Plumbers Invent MattVision: A Device That Allows People Who Can't Use Hands to Play Poker

Chris Ferrell and Dave Hofferber are two plumbers from Nebraska who play poker regularly. Through local games, they met Matt Johnson, a quadriplegic who enjoys playing poker just as much as they do.

Matt inspired Ferrell and Hofferber to come up with MattVision, a box of mirrors which allows people, who do not have hands or full control of them, to play card games without relying on the help of others, except for the dealer who slides the cards in front of them.

Prior to Mattvision, Matt relied on others in order to play poker properly. This meant that he would have to show his holecards while everybody else did their best not to steal a glance. This was frustrating to him, because he felt that it already tainted the game. Not to mention that it is a fact of poker that players do have to look at their cards over and over again.

"It was really frustrating for us and I can't imagine what it was like for him. You got to look at your cards several times, it's just part of the game," Ferrell says. "I said, 'Why don't we just build a box with a mirror in it?'

The duo then proceeded to build the device, but it's not as easy as it sounds.

"It's not something that we did overnight. There's a lot of time and a lot of gin involved in this," Ferrell says with a laugh.

"There's just no way for anyone else to see his cards," he says. "It just opens up a whole new door for him and anyone who can't use their hands."

January 08, 2007
John Tucker