.
Well, whatever happens, happens. Meanwhile, Matusow in his autobiography, Check-Raising The Devil, ascends to a higher calling than endearing poker to the masses. In his book, he pulls back the curtains to reveal parts of life that few of us know or understand – deep depression and drug addiction.
They say that prevention is worth a pound of cure. What they often fail to say is that prevention is dependent upon knowledge. In this vein, Matusow has made a very valuable contribution of knowledge for all of humanity, especially for those who are suffering. I suppose that enlightenment can travel in the most unlikely of packages.
And, so can raw, titillating entertainment. Once you start reading Matasow’s book, and until you are finished, you will find yourself wanting to rearrange your life. Maybe, even to the point of skipping your poker game. The book is that hard to set down. Especially, when you begin to see that real life, at least Matusow’s life, is more entertaining than any of the best selling fiction around.
You could take a large pot, pitch in Pulp Fiction and Fear and Loathing, add heaping spoons full of confusion, depression, obsession, compulsion, betrayal, entrapment, victimization, prison, sex, drugs, and a trailer house, let simmer in the Las Vegas heat a few days, and this fictional stew would not be half as sensational as Matusow’s autobiography.
There is also a good bit about poker, tournament poker, and life as a professional poker player. The poker tips are near priceless, and the inside stories are fascinating. Throughout, you can read and practically feel how a world champion plays and thinks about poker. To Matusow’s credit, he does share all. Indeed, his book is a chronicle of modern poker history in its making.
So, should you read Matusow’s book? Only if you love poker. And, you had better finish reading it before your poker game starts. But, what about the poker opposition? Well, let us hope that for this one time, “The Mouth” will just be nothing more than a faint disturbance in the far off desert sand.
To give the devil his due, Matusow is a champion who, through his own tortuous experiences, can now illuminate most all of the better decisions that we should be making in life and at the poker table. After all, Matusow has lived through untreated bipolar disorder and ADHD, torment, depression, low self esteem, betrayal, entrapment, prison, crystal meth, ecstasy, cocaine, and orgy’s, to emerge somewhat the worse for the wear and tear, but on the wiser side.
Finally, we can learn from Matusow a most valuable lesson, being that passion will prevail. It is passion that wins poker tournaments. And, passion that wins in life. You see, through Matusow’s life, we have confirmation that when against all odds, we have within ourselves the strength and spirit to achieve the impossible.
For, it is with our passion that, like Matusow, we can survive during the darkest of times, triumph over our obstacles, and realize our fondest of dreams.
R. Steve McCollum is a long time hold’em poker player. You may read many more of his 1,000’s of sit ‘n’ go tips, tactics, secrets, and strategies at http://www.SitnGoHoldemPoker.com, where you can sign up for free poker updates. And, visit his site, http://www.PokerBookReviews.info, for the best reviews of the latest sit ‘n’ go, tournament, and hold’em poker books.
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