I went to Atlantic City on Saturday after playing in a small tournament on Friday (which I did not do well in). Anyway, when I went to AC I decided to play a $1/$2 table. For those don’t know what a $1/$2 table is, it’s what the blinds are. So I sat down and played and I could see all the guys giving me “oh she probably sucks” eyes. Little did they know. I hit a full house probably half an hour into play. I kept betting but the guy would not lay down. I figured he had a seven high full house while I only had a six high. He checked it on the river and so did I. Turns out he didn’t have shit but he decided to run his mouth saying “What did she think I had four kings?” That whole time all I could think was “I just took you for about $60 and you’re going to not thank me for not taking anymore of your money?” People these days, I swear.
On Friday I’m going back to AC and I’m going to play some more $1/$2. Oh any by the way I ended up making almost $200 on the table in two hours. Sure it’s not a lot to some but $100 an hour makes me pretty happy. I’ll be playing for about five hours on Friday so let’s see how well I can do then. 
When did you first start getting interested in poker?
I was a dealer at Sam’s Town in 1996, then quit to become a professional poker player.
When was it that you became a professional poker player?
1996
If you could do anything else besides play poker what would you be doing?
I’ve been asked that so many times and I have no idea…I can’t even imagine myself doing anything else.
Overall how many bracelets do you have from the WSOP?
2, one in NL Holdem and one in Omaha 8 or better
Do you remember your first big win? If so when was it and where was it?
In 1997 Omaha 8 or better championship at WSOP where I got 127 thousand, second to Scotty.
How many WPT cashes do you have in total?
about 13
How many WSOP cashes do you have in total?
23
How did you earn your nickname “The Mouth”?
By talking real loud they called me LoudMouth Mike but I hated it so they changed it to The Mouth.
How much is your overall winnings?
over 6 million
You have a show on Cardplayer. com called “The Mouthpiece”. What do you talk about on the show?
I take calls for a half hour, answering any poker questions or just talking to fans, then spend a half hour talking about whats going on in poker, my hand of the week which is usually a bad beat, and whatever else is going on in life that week. Check it out every Thursday.
Who has been your biggest rivalry been with over the years?
Probably with Phil Helmuth
If you could give amateur players any advice what would it be?
Play patient and play tight. Don’t ever risk more than 5 percent of your bankroll at a time.
What’s your best finish at the WSOP?
6th in the main event 2001.
What’s your best finish at the WPT?
2nd at the Bellagio Cup 2007
You appeared on the WSOP video game. How did you feel about being part of the game?
I haven’t actually seen it yet, I think it was a good thing to be a part of that, but the fact that we got paid so little for something that big shows how stupid poker players really are.
What if you were playing an online game that you loved? You had to pay to play the game but you loved it so much that you didn’t mind paying what ever amount it was. Now let’s say it involved a virtual deck of cards, that’s right, poker. Right now the government has put a ban on online gambling in the U.S. Because of this ban there has been a large group of people that have popped up and are against the UIGEA (see second paragraph). They are attempting to protect the U.S. players’ rights. One of the largest groups is called the PPA. The PPA or Poker Players Alliance is attempting to gain as many supporters as they can. At this point the PPA has around 993,000 members. In 2006 President Bush signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. This act prohibits banks and other institutions from allowing them to put money into accounts. So now, poker players in the U.S. have to stop gambling online for real money.
Poker has been around for quite some time; in fact it is believed that the game was first played in 1829 with a twenty-card deck, according to English actor Joseph Crowell. The most played poker game, Texas Hold ‘em. There isn’t much known about the start of Texas Hold ‘em but The Texas State Legislature eventually recognized Robstown, Texas as the birthplace of Texas Hold ‘em in the 1900s. [1]. Texas Hold ‘em became a big deal and hit popularity around the year 2000. In 2003 it got even bigger when a new champion of World Series of Poker (WSOP) was crowned, by the name of Chris Moneymaker (yes that’s his real last name). Chris Moneymaker earned his spot in the WSOP Main Event by winning an online qualifier. Since 2003 the number of entries have gone up to an increasingly high number. The year 2006, for WSOP, was the highest number of entries of all time at 8,773 entrants and a total prize pool of $12,000,000.
Poker websites allow millions of players to play a game they love, whether for money or not. I believe that if someone wants to gamble online they should be able to. There are kids that are playing games that they have to pay monthly for. Some of the games they actually spend real money to buy accessories for their characters. These are children doing this. So why is it that children, mostly likely with the consent of their parent, can purchase accessories for a fake character online? Why is it that they can pay a monthly or yearly fee yet it’s okay for that to happen? If an adult wants to spend their own money on gambling online, I say why not? There are casinos that are legal in 16 states. So it’s okay for people to go out, take their money and blow it all on at a casino but if they want to sit down an blow it over the computer it’s not allowed?
There are quite a few people who think that gambling in its entirety is wrong. They believe that people lose a lot of things due to gambling. While it may be true that there are gambling addicts out there that due lose houses, cars, etc. because of gambling, that’s not everyone who gambles. If someone has a gambling problem they should get help and there are numbers that they can call. Most casinos, if not all, have phone numbers posted around the casino for gambling help lines. On some, if not most, online poker playing sites they allow you to block your transactions so you can no longer play poker. All I’m saying is that there are a lot of responsible adults in the world who can handle online gambling without a problem. Just because there are gambling addicts out there, doesn’t mean that everyone is. Even if that’s not why the starts UIGEA, it’s something to look into and think about.
I’ve never been a political person but I this is an issue I feel strongly about. I think it violates people’s rights when the government gets involved in a gambling website online probably for only one reason; because they’re not making money off of it. Oops, did I cross the line? Am I wrong? I may be but the government likes to get there grubby hands in everything they can. I love playing online poker, even though I don’t play it for money. I will do what I can to stand behind the PPA and try to help get this bill reversed.
Sign up with the PPA here! Stand up for people’s rights!