Q+A with Marty Smyth

marty smyth

pawningomaha wrote: »

when's it due on TV?...or more like pokertube...

i think it's on stateside next wed, so shout be on pokertube the next day

marty smyth

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

Yeah, wtf? Welcome!

Marty, thanks for answering my questions earlier. Just one more: what did you get your degree in? Did you study in Dublin - and if so, where? Cheers.

nope i "studied" at queens in belfast... studied is in inverted commas because i never lifted a finger in the 5 years that i was there.. i done 3 different courses and never finished any of them

YULETIRED

]you can ignore these until the end of your well or completely if you wish. (there are plentry of other Qs to answer so don't worry)

If the divil appeared to you and offered you a long and happy life plus many WSOP bracelets and many (non strawberry blond) babies, in return for spending eternity in hell playing limit hold em when you die, would you take it?

Is Phil Hellmuth good for the game of poker. in your opinion...(not talking value here)

Phil Ivey swings the golf club like Jim Furyk with epilepsy and yet he appears to win 1000s at golf
A) How the fk is this?
Would you play him for 100k with no shots given either way.
Have you ever slowrolled anybody and what's the worst slowroll ever done to you.

Name you fav 5 hotties in poker, please do not answer if any of them are male.

Most poker players get little or no excercise from the looks of things , what do you do to keep yourself fit...
PIck a team of 5 Irish guys to play in a world team championships...(you can omit or include yourself)

Do you have a catch phrase?

marty smyth

Flipper wrote: »

Hey bud, fair play for doing this. Sorry I couldn't make it in to see ye this weekend; I just had tonnes on. Me and Louise were thinking of going to Belfast for a weekend soon so we'll play a round then if that suits you.

1) What kind of golf score are you shooting at the moment? I'm just breaking 100 so, how many shots are you giving me when I get to Belfast?

2) Would you back yourself at 2/1 in pool against Rob?

3) What's your favourite tourney on the calander both for quality and craic at the venue/city?

4) Do you ever see yourself getting into a business of some sort in the future? What have you in mind?

5) How many years do you think are left in poker being profitable? Do you think the chinese market will ever take to poker fully?

1. if ur breaking 100 then i wont be giving u any shots... i've still only ever broke 100 once and that was an easy course in vegas. my best round since vegas was 107, although i think i should be doing a bit better than that

2. obviously i'd definitely take 2/1 for one frame... if it was first to 10 or something, then i'd be looking for about 5/1. a lot depends on how i'm playing on the day. i'm i'm at my best and he isn't playing great then i think i could beat him off scratch up to 10. but i'm not usually in that sort of form, and anyway, if he's anywhere near his best then it doesn't matter how well i play.

3. irish open if i have to single out one tournament. the whole vegas wsop experience is great too, and i'd also be giving amsterdam an honorable mention.

4. i'd like to do something else at some stage, maybe set up a business of some kind. i wouldn't have any an idea what that might be at the minute though. i love eating out and i enjoy cooking, so maybe a restaurant of some kind might seem logical. having said that, i'm not naive enough to think that i'd be a success in the restaurant business just because i like food and have a few quid to throw at it, so whether that ever happens is probably doubtful.

5. if u mean profitable for me, then hopefully a good many years yet, although i doubt i'll ever do as well again as i have up until now. if u mean the industry in general, then i think u might see a lot of small sites and cardrooms start to struggle maybe 5 years or so down the line. i think the bigger ones will always be around tho. re. china - i really don't know enough about the situation to give an intelligent answer.

looking forward to seeing u up here.

marty smyth

bops wrote: »

Marty, Apathy, and now FLIPPER all on the same page - WOWZ!!

anyways, good stuff Marty, fair play for doing this - interesting read.

My question:

Poker & Family life - Discuss


cheers
bops

this sounds like english homework i would have been set in my GCSE year at school... i have to go for the night now anyway, but i'll get back to this Q tomorrow. i also need to have a good think to come up with a CLEAN funny story involving KP.

bottom feeder

Hi ya Marty,

Thoroughly enjoying your well & fair play for taking the time out to do this.

What advice would you give someone RE bankroll management & also any suggestions on how to keep the TILT :pac: monster at bay.

