Chris Moneymaker
Christ Moneymaker was the winner of WSOP main event in 2003. His win was a major driver in the popularization of poker and the World Series of Poker. This has been referred to as the "Moneymaker Effect."
Born in 1975, in Atlanta, Georgia, Moneymaker earned a master's degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee. He was working as an accountant when he won a seat into the 2003 WSOP main event through a $39 satellite tournament at PokerStars.
After he won his trip to the WSOP, he didn't have enough money for the cost of flying to Vegas and staying there for the week, so he sold part of his entry to his father and his friend in exchange for a portion of his winnings.
Despite this tournament being his first live tournament, Moneymaker went on to win the first prize of $2.5 million and become an instantly poker superstar. He became the first WSOP main event winner to qualify at an online poker site.
One of his most memorable hands was his heads-up battle against Sam Farha where Moneymaker bluffed all-in with King-high, convincing Farha to fold a pair of nines. This hand was considered one of the most exciting hands in poker history and is referred to as "the bluff of the century.
After winning the WSOP, Moneymaker quit his job and became a spokesman for Harrah's as well as PokerStars. He also began traveling to play in more large tournaments. He also started his own company, Moneymaker Gaming.
Many people think Moneymaker won because he got lucky. ESPN showed Moneymaker knocking out Phil Ivey on the river on a hand where Moneymaker got outplayed. Other people claim that Moneymaker is a solid player and point out his aggressive play and his master bluff against Farha. Even though Moneymaker was an amateur, he seemed to possess a killer instinct that the previous year's winner, Robert Varkhoni, didn't.
In an effort to squelch opinions that he was just got lucky, Moneymaker finished 2nd at the 2004 WPT Shooting Stars event, wining $200,000.
In the 2008 World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) Moneymaker finished 6th in the $10,300 No-Limit Hold'em event (earning $139,000) and 5th in the $215 Pot Limit Omaha with ReBuys (earning over $28,000).
His autobiography, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker was published in March 2005.
Moneymaker has 2 WPT cashes, 4 WSOP cashes, and, total live tournament winnings (as of 2008) exceeding $2,900,000. Moneymaker married his wife in Las Vegas in April, 2005. He currently resides in Nashville, Tennessee.
COMMENTS:
Log in to post comments
or Register
By the time (feb 12, 2008) the previous post was entered, Moneymaker had cashed another $345,755. and now he has cashed $642,427 since winning the main event...DONKEY SH*% should read the posts, and understand that $642,427 considered "cashing" by most standards.
????? on October 6, 2009
DonkeySlayer on February 12, 2008
Chris Moneymaker is a WSOP main event champion. He also placed 2nd in a World Poker Tour event. He cashed in a WSOP 2004 event. He is a very competent player who keeps improving. What he did for poker by winning in 2003 is almost incalculable. He has won millions and continues to earn a fortune in endorsements....a book, commercials, etc. He is by any measure a great success.
That said I must refer you to the posting here entitled "Moneymaker is Cool" September 1, 2005 about Sam Grizzle busking outside the Taj to get into a 1/2 game inside. It is one of the funniest poker postings I have ever read. Enjoy.
That said I must refer you to the posting here entitled "Moneymaker is Cool" September 1, 2005 about Sam Grizzle busking outside the Taj to get into a 1/2 game inside. It is one of the funniest poker postings I have ever read. Enjoy.
SixToedPete on March 11, 2007
who is this moron who uses ?????? as his name, some donkey whos never played a main event or won ANYTHING in his life. Moneymaker is a suckout king has never cashed since he won the main, a total donkey
DonkeySlayer on November 24, 2006
You know....having finally gotten tor eally watch the tournament..I think Moneymaker is getting somewhat of a bad rap. Two reasons why. Firs,t is his infamous bluff of Farha heads up. Every trashes it, but if you actually watch the events preceeding the final table, and the final table itself....you'll see Chris test Sammy about a half dozne tiems on bluffs. He didn't even really try ot bluff anyone else...jsut seemed to focus in on Sammy Farha for it. Can you say testing?
The second is the hand against Phil ivey. Wow. has everyone re-written history on that one. Let me review here, folks.
Moneymaker holds A-Q, Ivey comes in wiht pocket 9's. Fop comes donw as Q-6-Q. Moneymaker bets, ivey calls.
And elts stop right here and remind people what REALLY happened. As of this point in the hand...Ivey is damn near dead to rights. Phil ivey had exactly 2 outs. the two tremaining 9's in the deck. The 9 on the river that gives him the full house is a far bigger miracle, to me. Two outs..and he htis one of them. C'mon...did we forget about this, or jsut choose to ignore, so as to dog Chris Moneymaker?
Anyway...lets resume. Miracle 9 on the turn for Ivey, he goes all in. Moneymaker calls wiht a set of queens. And so the board read q-6-q-9. That leaves Moneymaker with 7 outs. The remainin queen, 3 aces, 3 sixes. he hits and ace and everyone calls hima lucky bastar,d yada yada yada.
And casually ignores Ivey's far largermiracle on the turn that even put him in the hand in the first place.
The second is the hand against Phil ivey. Wow. has everyone re-written history on that one. Let me review here, folks.
Moneymaker holds A-Q, Ivey comes in wiht pocket 9's. Fop comes donw as Q-6-Q. Moneymaker bets, ivey calls.
And elts stop right here and remind people what REALLY happened. As of this point in the hand...Ivey is damn near dead to rights. Phil ivey had exactly 2 outs. the two tremaining 9's in the deck. The 9 on the river that gives him the full house is a far bigger miracle, to me. Two outs..and he htis one of them. C'mon...did we forget about this, or jsut choose to ignore, so as to dog Chris Moneymaker?
Anyway...lets resume. Miracle 9 on the turn for Ivey, he goes all in. Moneymaker calls wiht a set of queens. And so the board read q-6-q-9. That leaves Moneymaker with 7 outs. The remainin queen, 3 aces, 3 sixes. he hits and ace and everyone calls hima lucky bastar,d yada yada yada.
And casually ignores Ivey's far largermiracle on the turn that even put him in the hand in the first place.
AdamWolf on November 5, 2006
Thts poker u can hav a dude enter a tourny wit some experience playing with poker pros get lucky n win it! but i tink vgd players dont rely on luck to win jus hope lady luck is on there side on the day.
shaol on October 31, 2006
AdamWolf on October 27, 2006
the whole event was luck falling his way, there no one anywhere that could have beat that luck..no one.. chris your not good at all so please dont pretend to be,, i had to laugh when i seen you was invited to poker superstars, it made me take a show i like to a show ill never watch again, although i wasnt surprised to hear you didnt accomplish anything there except defeat.
fastcamo on October 10, 2006
Your name should be STUPID DONKEY....'03 won WSOP in '04
cashed $200,000..21,000..10,329..13,000 = $244,329, and
your to stupid to understand what Brenes might go all-in with!
cashed $200,000..21,000..10,329..13,000 = $244,329, and
your to stupid to understand what Brenes might go all-in with!
