Matusow makes his first final table of the 2006 WSOP

Mike Matusow today continued his focused, new style of "Non Meltdown" poker and made the $2,500 NL event final table. If you're a follower of this blog you already know he's been on a tear lately, cashing for well over 1 million over the last few big events he has played. I made the prediction at the start of this years WSOP that you'd hear from "The Mouth" and with one cash already under his belt, he added the exclamation point today with his 89K cash.

Mike started the final table mid-pack and made a few moves here and there. He never really had good cards to play however and after picking up three hands in a row, he ran into amatuer Justin Pechie during the following hand:

Looking down at the Jack of Hearts and Ten of Diamonds, Mike Matusow raises to 33K. He's called from the small blind (Pechie) and after a flop of 10 9 6 rainbow, sees Pechie bet 32K. Mike immediately goes over the top all-in for his last ~300K in chips and is almost beat into the pot by Pechie. When Pechie flips over his Ten of Hearts and Nine of Hearts "The Mouth" knows he's in trouble. The turn and the river are no help and Mike "The Mouth" Matusow is eliminated in 7th place.
Of course for Mike, it's really not about the money. It's about the bracelet and the respect of his fellow poker pros. Mike is far more calm this year than last year and with his early pace showing some positive returns, watch out for more "noise" coming from this "Mouth"!

Run your mouth all you want, you can be the Star of your own poker party here