If you ever end up at a poker table with Mike Matusow, make sure you bring headphones or ear plugs. Nicknamed “The Mouth”, Matusow is famous for his non-stop talking barrage at the poker table. He’s also famous for his barrage of trash-talk at the tables; just ask Greg Raymer.

Matusow’s in-your-face style of play has been both a help and a hindrance to his bankroll during his poker career. Matusow has won two WSOP bracelets – one in the 1999 $3,500 No Limit Hold’em event, and the other in the 2002 $5,000 Omaha Hi/Lo event. Matusow also pocketed a cool million dollars after winning the WSOP Tournament of Champions in 2005.

But Matusow’s fiery brand of play has also been a hindrance because he has been known to ruin hours of good play by making a stupefying mistake from time to time. This occurrence has been regular enough to earn its own moniker, and it known alternately as either the “Mike Matusow Blowup” or the “Mike Matusow Meltdown”. You can shoot your mouth off with impunity in most circumstances, but if you put your balls on the line from time to time, eventually someone will deliver a swift mule-kick to the groin.

Matusow’s poker-playing career came to grinding halt in 2000 after he became a habitual drug abuser of ecstasy, speed, cocaine and alcohol. Matusow resumed playing poker eventually, and even quit drugs between May to September 2003 before a marathon session of speed and alcohol derailed his sobriety. Matusow’s drug use came to a head in 2003 when he was arrested for selling and trafficking controlled substances, which landed him in jail from September 2004 to April 2005.

Since his release from prison, Matusow has been drug-free and is once again one of the most feared and loudest poker players at the tables. With his life back on track Matusow has become a familiar face on numerous poker tours and poker T.V. shows, and is a member of Team Full Tilt.

Read “Mike the Mouth Speaks: Part I” and “Mike the Mouth Speaks: Part II” for more great stuff!