No matter what his summer at the WSOP was like, Marvin Rettenmaier remains one of the most successful tournament players in the world. 

One of the main reasons why? No matter the circumstances at the tables, you can almost always find him with a smile on his face.

Despite struggling through a recent downswing Rettenmaier sees no reason why things can’t get better any day and he’s back in action at EPT London looking to make it happen.

PokerListings Germany’s Christian Henkel caught up with Mad Marvin for more about his recent split with partypoker, his neverending love for the game and more.

PokerListings: For the first time in a long time, you’re not wearing a patch. Why did you and partypoker split?

Marvin Rettenmaier: It’s quite simple. The contract ran out and wasn’t renewed by mutual consent.

PL: Was part of the reason that you haven’t been that present in the last couple of months?

MR: I don’t think so, really. partypoker’s marketing strategy is simply going in a different direction.

We’ve been considering how much sense the cooperation still makes even at the times when I continuously had good results.

PL: And what is the direction of partypoker’s new strategy?

MR: The US market. It looks like they have a couple of players there who receive some sponsoring. If not on the same scale than when I started.

PL: So, you might not be at the WPT events anymore. Where are you headed?

MR: Mostly, I’d really like to win again.

PL: Would you say you’ve been on a downswing?

MR: It seems so. The WSOP was a big disappointment for me this year as the tournaments there are particularly soft.

If you run bad even there, it’s sad. And that’s bad for your own game.

PL: How do you bounce back?

MR: Having been on a long successful streak I was motivated to go into studying again. During the last couple of weeks I’ve been watching a lot of coaching videos and I had long discussions with other players about specific hands.

This will certainly have an effect on my game.

PL: And who are these players?

MR: I don’t want to name any, but I have mostly American players in my vicinity.

PL: In 2012, you almost played the BIG ONE. Now you’ve not had a lot of success. Does that make you question your own skills?

MR: Yes, in 2012 I felt almost immortal at the tables. I had one deep run after the other. But the picture you get is a little distorted, because I played so many tournaments.

If I didn’t make the money in 20 tournaments in a row I would cash in the 21st and that would still be just two months after the last cash.

Nobody noticed these “downswings” at the time. Nowadays at an EPT I play the main event and the high roller tournaments and that’s it.

The rest of the time I’d rather spend celebrating. And if I am hung over I can just skip an event easily.

PL: You do have a reputation as being a party animal.

MR: The party still goes on. At the moment it actually has a high priority in my life. My choice of tournaments partly depends on if you can have fun outside the event.

PL: Quite a few high rolling players have voiced a sense of inner emptiness in the recent past. They are trying to fight it by engaging in charity projects. Do you feel similarly sometimes?

MR: Not at all. Every time I talk to them I feel sad because they don’t seem to be able to have the right level of fun anymore.

They are playing on such a top level but they can’t enjoy it properly the way they used to.

With me I am still crazy about poker, even if it is just a small tournament where the money doesn’t really matter.

PL: So you think you will always be a poker player?

MR: I can safely say I don’t intend to stop in the near future. Of course I am thinking about whether I should also focus on other things, like investments.

I have a solid bankroll, I don’t owe anybody money and I have a Bachelor of Science in General Management earned at the European Business School.

I should be able to do something. Maybe I should take a closer look at trading.