Two Words, One Answer.
player Mike
 Mike Matusow: Check-Raising the Devil $24.95 Mike Matusow's life story is certainly compelling enough but it's too bad there were no good writers around to tell it. I seems like all his two co-authors managed to do was transcribe the interview tapes, throw in a little temporal organization (although even that time line flow is very weak in places, especially in the beginning of the book, leaving the reader wondering what events happened before other events), and add some punctuation. Whatever fee or royalty they are receiving for this work should be refunded to Mike. And it is Mike's story, and it's definitely all about Mike. He introduces other characters, family, friends, enemies, lovers, colleagues, but he rarely attempts to see things from their point of view. He admits to making poor decisions, offering the sort of sheepish half-hearted explanations we're all too familiar with. But then he dwells on the events leading to his arrest and incarceration as though he didn't realize that the decision to purchase street drugs under highly peculiar circumstances was perhaps his stupidest decision of all. Mike will likely go to his grave thinking he didn't deserve to do time but I could not discern any evidence or extenuating circumstances in his book that would exonerate him. His entire lifestyle during his druggie period was one long crime joy ride, punctuated by crippling bouts of depression, that ended in the most predictable way. The fact that he only got 6 months jail time and was allowed to play poker and party all over the world after his conviction but before reporting to jail makes it clear that he paid a very light penalty compared to what might have been meted out. As far as the poker is concerned, Mike's results speak for themselves. He is one of the greatest tournament players of his generation. The verdict is not so clear on his cash games results, at least those he played in the last twelve years, because Mike says he basically lost a small fortune on-line while wondering about whether the games there are on the square or not. The proof is in the pudding, and Mike admits it when he talks about the Absolute and Ultimate Bet cheating scandals, which were far-reaching, long-lasting, and for which the greedy culprits will never face prosecution or even be made to return the money they stole. A plea for federal legalization and regulation of on-line poker for US citizens is appropriate here. Mike does quite a nice job of describing how he adjusts his tournament strategies to fit the situation he is faced with. He relies more on feel and people skills than analysis and math, and he's one of the best in the game at taking advantage of his strengths. He gives us insightful glimpses into how his mind works when he's playing well and when he's not playing well. That took courage to put down on paper for all to read and I admire him for it. On the other hand, he describes more times when he sucked out with the worst hand in crucial situations than he got sucked out on, so the cards seem to have broken even for him over the years, maybe even fallen his way more than his fair share. Based on the tournament hand anecdotes he chose to include in his book, any further whining from Mike about how unlucky he is is ridiculous. I wasn't expecting a how-to book on poker, after all this is an autobiography, but a few brief explanations of the technical terms should have been included for the reader not familiar with the games Mike plays. Does everyone who reads the book know the difference between whole pot and split pot games? Between hold 'em and Omaha? Does everyone know what Chinese poker is? In fact, does everyone know how a poker tournament basically works, that you get paid according to how long you last with at least one chip in front of you as opposed to how many chips you have at any particular time (with the exception that if more than one player busts out on the same hand, the player with the most chips when the hand started finishes higher)? It's easy to assume that this is common knowledge, and it involves less expository writing, but I think you cost yourself readership when you make that assumption. Yes, there is a glossary but the definitions are terse. Finally, I share the same concerns about Mike's description of how his bipolar disorder is being treated as CJ Hulbert. Mixing mood stabilizers and anti-seizure medicine like Depakote with anti-depressants like Lexapro is often a recipe for disaster, especially for a manic-depressive. Mike does make it clear, and this is vital information for bipolar sufferers, that it can take a long time and quite a bit of trial-and-error to get the right medicinal drugs in place, at the right dosages. He also makes it clear that he now is aware that he will be taking medicine to control his disease for the rest of his life, another crucial concept for bipolars, one that's often difficult to accept. There's no shame or weakness in this - if you have diabetes, you take insulin and no one thinks twice about it. Bottom line though: the book should include more documented medical research data about this debilitating, frustrating and potentially fatal disease. I read the book from cover to cover and I'm glad I did. It's brash and boastful but it comes across as honest, like it came from the heart and not some petty motivation to make money. I play poker but I admit I often don't understand the ethics or integrity of professional poker players. Mike's moral compass seems like it's spinning out of control as he dances from party to party, from party drug to party drug, from hooker to hooker. He also starts sliding down a slippery slope when he tries to draw a very fine line between being a "savvy" poker pro and outright collusion. Mike has been good at making money and blowing money over the course of his celebrated career, so he does impart the valuable lesson that suddenly having more money than you're used to can be as dangerous and unhealthy as being hooked on any street drug.  Montreal Canadiens Mike Cammalleri NHL Player Name & Number T-Shirt Size Large $24.00 The NHL Player Name & Number Tee by Reebok features: - 100% Cotton team colored t-shirt - Team logo screened to front chest - Player name and number screen printed in puff print on back - Screen printed stitching effect on numbers to give it an authentic sewn look  The Player $2.99 This is one of my all-time favorite films, a scathing, paced look at inside Hollywood that deciphers the netherworld of studio execs, producers, directors, actors and, most importantly, those over-abused prostitutes of the industry, screenwriters. Tim Robbins is Griffin Mill - smarmy, corporate and slick as cat manure on a vinyl floor. Robert Altman brought in an array of big names to lend this film their aura. Everybody was in it. Buck Henry pitches the best film idea that never happened, "The Post-Graduate", which is the sequel to "The Graduate". Grif is getting poison pen mail and he explores it a little too much, leading him to an art house in Pasadena where he accidentally kills a teed-off scribe, then into the man's ice queen girlfriend. Plot twists and studio politics intersect, and Whoopi Goldberg is insane as the cop who knows Grif got away with murder, which he does. There is no morality, just cold-hearted realpolitik. Do not miss Altman's interview at the end. Like "Sunset Boulevard", this one captivated and irritated this closed industry which still believes its press releases. Robbins is as good as it gets. This is sex and power, the ultimate aphrodisiac. The plot twist that ends it is one of the best ever devised, with Grif and his blackmailer suddenly co-producers "if the price is right..." As Matthew says in the Bible, "what does a man profit if he has the world but loses his soul?" |
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