When Martin was 15 years old, he began playing 5-Card Draw with his friends at school in 1987. After moving to Stockholm in 1992, he was introduced to Texas Hold'em and Omaha. His love for the game propelled him to buy his first poker book , Doyle Brunson's "Super System". He credits Super System as being the greatest books he has ever read, and used it to improve his skill, as evidenced in 'practice' games he would search out in London. Martin often watches previous tapes of tournaments he as played in before he plays a new one. This helps him to strategize game-plans for certain opponents based on evident strengths and weaknesses. Having seen much success in tournament circuits in general, Martin's strategically developed perception of his opponents finally led him to break through and win his first major tournament, the WPT Championship at Bellagio in 2004.