Hi pokerworld !

It has been a long time since I’ve post something new but I’ve been extremely busy the las month with studying, working and moving. But I’ll inform you a lot quicker from now on. I hope you’re still as curieus about my number 1 as before.  I do have been playing poker anyhwo the last weeks, you know that I can’t ignore that. My bankroll is still growing until almost 1k. I know very slow, but exponential as my smallball poker strategy still pays off. Always keeping the pots small until you got the nuts and being paid off  by some fish out there, as long as they don’t give you a horrible suckout. It’s really working for me with the tournaments at Poker Stars and the cash games at Fatbet. I’ve been taught by the great Negreanu and by the excellent books of Dan Harrington. Winning makers for sure !  But for now here are two brilliant tournament players, both with their own famous style but not really smallball poker lovers.

(7)   =>   MIKE   MATUSOW

> Michael Matusow

> born 30/04/1968 in Los Angeles, California (USA)

> currently resides in Henderson, Nevada.

> Nickname :  ‘ The Mouth ‘

> won 3 Bracelets (’99 NL Hold’em/ ‘02 Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or better/ ‘08 NL 2-7 Draw w rebuys)

> winner of the 2005 WSOP Tournament of Champions

> has a highest WSOP Main Event finish of 6th in 2001.

> plays online at Full Tilt Poker as member of Team Full Tilt.

> won over $ 7,300,000 in Live Tournament Play (until 2009).

Mike ‘ the Mouth ‘ Matusow is probably the most famous for being a trash-talking /animating player at the table who’s very controversial and can be a annoying bully. But regarding his peers he’s a warm and gentle person beside the table. He showed that when he paid a part of Scotty Nguyen’s entrance fee in 1998 when Scotty became the world champion. Mike certainly got his share afterwards.  He started his poker career as a dealer, before playing as a professional in the early 1990s. Another well-known term around The Mouth is the ” Matusow Blow-up “. It happens in every big tournament where he’s playing like a genius for hours building a large stack that disappears in a sec with a single spectacular Matusow fish misjudgement and Tilt Time afterwards. Mike is well-known as a excellent tournament player, but a scared high stakes cash game player which he showed on several seasons of High Stakes Poker. He made two final tables at the WSOP Main Event (6th in 2001 and 9th in 2005), but won the WSOP Tournament of Champions later in 2005 to make him the first player ever to win two million$ prizes in the same year. Besides the WSOP Mike made 4 WPT final tables, won 1 Poker After Dark title and Poker Superstars III. He had a big personal problem when he spent 6 months in jail due to cocaine possession and selling. He works together with CardPlayer and signed a contract with Deepstacks.com in 2007, becoming the Dean of their online poker training site. Mike wrote his autobiography ‘ Check Raising the devil ‘ which was released in May 2009.

(6)   =>   CHRIS   FERGUSON

> Christopher Philip Ferguson

> born 11/04/1963 in Los Angeles, California (USA)

> currently resides in Pacific Palisades, California

> Nickname : ‘ Jesus ‘

> won the WSOP Main Event in 2000.

> won 4 other Bracelets (’00 7 Card Stud/’01- ‘03 Omaha Hi-Low Split 8 or better/ ‘03 Limit Hold’em-7 card stud)

> won the 2008 NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship

> plays online at Full Tilt Poker as member of Team Full Tilt.

> has Live Tournament Winnings of over $ 8,000,000 (until 2009)

Chris started to play poker by the age of 10 before entering his first WSOP in 1995 at the age of 32. He followed the foot steps of his smart parents when he earned a Ph.D in Computer Science at UCLA. He prefers big tournaments above cash games, but is wildly respected by his peers. Chris is the only player to win 3 WSOP Circuit Events and he also reached 1 WPT final table. Results that proves once again what a great tournament player mister Ferguson is. He showed his skills in 2000 when he beated T.J. Cloutier in heads-up play at the WSOP Main Event to win a cool 1,5 million $ and became the new World Champion. Some more tournament results are that he has the third most World Series of Poker cashes (59) after Phil Hellmuth and Men Nguyen. Chris also won 2 Poker After Dark titles. ‘Jesus’ is wildly regarded is one of the best heads-up players ever with 2 second places and 1 victory at NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship when he defeated Andy Bloch in the final. Chris is also spending a lot of time online where he showed some extraordinary stuff. He proved several times that he can turn 1$ in 20k online in just 6 months. Besides that, he helped to launch Full Tilt Poker in 2004 and created an algorithm to make deals at the final table of an online tournament. Mister Ferguson is a popular, quiet player with a highly mathematical style and a trademark appearance. A wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses, long brown hair and beard (’Jesus’) combined with his characteristic motionless pose. He’s interested in swing dancing and cardstechniques.

So we’re down to the last five players of my Most Famous Poker Players list. Only the best is yet to come people ! Now I’m going to log off very quickly to watch the World Cup Final between Spain and Holland. May the best win !

Cheers,

J.M.