old magazines: professional poker & drugs

One of the heaviest loads during my recent move was a few boxes of old magazines I once subscribed to. Everything from The Economist & Men’s Health to Maxim, Stuff, etc.  I’ve been hanging onto them for a special project I have planned at some point.  For now though, randomly grabbing one and leafing through it gave me an idea for a new feature; ‘old magazines’.  Basically, anything I come across that I either missed on the initial read, or just find interesting in general. 

First up?  A pro-poker player talks about his drug of choice, then, and now.

Mike “The Mouth” Matusow from Stuff Magazine; May, 2006

Ecstasy is a phenomenal drug.  It is the greatest drug in history.  My first month of doing ecstasy I didn’t even play poker at all.  I was rolling 5 days a week.  I had money and I gave the drug away.”

Eventually, a year’s worth of hardcore drug use robbed him of his skill at the tables.  His solution?  More drugs of course.  Specficially, methamphetamine.

I began playing at a level I had never played at before.  Every time someone played a hand differently than their norm, I sensed it.  Every time someone showed a tell, I saw it.”

Nowadays, after being implicated in a drug smuggling sting, he sticks to prescriptions to keep his game face on; zoloft, depakote and ritalin. 

As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,600,000.

Better living through chemistry indeed.