Five Thoughts: Mercier Plays It Cool, Negreanu Loses His, and DP Heads to the WPT

After a brief hiatus, Five Thoughts has returned just in time to tackle a few pressing issues of the week.

1. Mercier Runs It Twice

Only weeks removed from one of the most successful summers in recent World Series of Poker memory, Jason Mercier’s accomplishments have been duly celebrated.

But thanks to his now infamous 180 to 1 bracelet bet against Vanessa Selbst, Mercier’s memorable run has also thrust poker into the mainstream media – no small feat in 2016.

The coverage began with a well-written glimpse into the method behind Mercier’s multitabling madness, penned by David Hill for The Ringer.

Hill managed to convey both the thrill of tournament poker played at its highest levels, and the game’s potential to put even the most disciplined pros under its thrall, showing readers the level of focus elite players like Mercier exhibit every waking hour. What Hill didn’t do was resort to lazy rhetoric and cast committed poker pros as compulsive gamblers.

As for Dan Le Batard, newspaper columnist and ESPN media personality, he and his team just couldn’t resist the low-hanging fruit when interviewing Mercier.

Le Batard and crew opened by introducing Mercier as a “poker junkie,” setting the stage for a line of questioning by his co-host that bordered on demeaning.

Do you have a gambling problem?

What is the best high you’ve had playing poker?

Mercier handled the situation with class and composure, proclaiming simply “I love playing poker.”

He did, however, voice discomfort with the approach the show’s hosts took after the show aired:

A sportswriter by trade – one who hosts the monthly Dan Le Batard Celebrity Poker Tournament in Florida – Le Batard should know that top performers in any profession exhibit a rabid commitment to honing their craft.

After all, Le Batard has infamously attacked basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal for possessing “underwhelming work ethic.” If O’Neal, one of the most decorated basketball stars in history, didn’t work hard enough for Le Batard, surely Mercier’s regimen of playing “almost every day” should suffice?

As Le Batard knows quite well, competitors who do the work day in and day out are known as “gym rats” – not junkies.

2. Negreanu’s Missive Misses Mark

Hidden among hundreds of politically charged tweets posted by both men, an interesting exchange occurred recently between Daniel Negreanu and Mike Matusow.

Responding to a retweeted criticism of Donald Trump posted Erik Seidel, Matusow replied with a seemingly innocuous joke: “Erik, I thought you don’t do drugs?”

Negreanu decided to jump in. But instead of his politics, Negreanu went after Matusow’s use of the word “drugs,” dredging up past indiscretions and ridiculing an ongoing effort to treat mental health issues.

Without knowing the details of Matusow’s relationship with Negreanu, one which dates back to the late 1990s, only they can determine whether this was just two buddies ribbing one another, or something more. Matusow didn’t respond, and Negreanu didn’t delete the tweet, so it’s likely that no blood was drawn between the two.

But based on their overwhelmingly critical replies, dozens of Negreanu’s followers and fans felt Negreanu crossed the line.

Leaving aside the D.A.R.E-inspired portrayal of recreational drug users having a “fried brain” (Matusow readily admits that he’s battled addiction in the past), Negreanu roundly dismissed Matusow’s well-documented struggle with mental health issues.

In 2016 the stigma associated with mental health is slowly being eroded, and for good reason. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates that 10 million Americans currently …

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