????? on October 4, 2006
Puts all his chips in with 8 8 agaisnt Breneses's A A and catches a 8. What the hell did he think Brenes had, a seasoned Pro will go all in with better than 8 8. Moneymaker never won ANYTHING since then, never even cashed at an event. a horrible donkey Hee hAw you turd
DonkeySlayer on September 28, 2006
Say what you will about Moneymaker. He's the reason poker has become what it is today. Because of Moneymaker, everyone thinks they can play poker. Flash in the pan? Maybe. A fluke? Most likely, but how many bracelets have you people won? Exactly!
bad_dog76 on August 11, 2006
I hate his guts. The worse player ever. My mom could of won that main event with the luck he had. The only thing cool about this guy is his last name. Moneymaker, still living the dream of 2003. I think your 15 minutes is up.
Bender on July 29, 2006
Moneymaker Embarasses YOU by him winning because.....??
Its amazing. The people that get made fun of are the People at the Top and the Bottom and you losers are somewhere in the middle. Break from mediocrity and be great.
Its amazing. The people that get made fun of are the People at the Top and the Bottom and you losers are somewhere in the middle. Break from mediocrity and be great.
Unregistered on July 27, 2006
Everyone needs to get lucky to win but this guy is a 1 timer. He probably made a deal with the devil. I think he really sucks as a poker player. He won '03 WSOP and thats hard but i never saw him after that. YEAH WPT WOW. How many amateurs won that?I only see him in poker superstars where he sucks there too. He won the main event that PHIL IVEY should have won. it embarasses me as poker player for him to be a champion.
jarrel on July 25, 2006
alan on July 11, 2006
john123 on February 18, 2006
Moneymaker is not the most skilled poker player in the world. He will never be as good as the best in the game. That being said he is still a WSOP champion and finished second in a WPT event which is more than most poker players cany say. He got very lucky to win the WSOP of poker but nobody and i mean nobody wins a tournament without getting lucky at least once and probably several times.
Unregistered on February 1, 2006
If Moneymaker didn't hit the river then someone else would be sitting here right now saying how lucky Ivy was, and that if moneymaker would have hit the river then Ivy wouldn't have been the champ. If my aunt had testicles she would be my Uncle. Cards takes more then skill you have to get the cards, call it luck if you want.
Unregistered on January 28, 2006
Im not hating on chris moneymaker but he did get real lucky in 2003. If he hadnt of catched that river card to make a better full house than Phil Ivey, i guarantee you that Phil Ivey would have been the 2003 WSOP Champ cause if Phil Ivey doubled up right there he would been in a monster chip lead.
Unregistered on January 14, 2006
john123 on December 28, 2005
Unregistered on December 13, 2005
ok alot of u are sayig chris sucks and he was a fluke. Sure he got lucky alot but tell me how a fluke can do the following:
$13,000 - World Poker Tour Aruba
18th place out of 647 enties
$21,000 - WSOP $5000 Pot Limit Omaha
10th place out of 145 entries
$200,000 - San Jose Bay 101 Shooting Star
2nd place out of 243 entries
if he's a fluke he must be getting pretty damn lucky to have won $234,000 in 2004 and he's placing pretty hight in big fields. so just cause u amature think ur the best in the world and u could win the wsop hands down STFU!!! and who ever said pokerstars sucks
$13,000 - World Poker Tour Aruba
18th place out of 647 enties
$21,000 - WSOP $5000 Pot Limit Omaha
10th place out of 145 entries
$200,000 - San Jose Bay 101 Shooting Star
2nd place out of 243 entries
if he's a fluke he must be getting pretty damn lucky to have won $234,000 in 2004 and he's placing pretty hight in big fields. so just cause u amature think ur the best in the world and u could win the wsop hands down STFU!!! and who ever said pokerstars sucks
john123 on December 9, 2005
I read the post, And I have to say most of them are made by ID10Ts. I want too see how many of you retards can get through a $40 Satellite to the WSOP! Hell I seen my share of Pros, play trash cards and end up with the hand "Gus, Doyle, Ferguson, etc. All have done it. The plain fact is they know about the 15% luck factor that is part of poker. I would bet my House, that 99% of you can't even get through the first 600 players, Much less sit at a table with the so called "Best Players" and walk away with First place! You can't blame Moneymaker for what is know as "Luck"! I seen peeps like you Cry cause the river card beat your hands, But it's always skill when it happens to them! Get a life Morons. Just cause you don't have the Nardes too pony up and try yourself makes my sick. I see more and More of you Mamas boys try poker and think your the best and mouth off. The fact is you have no skill to achieve anything higher then playing with your friends and think your Pro!
Unregistered on October 17, 2005
I bet anything Moneymaker has blown his earnings from the 2003 WSOP main event since he doesn't win shit in any other tournament. He's living off of those residual checks from that stupid pokerstars commercial. Pokerstars is one of the shittiest poker sites on the web.
Unregistered on August 28, 2005
Moneymaker Sucks! In The Poker Stars Tournment Against Some Of The Greatest Players Ever He Finished Liek Dead Last! Dident Even Advance To Super Sixteen! Ya Good For Him He Got Lucky Got A Few Millions Anyone Would Lover It. But Face It Kids The Man Will Not Stand Tall In The Poker World! And Anyone Who Said Johnny Chan Suck. Will That Comment Along Proves You Know Jackshit About Poker. Have A Good Day
MoneyMaker Sucks on August 26, 2005
I met Mr. Moneymaker at this year's WSOP main event. He was on a break outside RIO. Nice guy. Very approachable. Ego wasn't in the way of a decent conversation. I've met other celebrities, and some of them have class, and some don't. Chris does. I never believed much in luck 'til I started playing NLHE. This game requires courage, luck, acting ability...Chris displayed all of these attributes. He proves to us that we can do it too, not because he got lucky, but because he was unknown to the Poker community when he started the series, and won. That tells me that I can face Phil Ivey and win. That tells me that I can face Humberto Brenes and win. And it tells me that I can succeed without the success inflating my ego. Thanks Mr. Moneymaker.