Thanks again.

mocata

Do you think the authorities' attitude to poker in the north will ever change? Which bits from which casinos/cardrooms would u pick and choose to make your ideal club?

Mellor

Nice well so far Marty,
I think you've covered plenty on the PLO. So a few Hol'em questions here.

1.At the FT of the Irish open, who were you most worried about?
2.Did you think the irish players are generally under-estimated at big events?
3.Currently, I am on the FT of a satelite, 9 players. 5 tickets. I'm in third place. First hand after the break I have 55 in the BB. 2 limpers, sb completes ... My action

Flushdraw

Hi Marty,

Great well so far..I have a feeling it could go on for a while though so i hope you have no plans for the next week or so!

1. You're invited to play a charity 6-handed event event and you can chose the other 5 players. Who would you pick for entertainment/buzz value?

2. Same idea as above but its a $20k buyin winner takes all and you can chose 5 players to omit from selection (due to them being complete d1cks or really tough opponents). Who would you chose?

3. Do you have a favourite non-premium hand that you will (almost) always raise with, or stall on for longer than usual when facing a raise when you know you should dump it!

4. Do you know off the top of your head, whats the best hand of poker you ever played. Whether it be a bluff or just one of those hands where you're pulling in the chips saying "Wow i played that hand like a fkin genius"

Cheers Marty and gl

Tony

cuterob

thankyou for doing this

you mention that tony bloom has a big bankroll? does he play online or has he made money outside of poker?

i think roland de wolfe is an average player at best who doesn't have a very deep understanding of the game..this is my opinion only though..i could be horribly wrong of course..but from watching any poker he has played on the various televised cash games, tourneys, interviews and any strategy he has written for magazines he seems to be pretty bad and on a sick sick run.. from playing with him for a long period of time did you find his results match his play?

Flushdraw

cuterob wrote: »

thankyou for doing this

you mention that tony bloom has a big bankroll? does he play online or has he made money outside of poker?

i think roland de wolfe is an average player at best who doesn't have a very deep understanding of the game..this is my opinion only though..i could be horribly wrong of course..but from watching any poker he has played on the various televised cash games, tourneys, interviews and any strategy he has written for magazines he seems to be pretty bad and on a sick sick run.. from playing with him for a long period of time did you find his results match his play?

You wouldnt expect Marty to come on and call Roland DeWolfe a donk on a public forum would you?

rag2gar

cuterob wrote: »

thankyou for doing this

you mention that tony bloom has a big bankroll? does he play online or has he made money outside of poker?

i think roland de wolfe is an average player at best who doesn't have a very deep understanding of the game..this is my opinion only though..i could be horribly wrong of course..but from watching any poker he has played on the various televised cash games, tourneys, interviews and any strategy he has written for magazines he seems to be pretty bad and on a sick sick run.. from playing with him for a long period of time did you find his results match his play?

Also its well know that Tony Bloom has a fortune of wealth already before he even started playing poker. No Deal!

corkie123

congrats first of all nice read so far

1 nicnic v flipper
2 who u think is best omaha player here in ireland or few in order if u like
3 best way to clear poker room or would your farts be enough ?:D:D:D

Goodluck2me

What is the best thing to combat tilt?

Have you ever made an effort to annoy or tilt someone at the table, what
consequences?

Whats your golf handicap?

If you could choose one person to stake in the Irish Open who couldn't afford it themselves, who would it be?

Favourite number on Roulette?

Favourite sporting hero?

Biggest influence on your life, non-person.

Would you rather be bald like Nicky or ginger, like yourself?

One rule you would change in poker?

Also you think this is bad, try a 2+2 well!

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

bottom feeder

goodluck2me wrote: »

What is the best thing to combat tilt?

Have you ever made an effort to annoy or tilt someone at the table, what
consequences?

Whats your golf handicap?

If you could choose one person to stake in the Irish Open who couldn't afford it themselves, who would it be?

Favourite number on Roulette?

Favourite sporting hero?

Biggest influence on your life, non-person.

Would you rather be bald like Nicky or ginger, like yourself?

One rule you would change in poker?

Also you think this is bad, try a 2+2 well!

