Poker 'a real job' for Ansonia native

ANSONIA, CONN — Joe DiMartino is all about the hearts, clubs, spades and diamonds. The city native is a professional poker player, engrossed by the card game made famous by movies and widely popularized by television. But while he's had some success, he's not caught up in the bright lights of casinos — nor is he living like some kind of rock star.

"I look at it as a real job. I don't like it when people say, 'Get a real job,' " said DiMartino, 26. "My friends sometimes tease me and say, 'Joe doesn't do anything.' But it's a job."

For about five years, DiMartino has been waiting for the shuffled cards to reach his hands. His interest in the game started with the movie "Rounders" starring Matt Damon while he was a student at the University of New Haven.

"I just got into it and I was good at it," DiMartino said. "I read books and stuff about it. After I couldn't get a job after college, I focused on that. After that, I've been fortunate and lucky."

His game is Texas Hold 'Em, a variety of poker that's become popular in recent years with more poker tournaments being shown on television. It is the main game played at poker's biggest annual event, the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. DiMartino travels often to enter cash games and poker tournaments. Sometimes, it's to Atlantic City, N.J., for some games. Other times, he'll fly out to Las Vegas or California for a tournament. DiMartino said he tries to keep an even keel and not always jump into high-stakes gaming.

He's selective about the events he enters, and often plays Texas Hold 'Em games with betting limits, as opposed to no-limit games where a player can bet all his chips at any time. "You've got to play long hours, and it's stressful at times," DiMartino said. "It's all about the long term. You try not to get too down and too up. You try to keep your composure."
His talents have helped him succeed sometimes. In December 2006, he won an online tournament on the Web site Pokerstars.net, beating out more than 1,600 competitors. His prize for the win: a custom-made 2009 Aston Martin DBS, a luxury car worth more than $260,000.

"Things were just falling my way that day," he said. "You never think something like it is going to happen. But it pretty much did. I was pretty much in shock."

DiMartino didn't roll around in the super-expensive car, which he received only a couple of weeks ago. He sold it, deciding money from selling the car would be a lot easier to handle. "That's a slick car. I was scared to sit inside of it, let alone drive it," he said. "It's not really practical. The insurance must be nuts."

A key to surviving as a poker pro, he said, is good money management. Some excellent pro poker players don't manage their money as well, so they'll blow through their winnings quickly and end up back at the table hoping to get hot again.

"Your money management skills have to be great. It's very important," he said. "It's more important to manage money than the talent you have."

That careful attitude may give him pause if he chooses to enter the World Series of Poker, an event broadcast on ESPN that costs $10,000 to enter. He played in it two years ago and played less expensive preliminary events last year.

Don't look for him this year, though, since he will instead be standing as the best man at his brother Peter's wedding. His mother, JosephineDiMartino, is happy that he's being careful. Though she doesn't know much about poker, she's fine with her son's chosen path — so long as he doesn't end up taking out loans to support his endeavors.

"I can't say I'm all for it. Those are my concerns," said Josephine. "But as long as he's being responsible."

Unlike the poker competitors who have become famous on ESPN or other network poker shows, DiMartino doesn't expect to remain glued to the table. He said he'll play for a few more years, then try to do something else. "I don't want to do it for the rest of my life," he said.

News Added: 13 May, 2008

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