RC5000_GUY on August 22, 2005
Too bad you don't play in games. Even the low limit games are pretty fun to go and steamroll from time to time.
gulfport on August 19, 2005
Moneymaker is the classic example of a slightly above-average player hitting it big.The donkeys keep playing and donating their money to the pros because they see guys like Chris Moneymaker.He will have ZERO staying power in the poker world, as poker is a game of long term- measured in months and years- and he just doesn't have the chops to make it.Luck wins you hands, and luck can even win you tournaments (including the WSOP). Luck doesn't give you a poker career.Career poker players win over the long term. They can sit in a ring game with $1,000,000, lose every dime of it and be back a month later with the same sized wad to win a few million more. They take their losses as they come and know that in due time, they will be back up again. Moneymaker is an example of someone who was very, very fortunate at the right time in a huge tournament in a game that was exploding in popularity (and had a fantastically marketable last name) who won't last in poker.He should have taken 3/4th of his after-tax winnings and put it in a mutual fund. It will yield him a far better return than his poker skills ever will.In a few years, you too can have your taxes done by an accountant who is also a former WSOP winner.
gulfport on August 18, 2005
cityman99 on August 15, 2005
jdog on August 10, 2005
Unregistered on August 10, 2005
McDaddy11 on August 9, 2005
Unregistered on August 9, 2005
To all the bashers out there, no matter how much you bash him or call him lucky,I will always see his picture hang on the wall with all the other great champions and this will never change. And as one person already said poker success is measured in only way$$$ and as of right now he is very successfull. Way to go Chris and thinks for keeping my hopes alive
clint spencer/mookie790/mookie790 on August 8, 2005
hi im chrisis little cusin jason and i think my cusin chris is so cool. he buys me all kind of toys for chrismas and even a bike for straight a's on my last report card.i love u chris ur my favorite cusin except for lulu my other cusin that taught me how to play poker. she had to train me to forget evrything i learnt from u and then she showed me all about implied odds and the gap concept and stuff. she taught me a lot more than u when all u said was if theres a lot of chips on the talbe then just go all in with stupid hands.but i still love you because you are my richest cusin and my honerary dad.
Jason Moneymaker on August 1, 2005
This guy looked like a newb in the WSOP 2003. "Oh, it's to me?" Sitting there looking stoned. What an idiot.
Unregistered on July 22, 2005
gotta love the pie-guzzling pancake-faced fat ****.....he was destined to win it with a name like moneymaker
Unregistered on July 22, 2005
jester on July 21, 2005
"Posted by: NotMaried2it on Jul 16, 2005 - IP=68.251.139.55After reading all this goobledy gook, largely from teenage morons that watch a couple poker games on ESPN and now know everything about everything (hey, I was 15 once too!)I've come to this conclusion about Chris Moneymaker: most of you can't spell. Once you learn to spell, then I'm all ears about your insights into someone that won a poker tournament you saw on TV a couple years ago. Otherwise, can you stick to the MTV chats about Audioslave or something???"
u r mostly right about this but one thing, Moneymaker is a FLUKE. hes the only fluke(besides Varkyoni) who won it. but all of u who r dissing doyle and chan and all the LEGENDS STFU. these guys are greats and u guys are just ppl who havent won anything near what Chan and them have won. and Jason Lester should not have won, Farha should have, come on the guy has 5-4 offsuit the worst(odd-wise) hand to ever win the Main Event.
u r mostly right about this but one thing, Moneymaker is a FLUKE. hes the only fluke(besides Varkyoni) who won it. but all of u who r dissing doyle and chan and all the LEGENDS STFU. these guys are greats and u guys are just ppl who havent won anything near what Chan and them have won. and Jason Lester should not have won, Farha should have, come on the guy has 5-4 offsuit the worst(odd-wise) hand to ever win the Main Event.
JetsFan315 on July 21, 2005
"Posted by: Enkhbat on Dec 21, 2004 - IP=199.237.72.19 He won the blind man's bluff, so he is good don't hate him"
so blind mans bluff involves almost no skill.
so blind mans bluff involves almost no skill.
Unregistered on July 21, 2005
"Posted by: Mike 198 192 .1.1 on Oct 22, 2004 - IP=67.42.165.106 Don't worry Chris will be around a long time"
no he wont, hes almost broke again.
no he wont, hes almost broke again.
JetsFan315 on July 21, 2005
"Posted by: johnny on Jun 24, 2004" great game face, farha tried and tried and tried to read him and it didn't work, when he went all in, farha had the check mark after the flop and moneymaker went all in and farha had to fold because he couldnt read him, he's an excellent player, the poker face is everything"
yeah right, it was so easy to read him cause, he had his hand over his mouth, MOST OBVIOUS TELL EVER. its just that farha thought(probably) that he never had met the guy so he could just be doing it for the hell of it.
yeah right, it was so easy to read him cause, he had his hand over his mouth, MOST OBVIOUS TELL EVER. its just that farha thought(probably) that he never had met the guy so he could just be doing it for the hell of it.
JetsFan315 on July 21, 2005
"Posted by: Johhny chans mother on Apr 08, 2004 johhny chan sucks and chris moneymaker kicks ass!!!"
lets review here, two main event wins in a row, and 10 bracelets. moneymaker, 1 FLUKE bracelet.
lets review here, two main event wins in a row, and 10 bracelets. moneymaker, 1 FLUKE bracelet.
JetsFan315 on July 21, 2005
Devin on July 20, 2005
About "The Bluff of the Century" - it was not a difficult play at all, it was the correct play. I would have done it, any decent player would have. I make plays like that all night, every night. He is a good player, dont get me wrong, but he will never win another tournament again, but he will always be the poster boy for internet dreamers.
MikeRizzTheProphet on July 19, 2005
Ok chris isent that bad, i agree that he did get some lucky hands to win the wsop, and i seen him hit some dam good flops(like the last hand when he hit two pair against sammys top pair) but i guess u have to ge lucky at some points to win a tournament like that, sammy is prob. a better palyer then him, but if u get the cards, i guess u get the cards. (but it was a hell of a bluff with king high, i do give him props on that one) but prob. shouldnt of won the tourn.
hes ok on July 17, 2005
If you really believe Moneymaker is a top flight player, then you've obviously logged some hours in that Audioslave chatroom. Oh by the way, its GOBBLEDYGOOK. Once you learn to spell, then I'm all ears about your insights into someone that won a poker tournament you saw on TV a couple years ago.
notmarried2it is delusional on July 16, 2005
After reading all this goobledy gook, largely from teenage morons that watch a couple poker games on ESPN and now know everything about everything (hey, I was 15 once too!) I've come to this conclusion about Chris Moneymaker: most of you can't spell. Once you learn to spell, then I'm all ears about your insights into someone that won a poker tournament you saw on TV a couple years ago. Otherwise, can you stick to the MTV chats about Audioslave or something???
