The Round Table – Players to Watch - Dan ‘Wretchy’ Martin
This 21 year old up and coming player is definitely one to keep an eye on. He is ranked on
PocketFives and recently took down the Sunday Brawl on Full Tilt for almost $70,000.
KL: How long have you been playing poker?
Dan: I’ve been playing poker online since I was a junior in high school, but I’ve been playing cards since I was just a little guy with my parents and friends.
KL: How did you get started?
Dan: I got started when a friend of mine introduced me to Paradise Poker, which now obviously doesn’t accept USA players. We used to sit together in the .50-$1 dollar fixed limit hold’em games and tried to take each other’s money, it was a fun time. Usually we were talking on the phone or over a voice communication program on the computer, trying to give each other a hard time. In the end I think we both lost the majority of the money we had put in. I’ve taken it to another level since then, while he is starting to get back into it.
KL: How important do you think it is to be a part of the online community – i.e. – pocket fives, participate on forums, etc.
Dan: I think that being a part of the community is huge, especially to players who are looking to get noticed and are looking for backers. The most important part of poker is someone’s name or reputation. If that reputation ever got tarnished, the person will not be able to get a game anywhere, or they’ll be an outcast. To me, I think it’s extremely important to have a good image around the community and try to be liked as much as possible.
KL: How much do rankings matter to you?
Dan: I spent the entire year trying to get ranked, and now that I’m finally ranked it’s important for me to continue to move up in those rankings. I’ve talked to other people who don’t really care if they’re ranked or not, but for me it’s a good measure of how I match up with others at the same level. I’m a competitive person by nature, so this is just another way for me to compete with the best, and try to be the best.
KL: Where do you play?
Dan: I play on PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker, Ultimate Bet, and Absolute Poker. I play all the MTT’s usually 100 dollar freeze outs and higher, along with 30 dollar rebuys and higher.
KL: How often do you play?
Dan: I have a set schedule, I usually get up at 9:45 AM on Sundays to start with the Warmup on PokerStars, and play all the way through the day until the $200 rebuy. Mondays through Wednesdays I try to play a set schedule, starting with the 100 rebuy and 65k and finishing with the nightly 100k and the 30 rebuy on FTP. I try to keep it to a schedule to I treat it more like a job and try to win as much money as possible.
KL: What are your strengths and weaknesses at the poker table?
Dan: My strengths are being a young guy who can talk it up with anyone at the table. I tend to have people play a little lighter against me just because of my nature at the table. They think it’s always better to have a nice guy win the pot, but at times I can be a real ass and upset some people. I like to play it by ear and if I feel I can get to someone I will do that. I feel that I have an excellent read on most people.
I think that my biggest weakness would be my math. I know when it is correct to call an all in based on pot odds, but I think that if I knocked that down perfectly, I’d be a better player overall. On that same note, there are people out there who know every single percent of winning a hand, or hitting a draw, and those people that explain to everyone what percent that they were to win that hand, usually lose.
KL: What do you do for fun when you aren’t playing poker?
Dan: I’m a sports nut. I love watching all sports and following them, especially football and basketball. I am in my last year of college, so I love going out with my buddies and having a few beers and trying to find some quality time to spend with my girlfriend. It’s not always easy balancing a social life while playing poker, which is why I like to take a few days off each week and make sure I go out and be social. I’d hate to have my off-days dealing with World of Warcraft or sitting in front of the computer.
KL: How many live events have you and do you play?
Dan: I just turned 21 so I played the WSOP and did well for my first time really playing in a live tournament. I also got a feel for the Bellagio and Venetian series, and I will be back to play in both of those series every year along with the WSOP. I hope to make an impact in the WPT tour and perhaps even the EPT if I decide to travel over there this year.
KL: Which do you like better, live or online?
Dan: Each type of poker is different and I prefer one over the other depending on how I’m feeling. Some days I just want to kick up my feet and relax while playing a few tournaments, other days I like to play cash games at the casino and chat it up with the regulars. While online has been extremely profitable me recently, it’s always nice to travel and hit up the live circuit once in awhile.
KL: What is your biggest poker accomplishment?
Dan: My biggest accomplishment winning-wise is winning the Full Tilt Sunday Brawl for about $70,000 a few months ago. I like being able to pride myself in being a consistent winner instead of my largest cash.
KL: What are your future poker goals?
Dan: I will be graduating from Southern Oregon University with my Bachelors in Business with an emphasis in accounting. I am going to put that on the back grill and try to do poker for a full-time job. I’d like to make enough to support myself and live fashionably like I am now used to. My biggest goal is to win a WSOP, WPT, and EPT bracelet and be ranked top 10 online.
KL: Do you talk poker with other successful players? Who?
Dan: The best way to become a better poker player is talk to people better than you; this rule applies to anything and everything. I try to talk to as many players who are better than me as possible, granted, some of them are too busy to answer questions, or just hate being bothered by people. I got my start from TheWacoKidd (Jared Hamby) and since then, BeL0wAb0vE (Kevin Saul), along with AjkHoosier, have really improved my game. I could name off all the people who’ve gone over hand histories with me and we’d be here forever. That’s one piece of advice I’d give to players looking to improve: talk to everyone you can, look over hand histories, and beg, cry, do whatever you have to do to get better players to help you understand the game better.
KL: Who’s game do you respect?
Dan: I respect tons of people’s games, including TheWacoKidd, BeL0wAb0ve, JohnnyBelow, AJKHoosier, Gboro, GB2005, Pokerjamers, CrzySavage, and Agriffrod.
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