Poker player profile
Date of birth
21/11/1975Name
Chris MoneymakerNationality
United States of AmericaPlace of residence
United States of America
Biography and performances
Chris Moneymaker is the embodiment of the American dream applied to poker. His name is forever associated with the WSOP Main Event, which he won in 2003 for $2.5 million, having qualified for $86. A tournament that changed the life of this amateur, but also the economics of poker, which boomed after the "Moneymaker effect".
It's every poker fan's dream plan: Start with a few dollars, find yourself playing the world's biggest tournaments and winning the titles, and the jackpots that go with them. Chris Moneymaker has accomplished this feat at the biggest and most prestigious of tournaments.
From $86 to $2.5 million
In 2003, Chris Moneymaker led a quiet life as an accountant in Tennessee. Passionate about poker, he plays on Pokerstars and manages to qualify online, via an $86 satellite for the famous WSOP Main Event, at $10,000 per entry. A great challenge for the first live tournament of his life.
Like something out of a movie, Chris Moneymaker broke through the field of 826 players to find himself heads-up against one of the game's legends, Sam Farha, an experienced player with a glittering record, used to big tournaments and high cash game limits. Faced with a supposedly favorite opponent, Chris Moneymaker took the lead with a move remembered as "the bluff of the century". After checking-checking the flop with K-7 (king of spades) on a 9-2-6 flop with two spades, Moneymaker placed a powerful check-raise on the turn 8 of spades. Hitting absolutely nothing on river 3 (hearts), Chris decides to go all-in, for 1.5 times the pot. A move that will see Farha's pair of 9s folded. Moneymaker would finish off his opponent a few hands later to win the world's biggest tournament, for a staggering $2.5 million.
Notoriety and a new career
This unlikely journey would change the poker world forever. His story will be widely covered in the media, providing extensive publicity for online rooms and the poker industry in general. For his part, Chris Moneymaker gave up his job as an accountant to become the face of world poker. He is sponsored by casinos as well as Pokerstars, sets up his own company, Moneymaker Gaming, and begins to travel around the world to play major tournaments.
In 2004, he finished runner-up in the San José WPT for $200,000. His prize list wouldn't expand much further, apart from another runner-up finish at the NBC National Heads-up Championship, for $300,000. Chris Moneymaker returned to his amateur ways, playing much more accessible tournaments on the American circuit and on a few trips. He will also write a book recounting his journey: "How one poker amateur turned $40 into $2.5 million", inscribing an inaccuracy in the marble incidentally, misremembering the price of his famous satellite.
Poker Videos Chris Moneymaker
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