NotMaried2it on July 15, 2005
yah of course chris won the 500 blind man cuz 1, he is blind, 2, he sucks, 3, he doesnt know wat he has, 4, he sucks, 4..he calls and all in when he has a 2% chance of winning (2004 wsop Main event) 5, hes better of not knowing hes cards cuz he doesnt play them right. 6..he is eating a big mac right now
dan moneymaker on July 14, 2005
moneymaker out early on day 2. pushed shortstack with 7h 2h v. AK. had flush draw but didnt suck out.proving he is horrible. 7-2 but its suited. y would any1 keep that. there is only one person who can play that hand and make it good and that is gus hanson cause he is the most aggressive player i have EVER SEEN
JetsFan315 on July 11, 2005
He Finished 2nd At The Shooting Stars Wpt And He Took Tenth In The Pot Limit Omaha At The 2004 World Series
loveland on July 11, 2005
chris is why every one is playing now days, why it is on tv all the time every channel. He is the one that made poker come alive agian because everyone believes if he can do it so can I. Great Job Chris your and idol to many
Unregistered on July 11, 2005
wow good point but still alot of kids are just giving there money away in the wsop and they only have like a year. maybe not even a year and they thank they are going to win it
Unregistered on July 11, 2005
Unregistered on July 11, 2005
I don't know about not losing you're money on sportsbetting if you are a world champion poker player. The original title of Super System was "How I won a million dollars playing poker and how I lost a million dollars playing golf" and I don't think too many people would say that Doyle Brunson was a bad poker player back then.
Unregistered on July 11, 2005
i'd stop playing poker if i sucked as much as he does, anyone who thinks he is good pry never won a hand of poker
99. on July 10, 2005
Dan Moneymaker on July 10, 2005
he also cried after my 4 6 off suit beat his 4 5 suited and said he started with the best hand cuz he was suited and now he is back to the $40 he started with and will soon be in debt after he loses to one of those poker playing dogs on those pictures,, has he finished in the money since main event 03? i heard he finished one out of the money in the Womans event but a blind and deaf lady with 1 arm and 4 fingers busted him... just saying wat i heard
dan moneymaker on July 10, 2005
Unregistered on July 10, 2005
moneymaker is into day 2 and he gets a day off. this could help him. he needs to win some heads u p coin flips. but he survived 2000 players last night. good job champ
loveland on July 8, 2005
true, in poker superstars II he is in second to last, but he has actully shown some skillsand is getting constantly sucked out and losing pretty much every race he is in. after watching his interview in elimination match 17, i have newfound respect for him
strange on July 7, 2005
for all of u who say moneymakers win was not cause of luck, not only should he have been out on the Brenes hand(freakin 8% chance) and did u guys see poker superstars II. he is in last and no way to get to the playoffs.
JetsFan315 on July 6, 2005
this guy plays to much like an internet player.i am also kind weired out on the way he looks in poker super stars 2.he looks a littel gay.
cronic hizzy on July 5, 2005
Chris has proven over time that he is a sub-par player. Even still sub-par players can get lucky and win. Congrats to his win, but I don't think we will ever see him at the top of a major tournament, for that matter I can't see him winning some of the smaller tournaments. I hope he takes the money he won and invests it properly, cause I can't see him making a full time career playing poker.
Johnson on July 3, 2005
Anyone of us would have loved to be in Chris's shoes! His 2.5 in winnings may be low, (if there not gone already) but think of the opportunitys that have risen because of that fortunate tournament. He signs autograghs everyday, and must be approached by all kinds of business ventures. He was lucky yes, as lucky as winning the lottery! Ride the wave Chris! Take advantage of the day. For being an amature, you sure had a cool head on your shoulders. So many people were rooting for the guy, that had the long shot. And you hit it! Strike while the iron is hot! If they want to pay you to put your face on the "Wheaties" box, do it! You were so good at playing cool with your poker face, that nobody knew that you didn't know it was your turn to call or raise, that one time early on in the tournament. Johnny Chan finally said, "Do you know it's your turn"? That was hilarius!! When you looked at the replay, you could almost see you being lost in thought about where you were, and how in the hell did you get there! It's too bad the name. "Chris Rock" is already taken, because that suits you perfect. You have a wonderful Father as well. He must be proud, but you know he's as shocked as you, that eveything happened so fast. You don't have to look very far to see, hear or remember a depresssing situation that has affected someone you know to an extent. But this is truly a feel-good story that has possibilities for a happy ending to keep happening over and over! Yes! Everyone would love to be in your shoes. It couldn't have happened to a nicer individual. Poker is part skill and part luck, all the tumblers lined up for you that week buddy! If you get struck by lightning, I mean, if you win another WSOP, you will see a whole lotta mouths agape. Come on, win another one for the Gipper!!
The guy is Great!! on June 30, 2005
got damn lucky during wsop, has done nothing since, he is in last place in the poker superstars II tournament bc hes really not that good
wwew on June 27, 2005
Look you get lucky and win the lottery, its simple and no one cares. You walk into the casino make horrible calls and steal the championship? Thats offense to all players. Calls with 3-3 against Boyd? That's a good call? No, thats a fish. Am I jealous he won? No, I would never enter the WSOP. Why? Same reason I don't go all-in over the top with K-Qo in the sb against an under the gun raiser, Odds. Oh and whoever said what would you be doing with "9-9" on a Q-6-Q flop doesn't play poker alot.
george on June 19, 2005
Ivey called on the flop because he didnt have the luxury of viewing Moneymakers hand by way of the tabletop "lipstick" camera behind his hole cards. But I suppose we are all world champions when we can see everyones cards in hindsight.
um murph on June 16, 2005
Lets face it Moneymaker is not a great player and im sick of this talk about the great bluff he made. It was an easy play to make cause he knew that the only way Sammy could call the bet was if he had the straight or a flush. No way Sammy could call with just top pair cause if he makes a bad read hes out in 2nd. If anything moneymaker showed the power of a big stack. I will say this for moneymaker though he played not just good but great in the shooting bay tourney but getting lucky in the big one and one other tournment does not make him a great player. On the other hand he can always be glad that he is not Robert Valoser or what ever his name is. On a side not im sick of everyone talking about the Phil Ivey hand. What the hell was Phil doing calling on the flop with pocket 9's anyway. He got lucky to hit a 2 outer then moneymaker got lucky to hit a 4 outer whose luckier???
murph on June 10, 2005
Unregistered on June 8, 2005
Chris Moneymaker and Greg Raymer are excellent role models to the poker community. They have class and skill and are feared by most of all the top poker players today. They even are famous for their wins at the WSOP and have their website which you see on TV everyday. I feel that all you should respect them and admire their true ability to play cards at such a high caliber. I lso feel that they should have a signing session iwth Greg and Chris before every major tournament. Chris and Greg are NOT lucky...they are extremely skilled.....
