Matt Matros has been playing poker ever since his Dad taught him the game as a young child. By the time he was in his senior year of college at Yale University, he was devoting all his spare time to the game.
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Mathematics, Matros has an exceptionally analytical understanding of the game, which he outlined in an interview with PokerListings:
“There’s a lot of math in poker. Everyone knows about pot odds, or most good players know about pot odds and calculating probabilities of hands improving. There’s more math to poker than that. There’s a field called game theory, which really gives insight to what kind of strategy you should use at the table. It’s not just about calculating your chances of winning, it’s about calculating the correct play based on what my opponent’s range of hands is, what he will do with those range of hands, how can I maximize the amount of chips I will make based on how he’s gonna play. And it’s very complicated.”
In 2004, all Matt’s hard work paid off in a big way when he finished third in the World Poker Tour Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic for $704K. He made his first World Series of Poker final table in 2008, taking sixth in a $1500 No Limit Hold’em event for $148K. A few months later, he took seventh at the WPT North American Poker Championship for $97K. To date, Matros has over $1 million in live tournament earnings.
After his time at Yale, Matros went on to complete a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts at Sara Lawrence University. He then authored a book entitled The Making of a Poker Player: How an Ivy League Math Geek Learned to Play, which has been praised for its humor and insight into the life of a professional tournament player.
