Marty Smyth Winner of the Poker Millions 2008
This afternoon we chatted to Marty Smyth, winner of the 2008 Poker Millions and Boylespoker Sponsored pro.
TB: Congratulations on your victory at the Poker Million! Coming in with two fantastic finishes in prior years, were you surprised to make it to the final table again this year, or were you thinking it was a foregone conclusion?
Marty Smyth: I was very surprised. My first round heat was very tough, and once I got through that I knew I had a reasonable chance of making the final. But with only 3 players out of 8 progressing in each semi final, while I knew I had a good chance, I still felt that I probably wouldn't get through.
TB: Is there a definite edge you gain from having gone so deep at the Million before?
MS: I think it really helps that I've played so many of these 6-seater TV tourneys now, and there is a definite edge from having played in a lot of high pressure situations before at all the final tables I've made, not just the pokermillion.
TB: As a young lad making your monthly trips to the casino to partake in your hobby of playing poker, did you ever imagine the game would turn you into a millionaire?
MS: Absolutely not. I just hoped that it could be a lucrative hobby that I could have fun doing, and maybe make a little bit of extra money with, on top of whatever career I chose. I never imagined that poker itself could ever become a career.I don't think that 7 or 8 years ago anyone could have predicted how much money there would be in the game now.
TB: What does one do with a prize like the Poker Million?
MS: It's a pretty boring answer, but I haven't done anything with it yet apart from pay out my shareholders. The rest is sitting in the bank and I've no intentions of doing anything with it. I might buy a house up in donegal on the North coast of Ireland, but I won't be thinking of that for a few months until I get back from Australia.
TB: Does your sponsorship with Boylepoker mean you don't have to reserve any of your winnings for buy ins, or is that still a big concern?
MS: yeah, I have a great deal with Boylepoker. They do give me a budget that I'm supposed to stick to, but to be honest, I don't want to be away playing a different tournament every week, and I like playing small events too because they're more fun, so the budget that they give me will be more than enough for me to enter every tournament that I want to play during the year.
TB: Players at Boylespoker were cheering you on while playing a $50k freeroll that was tied into your performance. The top prize of the freeroll started at $200, but then made an insane jump to $10,000 thanks to your performance. Sounds like the winner "Mcgenius" owes you a steak dinner…
MS: Yeah, I'd say he does... and a few guiness too. It was an amazing promotion for Boyles to put on and while I know they're more than happy to pay out the money, I still feel a bit bad that I cost them 50k... however, I did suggest that they could have insured themselves by having a bet on me to win it, so they can't say I didn't warn them.
TB: This Tuesday, 23rd Dec at 8pm Boylepoker.com is holding the "Marty's Victory Tournament", a$10+$1 No Limit Hold'em event where you and a ton of Boylepoker pros will be playing as bounties. You've got the biggest bounty on your head ($1k). Are you looking forward to it? Any hints on how to take out some of the other bounties, like Marty Wilson and Dave Callaghan?
MS: I'm really looking forward to it. It's a very different challenge to play with such a big bounty on my head and it makes it a lot harder for me to bluff. I wouldn't know where to start about playing mad Marty Wilson, but a good tip for Dave Callaghan would be to watch him playing his cash game. Knowing Dave, he'll probably be banging away on the 50-100 PLO at the same time, so if you're watching those tables too then you should know when he's about to go on tilt.
TB: You'll also be playing in your own Pro Am $1/$2 NLHE cash table directly after the Victory Tournament. Not that you need MY help, but here's a fun idea; plop down your entire $1Million prize from the Poker Million as your bankroll and watch the chat box light up in outrage…
MS: Fortunately for me, the maximum buy in at the table is only $200, so I won't have to embarass myself by revealing that I actually only have about $600 in my boylepoker account at the minute.
TB: This just in – you've been nominated for not one but TWO European Poker Awards! How cool would that be to win Player of the Year (up against pros like Neil Channing and David Benyamine!) or Best Tournament Performance (Peter Eastgate and Stefan Ruthenberg among the competition)?
MS: It's very nice to be nominated, but I don't expect to win. If anyone but Peter Eastgate won best tournament performance it would be a bit silly, and I couldn't really accept the award with a straight face. I think I have a chance in the player of the year category, but I still expect elky to win, and having looked at his results I couldn't really argue with that.
TB: With your amazing year – the Million victory, winning the $10k PLO WSOP event, the World Open – can you possibly get anything for Christmas that will excite you? A trip to the moon, perhaps?
MS: Realistically no. But I am really looking forward to xmas this year, just to put my feet up and have a break from all the poker. I've had a great time this year, and I wouldn't change a thing (obviously), but I've been so busy over the last 6 months that I really feel like I need a rest from it.
TB: You are just flat-out a winning poker player. What advice to you have for those mid-range players out there, the ones that have a grasp of all the basics, know how to read players a bit, and are itching to rack up some significant wins?
MS: practice winning your "50-50s" and get luckier. I'm only half joking there... really the only thing that separates me from a lot of other good solid winning players is that an awful lot of key hands have gone my way in the last couple of years. When I play online I play with lots of guys who are as good as me and some who are better than me, and the only difference is that they haven't got the lucky break that I had in a big live event.
TB: Marty Smyth, if you win either or both of the European Poker Awards you are nominated for, it will come as no surprise at all. Congratulations again on an amazing year in poker, and best wishes for the New Year.
MS: cheers.
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