Unregistered on June 8, 2005
The thing about luck, we all been there...bad play pays off sometimes... we all have bad bad beats... but the one that bad beats us.... usely get busted out after a few hands ...there bad play get them self out in the end... but this dude... he just made a deal whit the devil and he got good player out whit bad play! to win in this way is an Insult To the poker world!
Swoop on June 4, 2005
Boy I wish I could get pocket 8's go all in against p aces and catch an 8. Lets face it, MM is a lucky tool that shouldn't even have his name on this website. Lose some weight Chris.
Daniel on May 28, 2005
Moneymaker's Dad on May 25, 2005
Real lucky that his last name is catchy. No matter if he ever does anything in the poker world ever again, some online site(s) will throw him a few bucks to use his name until his arteries finally clog up and his fat ass keils over.
money maker the fat accountant from Tennessee on May 14, 2005
This guys sucks. He got lucky to win the main event in 2003 and then made one final table in San Jose where he came in second. Wow great job Chris a possum can play better than that. Keep up the lousy work and continue thinking you are a good player.
Dirk Diggler on May 10, 2005
loser on May 8, 2005
Honestly, hats off to Chris for his play. The only thing I can't stand (and not just him) is all the stupid commericals about poker left and right making it look so corporate. I enjoyed the game much more 10 years ago when it was kind of a special "society"
whip on May 7, 2005
James on May 6, 2005
Moneymaker should be given credit for his achievement. Yes luck does come into play, but if any of you here were to win it then I'm sure you would be floating on cloud nine. Give the guy credit he deserves it!! He did place second to Phil Gordon like Sammy above stated....
Unregistered on May 3, 2005
He won a world title, for that you must be lucky sometimes and know how to play against pro players.
Rodoval on May 2, 2005
Michael on May 1, 2005
bitchkiller on April 27, 2005
I say no matter what, the guy can play cards whether or not he wins everyday or he loses. I met him the last time I was in Vegas, and he's a good guy as well.
Cleveland025 on April 20, 2005
I love how you all shoot the guy down. Nothing but a bunch of 4 am free roll losers. You go win a world title, then feel free to criticize. Lucky or not, he is a world champ , and you aren't
Jeremy on April 11, 2005
Moneymaker would have thought to himself once he won the wsop that "Hey I can mix it with these big guns!!"Goes to the Taj to play in a big limit game and gets cleaned out by a dead money moron who in turns gets cleaned out by Phil Helmuth who in turn gets cleaned out by Annie Duke. Then Phil goes home to sulk!As Phil is walking out of the Taj to go home to sulk how he lost to Annie Duke, he bumps in to Sam Grizzle who is busking outside the Taj for money to play the $1/$2 table inside the Taj and makes Sam drop his harmonica. Sam is annoyed and punches Phil in the Face. Phil screams like a little girl and starts crying there and then while Sam Grizzle gets picked up by the police who are enforcing a new law that bans hobo busking midgets standing in front of casinos!
Moneymaker is cool on April 4, 2005
does everyone know phil ivey should have won the 03 wsop if moneymaker didnt out draw him on a final river card
richard on March 31, 2005
Unregistered on March 28, 2005
Poker Is Gambling When You Gamble You Get Lucky Or Not Lucky So Yes Its Luck Like Winning The Lottery. He Doesn't Give A @#$$ If He Is Fat At Least He Has Got The Money To Feed Himself And He Dosen't Care About Poker He Has A Rich Family And His Cpa From University Of Tennessee He Worked For Everything He Has And Just Got Lucky Once Now He Is Set For Life He Doesn't Need "poker" And His Family Runs A Wine And Liquor Store Not A Towin Service
Unregistered on March 27, 2005
I am Chris sister and all of you are so wrong you all don't know @#%# about him and never will. All he is to you all is a fat lucky poker player. Well he isn't fat anymore never really was "FAT" just healhty and who really care what you all say its all hearsay, hearsay just like the bible and your religion all hearsay no total truth or fact and he has tripled his money but you all can think he is broke that just mean no one will ask for money..
Brandi on March 27, 2005
Chris must love Greg Raymer because Chris is now known as the skinny, good looking online player who won the WSOP.
Vegas Mike on March 22, 2005
not as bad a player as you think, in experinced eye may look like that..but he gambled sometimes and made some tough calls..its not gambling if theres no luck
atal on March 21, 2005
Real is that true? Hey I was wondering does the IRS take their cut at the time of the winning? I hear it's something like 50%? What a drag...I thought they gave you the full amount and you claimed it later.
Unregistered on March 20, 2005
i know a guy who knows money maker i sware to god and i know for a fact that he lost well over half of the 2.5 mill at online sports books he bought a house shared some of the money and is pretty much broke again, he was the champ and no one can take that from him but a good poker player wouldnt switch his game completely to sports handicapping and loose his bankroll BOTTOM LINE he is an ameture and nothing more you dont get two chances to put together a bank roll that big how many of us would kill for that money i could play poker forever with that money lol
REAL INSIDE INFO on March 14, 2005
iveyfan05 on March 14, 2005
mm is a very good player....not as good as forest or ungar...but is just as good as the other top players these days like negreanu,,,,look out for mm making the final table again in the years to come
Unregistered on March 9, 2005
ghood666 on March 9, 2005
neil,nelly,nellyboymount on March 9, 2005
Chris Moneymaker has millions of reasons why he is better than any of you. If any of you had actually played in a WSOP maybe your comments would have some merit. (Probably not though)
Hey morons on March 4, 2005
the wsop is mostly luck did you ever even watch it? moneymaker caught great cards and you right he is a millionaire; so are the people who win the lottery. also who calls someone a moron, now days that word is meaningless.
hey dumbass on March 4, 2005
Pure amateur, doesn't slowplay, can't bluff without going all in. Poor decisions, won wsop with pocket aces a million times. Not consistent.
Dirk Diggler on February 28, 2005
Just shows you that if you have heart and the desire to win...nothing can get in your way. I agree Chris did get lucky, but look at the pros...they catch a card on the river and they think it's skill. Chris keep up the good work and ignore all the idots on here that bad mouth you. You are definitely an influence for all of us want to acheive what you have done...it was great watching you play and take out the top players.
