Mike Caro Details Burning $100 Bills as Calculated Poker Advertising

Mike Caro, the "Mad Genius of Poker," once set $100 bills on fire in front of opponents as a deliberate tactic. The 82-year-old revealed the reasoning behind the move in an exclusive two-part interview on the PokerNews Podcast with Chad Holloway.

Caro confirmed he performed the act repeatedly. "I actually did that many times, burn $100 bills," he said. "And it's not because I don't care about money." One of his core observations is that in poker players should care about money but pretend not to care about money. The display created an image of recklessness that could induce looser play from adversaries.

"Burning $100 bills got attention," he said. "It's probably very cheap advertising for the size of games that were being played."

Caro's Withdrawal and Planned Return

Caro eventually withdrew from the public poker scene after growing tired of its demands. He purchased 42 acres on Table Rock Lake in the Ozarks. "I finally had enough of the madhouse of the poker community," he said.

Over the subsequent 20 years he lived a quieter life while continuing to develop several books, a major poker software project, and plans to restart seminars. The podcast covers his foundational work on player tells in the Book of Tells, his contributions alongside Doyle Brunson to Super System, and his involvement in early online poker. It also includes anecdotes about Brunson, an airport wager, being stood up by Donald Trump, and his views on the Poker Hall of Fame.

As detailed in the PokerNews reporting, the interview marks Caro's reemergence after two decades largely out of view. The discussions tie directly to longstanding questions of behavior and image at the table.