LOL

marty smyth

bops wrote: »

Marty, Apathy, and now FLIPPER all on the same page - WOWZ!!

anyways, good stuff Marty, fair play for doing this - interesting read.

My question:

Poker & Family life - Discuss


cheers
bops

to be honest, i don't feel i'm fully qualified to answer this question properly. ever since i've been playing poker for a living it's just been myself and karen living together. in the first couple of years karen was working 9-5 which was pretty much when i was sleeping. back then i was playing 90% online though so i don't really think there was a problem.
i've since convinced her to pack in the job, which makes life easier for both of us, as she can now come away with me sometimes when i'm abroad, and basically organises everything for me. we don't have kids, although if we ever decide to then i imagine i might have to step the live tournaments down a bit and go back to playing online a bit more. like i say tho i don't think i'm the right person to answer to be talking about this... u'd need to ask someone with a wife and kids who's trying to juggle all that with being on the road.

marty smyth

lillou wrote: »

great thread marty!!

will there be an announcement when you are going to be a bounty on boyles?
will it be plo or holdem?
does the person who knocks you out get to keep the bracelet? (If not i'd be willing to swap you the cash bounty for it)

i think we may be doing 2 next wednesday and thursdays, possibly one PLO and one NL, but i'm not too sure. there'll be a bit of notice anyway... keep an eye on the site early next week for details.

re. the bracelet, i may swap it for the bounty if u knock me out, but u'll need to convince boyles to put up 100k for the bounty.

marty smyth

Mont wrote: »

2 Questions

1 - What 1 piece of advice would you give to someone looking to improve their game?

2 - When in a hand do you go with your gut instinct when making a play?

Cheers

1. probably to keep an open mind and put a lot of thought into the hands that u play, and also big hands that u see others play, both during and after the hand. try to understand why the hand played out the way it did, and think about how u can use this info in your future play. this'll be much easier to do if ur only playing 1 or 2 tables.

2. when i've had a few drinks...
seriously though - i suppose in pots where the decision is very marginal and i'm in 2 minds as to what to do.

Mont

marty smyth wrote: »

1. probably to keep an open mind and put a lot of thought into the hands that u play, and also big hands that u see others play, both during and after the hand. try to understand why the hand played out the way it did, and think about how u can use this info in your future play. this'll be much easier to do if ur only playing 1 or 2 tables.

2. when i've had a few drinks...
seriously though - i suppose in pots where the decision is very marginal and i'm in 2 minds as to what to do.

Appreciate the reply - will take it onboard - keep on winning man

cuterob

Flushdraw wrote: »

You wouldnt expect Marty to come on and call Roland DeWolfe a donk on a public forum would you?

a brother can try cant he???

rag2gar wrote: »

Also its well know that Tony Bloom has a fortune of wealth already before he even started playing poker. No Deal!

ah right


both my questions ruined.. hate you guys:cool:

marty smyth

semibluff wrote: »

good read marty, thanks very much.

Instead of asking you questions, could you share with us 2/3 stories from the circuit of drunken Degen funny stuff (that you can say publicly). Them stories always seem to be worth a good laugh -(akin to you appearing on Match of tha Day! )

thanks

Donal

sorry but i'm actually gonna swerve this one and probably the KP one too... there's very few really good drunken degen stories that i can keep clean and be sure i'm not over-stepping the mark in revealing something about someone. have a look at my last 2 entries on the boylepokerblog (19th and 20th aug) about the cork weekend. some funny stuff there if u consider it funny to take the total piss out of me, which people seem to...

mdwexford

Do you have an in depth knowledge of the maths and theory side of the game or are you more of a live pro feel player??

Do you prefer cash or tournaments??

Which was sweeter, Irish Open or WSOP bracelet??


At Clonmel a couple of years ago you were the big winner in the game against Fred the English guy, Mr PT was the other winner in the game from here as far as i remember while a lot of good internet players from here sat in and got busted, do you think this is because you two were more willing to gamble with him and had more live experience or you simply ran better over the few days??

Thanks for doing this and good read so far.

marty smyth

smurph wrote: »

Great Read Marty, and your blog on Boyle sport iss excellent btw...