Unregistered on February 27, 2005
moneymaker your awsome, and a very good player, ill see ya at the tables someday, ill try to knock u out! it will be hard though!
kyle on February 27, 2005
omg on February 25, 2005
Thank you for giving all these people some facts StudlyOmelet. People are so jealous that he won all that money it's ridiculous. I say good for him. He played well got lucky as you HAVE TO in an event like that. Luck goes hand in hand with gambling people. But to get that far that many times takes SKILL.
Poker Queen on February 24, 2005
As much as I agree that he is a lucky player, so was everyone at the 2003 WSOP final table and so is everyone at any final table. Dan Harrington got lucky a few times as did others. Here's a little list of "lucky moments" for CM.
1. 1st - WSOP Main Event (800+ Players)
2. 2nd - Bay 101 Shooting Star (200+)
3. 3rd - Jack Binion Mid-America Poker Classic (200+)
4. 10th - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha (250+)
These Finishes are within a year of eachother...
1. 1st - WSOP Main Event (800+ Players)
2. 2nd - Bay 101 Shooting Star (200+)
3. 3rd - Jack Binion Mid-America Poker Classic (200+)
4. 10th - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha (250+)
These Finishes are within a year of eachother...
StudlyOmelet on February 23, 2005
omg on February 20, 2005
tm456 on February 19, 2005
iveyfan05 on February 19, 2005
iveyfan05 on February 17, 2005
I dont give a shit about what all you haters and naysayers say about him. Moneymaker obviously has skill, Jesus I mean the thing is a week long every day sure there are the lucky moments but if you totaled them all up compared to actual length of play it is miniscule. Moneymaker won because he played his best game. Period.
kgb1986 on February 17, 2005
Moneymaker can play period. Like some of the earlier posters said....don't be stupid enough to think that what you see on ESPN is the entire WSOP...the main event goes on all day every day for almost a week idiots!! I would bet my house that 95% of you could not sit in a game with top pros and last two hours and I'm dead serious when I say that. He sucks huh? Then why did he finish second at the shooting stars event on the WPT (actually should have won but got drawn out on), cashed in two other major tournaments in New York and finished in the top 10 in last years PLO tourney at the WSOP...no one has that kind of luck.
SuitedAce on February 15, 2005
Vegas Mike on February 15, 2005
ha! this guy is a joke. Raymer at least is a pretty good player, but moneymaker is crap. If he won again I would literally cut off my sak
vampyre on February 14, 2005
Moneymaker obviously has some skill. Remember, he did win a sattelite to pay for his entry fee so he had to have skill for that. As far as the '03 WSOP is concerned, he did get very lucky and made some bad decisions like the pocket 8's vs. Brenes pp A's hand. But one great call I thought he made was his pocket 3's against Dutch Boyd's two overcards. He called the all in and called out for low cards. Definately impressive but he is still an obvious amateur who could have a future in poker.
Nuts2callU on February 11, 2005
i like his determination to suceed at poker i think he definitely has skills but theres something about him that i dont like
vampyre on February 9, 2005
Chad on January 25, 2005
Very well said Chad and IveyFan .... most of the people who post here are immature morons who have yet to ever leave the safety of Internet play. You must have considerable skill to win a tournament with 800 plus people, many of them professionals .... people don't seem to understand that ESPN shows you .5% of the hands that are player .... Moneymaker had 60,000 in chips after Day 1, among the leaders, he didn't attain that position by being lucky. In addition, he also cashed high in an Omaha tournament in the WSOP ... the man clearly can play poker, people should give him his props. It's quite likely that a quarter of the people currently playing Hold Em would not be doing so if not for broadcasts of his win.
Adam S - ACSCashMoney on January 25, 2005
he was also a bad beat away to phil gordon from winning a wpt event...even getting to the final table there took a heck of a player he came in 2nd ..he had the best hand and got beat from behind...so dont sell chros short, hes a very very good player...anybodt that doesnt see that doesnt know poker. or only things they do becase they watch" every episode of tilt" so until you know what you are talking about i suggest shutting the hell up
iveyfan05 on January 25, 2005
jackpot on January 24, 2005
Yeah, really. It does take luck to beat hundreds of people in a tournament. However, it also takes a lot of skill to make it that far. I really doubt that he just had cards for every day of the tourney. He's a solid player, and people talk shit because they always talk shit about the champion. Just read Raymer and Varkoyni's pages. People even talk shit about Johnny Chan on this site. All of the pros on this site have talent. Some are luckier than others, but they all have talent.
Chad on January 23, 2005
3 words describe moneymaker................. wsop braclet winner..............not our fault you play 5 dollar sit and gos while moneymaker won millions....hurry up and get back to pokerstars , isnt there a freeroll starting????
iveyfan05 on January 21, 2005
Chris Money Maker is a solid Poker Player and lucks is needed to Win Big touraments but a bluff is necessary inaany touraments. Just Remember the Name and Soon the World will no ** LOCKCHAMP KY HeadHunter** Dennis Mullins, a Retiree that is turning Pro in 2006 and will be in the WSOP 2005...Dead Money is a thing of the pass.....Confidence and long hours pay off...Beat Mark Seilf in online Ring Games, Phil Ivey And the Old Man....Mr Conservative.......Dangersous Long Champ, known as the KYHEADHUNTER
lockchamp on January 10, 2005
Can anyone give REAL facts and TRUTH about Moneymaker supposedly losing most of his WSOP winnings?? Is that a fact? If so, playing what limits?
Curious on January 1, 2005
Eddie on December 30, 2004
To be honest I never watched the WSOP last year and could never comment on Moneymaker. However after watching a re-run on TV I began to see how truly great he played. To the comment that he was a lucky fluke, that is totally ridiculous the hand against Ivey was a hand Moneymaker had to pay off. If you can find me one pro in the circuit who would lay that hand down Ill never play again.
td8118 on December 28, 2004
Dr Hank on December 21, 2004
wow rico youre an idiot on December 20, 2004
Enkhbat on December 20, 2004
pocket7s on December 20, 2004
Enkhbat on December 20, 2004
Chris Moneymaker played great... he hardly made any mistakes. The hand with phil Ivey, if im not mistaking he had two pair aces and omehting else, why would he not call the all in of phil Ivey. Plus he beat a lot of people at the final table. DONT HATE ON THIS GUY
Rico/Rico Moneymaker/LaL08Kb12004 on December 18, 2004
"low cards, low cards." when I watch my wsop dvd late at night I always rewind the bit when he says that. Its almost orgasmic.
sammy the brick on December 18, 2004
Does anyone know what kind of sunglasses Sammy Farha wears to play in? I want to get some for my husband for Christmas. Thank you.
