Just take a peek at the Hendon Mob results of ‘Mad’ Marvin Rettenmaier. It tells a story.
2009: $32,150
2010: $51,362
2011: $827,953
2012: $2,503,015
The German might play for the rest of his life and never again reach the vertigo-induced heights that he did in 2012, when he became the first man to win back-to-back World Poker Tour (WPT) Main Events and the Global Poker Index (GPI) European Player of the Year. Only a mesmeric set of results by Dan Smith stopped Rettenmaier from taking over the poker world on a global scale.
Rettenmaier spent large parts of 2012 sat on the top of the GPI charts, he did a Dr. Hook and fell in love with a beautiful woman and word on the street is Rettenmaier has been highly successful as selecting the right pieces of some of pokers biggest winners both live and online.
So has all of this success changed Rettenmaier? Has his poker game veered off course? Is he the same man I saw rooted at his table in devastation after being eliminated in eighth place at WPT Venice in the harsh winter of 2011?
“Not really…I don’t think it changes too much, but it makes things a lot easier. Maybe you work a little less if you know that you are going to have a good summer {financially]; albeit not through my own scores. But I need to get my mind set in the right direction again.” Countered Rettenmaier.
He’s distracted and it’s not the first time I have seen him so twitchy lately. He has one eye firmly set on Matt Berkey in the final table of Event #40: $1,500 and the interview has to end abruptly as he leaps out of his seat to follow the chorus of cheers that shoot out of the roof of the main stage.
“I am always excited about the series and take the events very seriously, but I maybe could of done stuff a little bit differently. Gamble a little bit less; try to show up on time for the smaller buy-ins. But I am going to do that from now one.”
Rettenmaier might not think he’s a different beast, but I know change when I see it. That amazing victory at the WPT World Championships at The Bellagio changed something in this man. He is no longer ‘Mad’ and instead seems more “Cool, Calm and Collected,” a nickname I don’t think has the same ring to it.