Just a few questions....

do you think that players who play mostly online, find it hard to adjust to the slowness of live play...

Whats the funniest thing you've heard at a poker table.

Whats the weirdest thing you've ever heard at a poker table.

Is Paul Spillane really as funny as he comes accross?

do you coach
(I don't mean that smartly. Have you ever taken a player under your wing and helped them with their game).

Do you think there is a difference between northern Irish Poker players and other players around Ireland?

If there was one poker rule that you could change what would it be and why?

Thanks for doing this by the way.

- i would imagine so, at least for people who play more than one table online. i know i personally struggle to concentrate playing live, especially cash games and early stages of tournaments.

- maybe someone saying to harold huberman - "i think ur bluffing". (for thos who dont know harold, if u tried to invent a computer program with the sole aim of playing very very very tight, harold would make it look like gus hanson)

- lol yes he is pretty funny especially when he's had a few beers, which is often. despite not knowing him that long, i could actually tell u a few good paul spillane stories, but again the problem of keeping it clean and over-stepping the mark in revealing stuff he mightn't want to get out comes into play.

- i've never really taken someone under my wing as such, although i've taught my girlfriend karen, to play up to a standard where she can hold her own in small tourneys. i've actually just got involved in a new training site though, run by 2 irish guys (meathman and semibluff on here) called pokerswat. i've done a few small omaha training vids aimed at beginners, and the site should be up and running soon.

- not really. i think if u go back 5 or 6 years when poker was just taking off, players up here (with a few obvious exceptions) were a bit behind players from the south at holdem and omaha, probably because there was more live poker in the south, and because most of the home games up here were dealers choice. i don't think that is the case anymore though as there are a lot of small pub games and a few card rooms and everyone is playing NLH and omaha. also the internet has educated a lot of people at the game.

- i wouldn't really change any one rule, but i'd like to see an international set of rules brought into place. it's ridiculous that with thte game the way it is at the minute there can still be different rules in tournaments in various cardrooms. there used to be a column on pokerineurope called ask the tournament director, where they had a different (sometimes hypothetical) situations that came up in cash games or touraments, and then 5 or 6 different well known tournament directors would give their verdict. now these guys have all directed major poker tournaments, yet every week at least one of them would have made a totally different ruling to the others. sometimes there could be 3 different rulings. i personally find it ridiculous that u could do something in an EPT (for example) which would be totally fine or else maybe result in a warning, but do the same thing in the WSOP or the irish open or something, and ur hand might be declared dead and u get a penalty.

marty smyth

carfax wrote: »

Hi Marty,

I haven't read through the entire thread yet so apologies if this question has been asked already.

I know you started playing seriously in a house game with Marty Mc Cabe and family.

Did that house game start to get more serious as it went on and how much has everyone progressed over the last few years? i.e. Did that game get tougher and tougher and how much do you think learning from friends and family has helped your own game?

to be honest, it wasn't quite like that. i'd been playing in home games and even at lunchtime and after school, from i was about 14. i only met marty mccabe when i was about 19 and then he started playing with us. there were a few times that we played in his house and his father would play with us, but i don't think any of us really improved much because of the home games. it was only when we started going to dublin and playing with better players that we started to get better at the game, and then there was another jump in our learning when we started playing online a lot. at least thats the way it was for me.

marty smyth

Ciaran_Corbett wrote: »

When is your Cool FM interview going to be aired?

piss off

and btw, i did actually end up on the radio, when she foned me during the show at about 8.30am on monday to play some silly game called 'guess what'.

marty smyth

tylerdurden94 wrote: »

Great thread so far im enjoying reading it. I have one question nice and short please tell one funny story to do with KP.

again i'm sorry but i'm gonna have to swerve this on account of not being sure what i can and can't reveal on a public forum. KP was without doubt the funniest person in the house over in vegas, and the day after i won the bracelet he was hilarious the whole day - emerging from bed still drunk and declaring that he was taking on the beer fridge in a heads up match (the well-stocked fridge eventually won at around 11pm). the whole day he refused to put on anything more than what he was wearing when he got out of bed, which was his underpants, a panama hat, and a pair of sunglasses. as i said the whole day was hilarious, but i don't think it would make a good story - u kinda had to be there yourself.