Kim B./tinybubbles042 on December 8, 2004
He was 2nd place in I believe it was shooting stars WPT event. Winner was Phil Gordon. So he has done something since. Made final table and if Phil did not get an ace on the last hand he would of won that event. Moneymaker had pocket Kings Phil had an ace and something else. MM went all in and Phil called and caught the ace. Maybe he's done even more but this is the one I know about. So please people know what you are talking about before stating he hasn't done s**t since.
Unregistered on December 5, 2004
OMG Moneymaker is a fat slob who got lucky and won the series. Big deal. - He hasnt done shit since.
Unregistered on December 1, 2004
decent to good player and yes i admit and so does he that he got lucky to win the main event but hes a super nice guy and i wish him well
djnpa_30 on November 30, 2004
RGL GamePolice on November 29, 2004
richardeum on November 22, 2004
MM is very lucky ..he is bad at poker and he will be making a $10000 donation every year for the rest of his life!!!
aces high 56 on November 17, 2004
So He Is Down And Out Thats Why He Was At Imperial Palace Playing 25 Dollar Tourneys...hmmm I Feel Sorry For The Guy..
nevs/wiseman/rnevels on November 16, 2004
Reality check people -- Moneymaker did have a good tournament in 2003. He did have some great hands to play and did earn his title. HOWEVER, since then he has been little more than a hack. He's pissed away his WSOP money and is losing his appearance fees at various casinos. That's not rumor folks. I give the guy credit for what he accomplished in 2003 but he's done little since. I feel bad for the guy because he bought into his own press. He'll wind up back in the Ozarks crunching numbers.
slvsc2 on November 15, 2004
to beat 800 other players in the wsop,plus having to win tournaments on line to qualify,i think we can safely say this guy is the best around
cockle picker on November 14, 2004
broth on November 9, 2004
Moneymaker barely got anywhere in this years WSOP. Im talking about all the events including the main one. So obviously he isnt some miracle player just an above average player who got lucky. It happens.
Art/Hydroblunt/mekrox on November 6, 2004
hey Whitney he was druink, he said he was, said he got drunk the night before and was up until four am it really was sad. I like the guy, but i think he's made too big a deal of, only because he's the champion of the poker explostion.
Sammy the Brick on November 2, 2004
I think he looked drunk at the 2004 WSOP...That was sad because you think the reigning champ would want to make a good showing....I dont think you'll ever see him at a final table again....He'll be back working as an accountant in five years.....sad but true
Whitey on October 31, 2004
Now that I masqueraded as Jay T and insulted him for being an idiot, I'd like to say a few words about Moneymaker. He is a good amateur player, and he did do well in an 800 plus person tourney, with that said I think that luck had, and still has much to do with winners in such tourneys. Back when the WSOP was an 8 man tourney it was much more a skill game, today it's still skill, but SOOO much more luck is involved it's scary. Now I say Money has some skill and is a good player because he also came in second in the WPT tourney with Phil Gordon. That's all thanks.
Sammy the Brick on October 30, 2004
I can't believe you guys expected moneymaker to win again (or even do well). How many repeat champs have there ever been? Not that many. Yes, he is a flash in the pan, but i'd like to win 2.5 million, luck or not.
the wise one on October 25, 2004
Hey All Just Left Vegas Friday Chris Was Playing 25.00 Dollar Buy In Touraments At The Imperial Palace With Only 600 Too 1st Place He Lost Like A 100 Pounds No Wedding Ring Wearing Flip Flops I Think He Is Down And Out Broke Why Else Would He Be Playing There He Looked Like Nick Nolte When He Got That Dui People Where Takin His Picture And Getting Autographs Anybody Know What Happen To Him Please Reply Thanks.
NEVS/WISEMAN/RNEVELS on October 23, 2004
Mike on October 21, 2004
I think the correct thing to sum all of this up is that Moneymaker sucks... compared to Ivey and Harrington and all the other greats... he probably wouldn't suck compared to all of you... Congrats on the millions made but he will never be as good as Ivey or Harrington
NOPOKERSKILLZ on October 19, 2004
it's funny how everyone on here has something to say. i would like to see some of you play...probably jokes.
jr. on October 10, 2004
Unregistered on October 6, 2004
chris is the best all around player ever in the history of poker.his talent can easily be seen ouzing out of his triple chin.i love how people claiming to be a pro go on hear and talk sh it like they can play big money poker without making mistakes. internet should outlawed for people who have iq lower then forrest gump
joey bucktooth bandiny on October 2, 2004
got so lucky beating catching a card on the river i wud have won. extremally lucky wont win another bracelet ever!!!
phil ivey on September 20, 2004
Rick on September 14, 2004
Chris moneymaker has a software for sale for 29.95, what it's and the number and contact info for it. it an instructional software on hold'em. thank you
Aashon/Lakijuana2yahoo.com on September 11, 2004
BetterThanUR on September 4, 2004
I have to saw, after watching the wsop last year I though that Moneymaker was just a lucky amature who happened to beat out a mediocre final table. After watching Bay 101,however, Moneymakers improved play, and great reads against guys like Gordin convinced me that he is for real and is truely a great poker player
Gus is the man on September 4, 2004
well its really really hard to do that, and to win one of those things you gotta get really freakin lucky sooner or later but I can't believe he made that call with a A 10 :(
Unregistered on September 2, 2004
chris is just a decent player who got lucky in one tourmant i dont hate him but he is not that good he didnt make a final table in any event in this years wsop
poker player on August 31, 2004
not me, i hate when people get lucky on the turn or river especially againts my main man Phil Hellmuth, its bad to see people winning when they dont have any skill
smash on August 27, 2004
"Posted by: bill/billye/billye1111@comcast.net on Feb 22, 2004 He Put All His Money In When He was behind several times..He made so many mistakes a typical internet player makes.. If he gets to final table again I will walk to Vegas....P.S. His dad was a total idiot as well!!!!"
hey bill, did'ja see the bay 101? better start walkin'.
hey bill, did'ja see the bay 101? better start walkin'.
