+1. I echo a lot of the sentiments shared in this thread with oldschool online players. Very well written post Deldar. Really enjoyed reading it and thanks for sharing.

This is so sad - I remember back when I first started playing poker online back in 2006/7 I always used to see “ADZ124” holding the 25/50 NL lobbies. Hours later I would check again and he would be battling with big stacks on every table running. I often took some shots at 25/50 just to play with ADZ124. I vaguely remember playing HU with him which didn’t end well either.

RIP Matt - one of the real OG’s

Guys, i've met ADZ back in maybe 2011? in deaville, we were in the EPT hotel chilling with some drinks at the bar/lounge with Devillfish , and ADZ comes with a friend and we all start speaking, i remember asking ADZ friend what is he playing, and he says "'Oh no, i'm not a poker player i inherited money from my grandma" lol , and ADZ was speaking a lot as he normaly was all his life, and after they left Devillfish in the most Devillfish fashion comentating about the encounter in his unforgetable accent))))

You know i realized later in life that we all have our problems, and develoup personality traits to cope with them or to compensate in order to fell better, i try not to judge anyone anymore.
Now both are dead?! It feels weird...
Btw Devillfish was with a 18y old blondie?! pretty hot, nice girl, educated. He was a winner in life 4 sure

i'm pretty sure this was the case as i remember reading about his rich family. he obviously played poker as well, but his adapting a very aggressive (lucrative) style early on the poker scene is probably easier when you have tons of money in the bank to begin with.

Just to be clearer, the one with the grandma was the friend ADZ was with, but yes i think he was from a rich family as well, and it helps handle risks of going broke and people from rich families have a better knowledge at creating and keeping wealth.

Btw is Adderal a big problem in the mental health of that generation of poker players?
Im from europe and i allways felt that USA guys are better work horses than Europeean guys and only now i link the adderal usage with this

He was playing Plo200 on some of those last vids, probably hard for a guy of his character to fall from grace.
I like many old timers remember him beasting those soft NL2k 5k games. I Always wonder what the old time crushers who can't beat the game anymore do. Nowadays nl5 game is harder than what he was playing.
RIP

RIP man

Probably has more to do with the general mentality of people in each place.

When I lived in Europe, most people, even very well educated, were on modest salaries, but also didn't have to work 50+ hours/week and got plenty of vacation. People seemed more likely just to enjoy life rather than work nonstop to squeeze out every dollar possible.

Compare that to the mentality in the USA which is much more "live to work" rather than "work to live". Plus you're more likely to have a couple close friends on big salaries and working insane hours so Americans are more engrained to think that work and work is normal.

He was real OG, was big fan of him.
RIP

According to that video someone had presence of mind to use legal methods to keep a nut case away from a child. We are thankful the child is safe.

i'm all about carbon footprint

I have learned over the years, taking a medication makes so much difference in life. If you are ever have a really rough time and bad worries, please don't be afraid to see someone and try a medication

RIP ADZ

Isn't almost every poker player already a pothead? Doesn't that work?

RIP man

Weed doesn't cure every condition known to man. Shocking, I know.

Truly sad news, I know someone like this first hand and when he is off is meds he is a dangerous person if you don't know he is mentally ill as he can sound some what believable with his stories.

I wish the mental health act was changed and people like this could be committed much, much earlier than what is currently legally allowed as lives could be saved and dangerous behaviour limited.

As another poster has stated there is fine line between genius and madness.

That sucks. He was the man but his demons took over. Hope he is at peace

i was locked up because my mom wanted to work and not deal with me. Im not bipolar now i have a tumor in my thyroid. Meds may help some people but to b able to force someone over objection is wrong.

Fraud is standard practice in the industry to bill insurance. Giving the state the power to lock you up against your will and bill you thousands a day is not right in America

sorry about that man. And totally agree, no one should have the right to force medication on anyone under any circumstances if the person chooses not to want the medication.

All the best

My thoughts go out to his family. Rip

+1000

was going to make this exact comment...

"refusing meds" causes alot of heartache, even death, in my experience. definitely causes many homeless cases

i probably know (or know of) 10-15 people that might be candidates for some sort of brain/psych medication. what they have in common is that they are all very smart/creative and they are all in denial about things. get into stupid, existential arguments as to why they shouldn't take meds......... ultimately, i think they won't take meds because 1) they are smart people and will be proven wrong, 2) most have massive egos and don't want to partially give control to a medication/doctor.

my best friends wife deals with numerous phobias and depression and is on a whole cocktail of anti depressants and meds to cope with reality...specifically lithium, prozac, and seroquel

shes terrified to leave the house and won't allow visitors. other than her marriage, she has virtually zero human contact

sorry Im not a fan of taking anti depressants for a condition that can more effectively be treated with a strict regiment of exercise, healthy diet, and comprehensive therapy.

Ive seen first hand the damage that pumping pharmaceuticals into your bloodstream can do, and more often than not, it doesn't end well

Matt needed a hell of a lot more than meds to deal with his personal demons RIP

If youre not a medical professional, you aren't qualified to say "durr, medicine bad, just exercise".

If you are a medical professional, you should have your license revoked.

Not all medication is created equal, and most anti-depressants are non-habit forming, and can even be quit without titrating (it's pretty
weird that you lump prozac in with lithium and seroquel, which are two extremely different animals)

Also, knowing what matt marafioti dealt with. It's extremely stupid to insinuate that he just needed more exercise and to eat better food.

Got reminded from instagram this time last year we were posting RIP. RIP A money.