Interview with Travis 'DramaticDegen' Darroch

Dramatic? Almost certainly! Degen? That’s debatable! One thing is for sure, Travis 'DramaticDegen' Darroch’s massive partypoker MILLION online 3rd place last week was an epic adventure for the Team Online pro.

Turning a $22 satellite into a $106,308 score doesn’t happen every day, and it almost didn’t happen at all as bad weather while travelling nearly saw Travis’s stack blinded out on day two of the resurrected partypoker biggie.

Undeterred, TJ managed to fight his way to the final table, live-streaming the final moments as his deep run turned into a life-changing result.

We caught up with Travis - after allowing him a few days rest and celebration time – to find out the inside story of his huge cash, as well as what the life of a partypoker Team online pro and TwitchTV streamer entails.

Q: So, Travis, congratulations! How does it feel to land such a huge score?

I always tell people that the lead up to winning a tournament always feels better than the win itself. The adrenaline rush from the unknown is more invigorating than securing a win. BUT winning a tournament as big as this one feels fantastic. I feel incredibly relieved and I'm excited for the opportunities this win will create in the future.

Q: We see you qualified to this event for just $22. Tell us more about this satellite (how many runners/seats, when did you play it).

Not going to lie - I don't remember! I was trying to make it into the last day 1 for LAST Sunday and fired off the last Satellite I could find. It unfortunately ended too late, so I decided I'd use it for Day 1A of the proceeding week. Managed to get into Day 2 with 27bb.

But the REALLY crazy story about all this is how my Day 2 started. I was flying home from Vancouver in a little 6-seater plane. Weather was bad, so I ended up getting home 3.5 hours later than intended.

Day 2 had already been running for almost an hour by the time I turned the computer on. I was blinded down to 7bb (2.8M chips), and I still managed to run it up all the way to a 3-way deal! So sick!

Q: This is a new event added by party to re-live the glory days. After the first failed attempt how do you think the poker community has reacted to it?

From what I see on social media, the poker community is behind partypoker and most of their changes over the last year. It's unfortunate the fields aren't showing up to meet the guarantees of the $215 MILLION games, but I'm hopeful with continued promotion, we can make this MTT a success.

It's admirable that partypoker is continuing to run the tournament and they're doing their part to try and change the industry for the better. But in the age of PKOs, it's tough to convince the general population to grind freezeouts.

Q: Are freezeouts the future of online poker?

In my perfect world, majority of the games would be freezeouts. And it would be great to see more big-field freezeouts enter the fold across all sites. But when most recs are looking for more flips instead of post flop action, PKOs will continue to reign. Hopefully both formats can survive harmoniously and one doesn't push the other out of the picture.

Q: How do you feel about party's MTT schedule efforts. Main positives? What would you add in/take out?

I love that partypoker is continuing to take risks with their schedules. In this climate, it's going to take constant change until we can figure out what works best, instead of sticking to the same games with constantly lowered guarantees.

Some of the changes are better than others, but I like that we finally have a company within the poker industry that's once again making an effort to listen to their consumer and make necessary changes to cater to them.

It's going to take more trial and error, but I'm once again hopeful about partypoker's future as well as the future of the poker industry.

Q: Going back to Sunday’s partypoker MILLION cash, is this your biggest score? If so, what's the 2nd biggest?

Yes, this is my biggest score. 2nd biggest was 2nd in a $530 Powerfest back in March of this year. I turned a $55 Phase 1 entry into around $75k! It's been a crazy year for me.

Q: This must be a huge boost to your bankroll. Does this change plans now moving forwards?

Not entirely. It definitely frees me up to play some events I might not have otherwise considered, and I can raise my budget with my living expenses. Overall, I know where I stand skill-wise, and I have a lot to learn.

I don't want to rush things and get over my head, not realising the mistakes I'll make when it's already too late. I think this is a perfect opportunity for me to continue pushing and growing at my current pace and know that I'll be living comfortably for the foreseeable future, no matter what results I get.

Q: Any advice to poker streamers trying to succeed on Twitch in 2020?

Consistency and Quality over quantity. I think we're going to see a shift in the streaming meta in the near future. I think the days of streaming long consecutive days are going to be over. The platform is oversaturated with streamers now. I think viewers are going to start gravitating toward streamers who maintain a reliable schedule.

Viewers also don't care that you stream 12hrs/day if you aren't interesting, or you don't have anything unique to offer. If you need to cut your streaming time in half to maintain the energy for engaging content, it will benefit you greatly.

Also, social media is a must. If you aren't posting regularly on Twitter/Instagram/YouTube etc, you're already losing. Promotion off-platform is massive. It's something I wish I had worked on 3 years ago.

Q: The day you got the call being invited to be a party pro what was your instant reaction? Has it lived up to expectation?

I was pretty excited. I always wondered what it would be like to be a sponsored poker player. I was honored when asked to be a part of partypoker Team Online. Not to mention that I get to work with my peers on a regular basis, and promote a product that I genuinely believe in. I love working for this company and I think they appreciate the work our team has been doing in return.

Q: Has your poker career been smooth sailing or had any big downs? Advice to players going through downswings or not being able to hit a big score?

My career has been far from smooth. 2.5 years ago, I had to quit playing full-time poker and went back to my old day job working graveyard shifts as a security guard. I was devastated. To know that my downfall was at the fault of no one but myself was an embarrassing and shameful moment of my life.

Fortunately, I had a good group of friends and family around me to keep me staying hopeful. Luckily one of those friends, Alex Saladze, staked me for the occasional Sunday grind, and I got lucky enough to win a $27 SCOOP game for $15k, and I was able to get back on my feet again.

That happened in June 2017. I've been full-time since then, but it hasn't been without it's huge ups and downs. Even before this $100k score, I had lost about 1/3 of my roll, and I was beginning to stress out.

But that's where your humility has to kick in. I moved down in stakes, sussed out the more +EV games, lowered my # of tables, even played 1-2 less sessions each week so I could feel more refreshed. I had to learn discipline the hard way. Don't let ego from previous success get in the way of adjusting to failure. Always keep adjusting.

Congrats once again to Travis, and if you fancy your chances of emulating Dramatic Degen’s epic score, check out the partypoker Satellite schedule here.