bohsman

KP next in the well imo.

tylerdurden94

marty smyth wrote: »

again i'm sorry but i'm gonna have to swerve this on account of not being sure what i can and can't reveal on a public forum. KP was without doubt the funniest person in the house over in vegas, and the day after i won the bracelet he was hilarious the whole day - emerging from bed still drunk and declaring that he was taking on the beer fridge in a heads up match (the well-stocked fridge eventually won at around 11pm). the whole day he refused to put on anything more than what he was wearing when he got out of bed, which was his underpants, a panama hat, and a pair of sunglasses. as i said the whole day was hilarious, but i don't think it would make a good story - u kinda had to be there yourself.

Yeah i didnt think you could dish all the details of what went on as you said public forum and all, ive played with KP a few times in the last couple of months and i always wanted to know what he is like away from the table.

But i do appreciate the time thanks very much. Drop a joke in my 1000th post thread if you get the time Just one last very quick one, favourite prop hand?

marty smyth

YULETIRED wrote: »

]you can ignore these until the end of your well or completely if you wish. (there are plentry of other Qs to answer so don't worry)

If the divil appeared to you and offered you a long and happy life plus many WSOP bracelets and many (non strawberry blond) babies, in return for spending eternity in hell playing limit hold em when you die, would you take it?

Is Phil Hellmuth good for the game of poker. in your opinion...(not talking value here)

Phil Ivey swings the golf club like Jim Furyk with epilepsy and yet he appears to win 1000s at golf
A) How the fk is this?
Would you play him for 100k with no shots given either way.
Have you ever slowrolled anybody and what's the worst slowroll ever done to you.

Name you fav 5 hotties in poker, please do not answer if any of them are male.

Most poker players get little or no excercise from the looks of things , what do you do to keep yourself fit...
PIck a team of 5 Irish guys to play in a world team championships...(you can omit or include yourself)

Do you have a catch phrase?

- i wouldn't even take it if it was a year in hell playing limit holdem.

- i think the way the guy behaves at the table sometimes is disgraceful and i could never have much respect for him as a person, but i have to say the publicity he creates probably is good for the game

- i don't think golf is a great game for gambling as it's all about your handicap. i heard that he actually used to lose a lot before, then won a huge amount one time cos he improved loads, but still played off the same handicap as he had the last time. this is just what i heard second hand, and i don't know anything for certain about the situation.

- i certainly wouldn't play him off scratch. i'm pretty poor.

- i played a guy at 100-200NL HU one night in a bit of as needle match after he gave me abuse at the 25-50 6-seater we were playing. he took my first buy in slow-rolling me with the stone cold nuts. then i re-loaded and got a bit back and we played a 50k pot where i called a huge bet on the river with top pair v a bluff. he tilted the next hand and bluffed off his last 10k or so with nothing. i had flopped the flush and improved to a str8 flush on the river, and requested time before calling his all in bet. not very nice i suppose, but he started it. i've since met him in vegas - he's a nice guy actually and good fun, and we had a good laugh about it when we both realised who the other person was.
i told him that as i was playing him that night, i was sat in a pair of shorts and nothing else, and at one point i felt a drip on my leg, and then another one, and thought there must be a leak above me. it turned out that there wasn't a leak, but such was the pressure i felt under to beat him cos of the needling and his first slowroll, i was sweating profusely and the drips on my leg were coming from under my arm. he enjoyed this story a lot and seemed to feel very proud that he had reduced a fellow human being to such a state.

- i'm not too sure, and since i have a girlfriend i can't really answer anyone i know and might actually have a chance with. maybe kera scott, benyamine's girlfriend who's name i dont know, but she's definitely a player, shannon elizabeth, clonnie gowan's in good nick for her age, and annie duke is a lot better looking when u meet her in person - and very nice too from my limited experience

- wtf makes u think i am fit?

- sorry - i'm not gonna do that as it depends on the game - 6 seater NL TV thing? normal NL tourney? omaha tourney? and i don't want to offend anyone by forgetting about them. it would be very marginal anyway, and i've already named a few players who i have a lot of respect for

- i don't have a catchphrase that i can think of... or a nickname