seanof30306 on August 22, 2004
it amazes me to see so many people hating chris moneymaker, both on here and at the live games i play in.here's a guy who had NEVER played in a live tournament before who came out of nowhere to win the biggest event in poker. a guy who, like most of the people on here, started playing on the internet and could only dream of playing at the wsop, much less winning. a guy who took a 40.00 shot and played through over a thousand players just to win his seat.chris moneymaker is US! he lived the dream we all share. why would anyone not be happy to see joe nobody come out of nowhere to win the day? he's rocky with a beer belly!and for all of you criticizing his calls? you do understand that the reason poker pros are poker pros is that you can never tell whether they have the hand or not, don't you? if you lay down your cards every time there's a better possibility on the board and someone fires a bullet at the pot, you're not going to last very long.and moneymaker's bluff of farha was incredible poker. a guy playing in his first live tournament ever gets all the way to the final table, is down to two players, is playing against one of the best, trickiest players in the game, yet has the guts and presence of mind to follow a read he got and put it all in on a stone-cold bluff, then sit there stoic as a stone? that's balls ... and great poker.i don't know whether moneymaker is one of the best, but winning the wsop and coming in 2nd at the bay 101 is enough to convince me he's good enough to deserve my respect and admiration.bottom line? chris moneymaker's everyman wins story is one of the best things that's ever happened to poker. americans love to see the little guy win, and that's one of the biggest reasons we saw the field at this year's wsop DOUBLE from last year's record-setting field. i'm a fan.
seanof30306 on August 22, 2004
how can u bluff with A 10 with a KK9 board...get raised all in with a guy holding K8...and call instantly? oh he dint hit aces on the turn and the river, wat happened to the luck?
jobe on August 17, 2004
HOW CAN U SAY HE WON WITH SKILL???????? so overrated and wont win another bracelet in his life unless he enters the womens event
Bluffed on August 17, 2004
Moneymaker won with skill, icy veins, and an innate ability to read his opponents. All you haterz should show up to Bellagio and play no limit with Moneymaker. Don't forget to wear your "depends" when you lose quick
holdemfoldem on August 16, 2004
Fred on August 16, 2004
u guys are idiots. moneymaker is so lucky? how come he placed 2nd on wpt bellagio tourn. and he hit the final tables on 2 other wsop tourneys...check the stats bitchez
the truth on August 15, 2004
Moneymaker won an 800 person tournament, no one wins that without skill, he made mistakes like any HUMAN, but he made so non-amature calls like the pocket threes, any other internet amature would have folded. He deserves that money, nice job Chris. good luck defending your title!!
playing poker 24/7 on August 15, 2004
If he ever sits down at my table again, I will give him jelly doughnuts as much as possible to distract him.
Sam Farha on August 12, 2004
Moneymaker is a lucky man. He is an aggressive poker player which i like, but i believe he still needs lot of work not to mention i do not expect to see him in anymore final tables
stevo on August 11, 2004
Quite possibily the most OVERRATED player... All I see and hear from media all the way down to the clowns I take money from on monday nights is "Moneymaker"... The clowns I play with even call my sunglasses I wear "The Moneymakers"
AcesLewy on August 11, 2004
He was somewhat lucky, of course, but he's one to look up to for not getting pushed around by the so called pros.. great job.. What makes a PRO a PRO?? He's a millionaire twice by poker..?? Thanks Moneymaker.. Your awesome!!!
KSLawdog on August 10, 2004
how can u say he is not lucky? there were at least 4 occasions shown on tv that he had more luck than an irish man with 12 cold coins, 6 horse shoes, a rabbits foot, 15 four leaf clovers, honestly, if i had that kind of luck i would win the lottery 5 or 6 times in a day. look at his success in the wsop 2004 events, he has had no success, why? cuz he doesnt have enuff skills, i like him he seems like a nice guy and he also donated that 25k but i dont see alot of success in his future really, but good luck cuz u have alot of it
Dayton 3P9 on August 9, 2004
steve/yanks551/safyanksrule on August 8, 2004
smash on August 8, 2004
Chris Ferguson is most over-rated player along with Sam Farha and Amarillo Slim researh on his win he just got lucky vs T.J Cloutier
Owen is a moron on August 3, 2004
Moneymaker would bitch up all you haters real quick he is a great player... raymer and varkonyi are the shitty players who got lucky go hate on them.Moneymaker is the only respectable champ in recent years
Unregistered on August 1, 2004
Johnny Chan 03WSOP-"Oh I'm in bad shape...Throw a duece out there dealer..."Im Sure You all remember that great play chris
schooling the legend on August 1, 2004
Unregistered on August 1, 2004
is moneymaker great, no but he is a good player although not as good as some of those he beat. and you cant say he is the only respectable player in recent years when chris ferguson won it in 2000. now thats a great player.
owen on August 1, 2004
1st time in Tunica on July 25th, bought in 100.oo1/2 blinds, won high hand 10-11pm and 300 cash!! the ben on the table I was on were very very confused. Learn the rules/strategy and go fo it girls.Poker is GAMBLING/GAMBLING is CHANCE/so call me chance. :) Let's go Annie :)~~~chance~~~
chance on July 30, 2004
I can't believe how many people think Chris Moneymaker was just lucky. First of all he had to qualify against a couple of thousand people on-line of which probably 5-10% where pros trying to get in the cheaper way ($40). Then he had to play a live tournament (1st one)in a field of 800-900 players. Then he had to take down some of the greatest players in the world including former champions and you guys call that LUCK??? AWWW COME ON CUZ, YOU KILLIN ME!!! I think the only lucky thing that happened at the 2003 WSOP is the previous winners are lucky that this was his first live tournament!!! Chris Moneymaker will be back at more final tables that's for sure!!! STU UNGAR...BY FAR SECOND TO NONE!!!
BruddahV on July 29, 2004
Darren K on July 28, 2004
Moneymaker is a great player but he got help from his father, who said Farha was bluffing because he shuffled his chips with his left hand.
DJ. on July 26, 2004
Moneymaker might just be the luckiest man alive....He plays on the boat near my home, and believe me he sux! One of my buddies took about 10 grand off of him.
CW1CK on July 26, 2004
phillyscr on July 21, 2004
It's hard to repeat as the winner in the Main Event at the WSOP. I believe only Johnny Chan and Amarillo Slim repeated as WSOP Main Event champs.
Jay T. on July 21, 2004
You people who talk about taking Moneymaker's roll are great. Why are you taking Chris' money? Did you get sick of beating Chan, Ivey, and Hellmuth? That leads me to my opening point. First, anyone can get into this forum and create any story they want. Thus, I do not believe any of you who claim to have taken money off of Chris. Second, even if you took a few thousand off Moneymaker, do you think he cares. He has another 2 million plus dollars to play with. Not to mention winnings in the Bay 101 and other events and ring games that never get published. As for getting "lucky" in the WSOP in 2003. Of course he got lucky. Anyone who wins a major tournament like that needs to get lucky. Yes, he caught the 8 against Humberto, but what poker player hasn't caught a card to win a large pot in a ring game or tournament. Also, look at some of the bad plays that helped Moneymaker. Chan puts all his chips at risk on a draw? Boyd puts most of his stack on the line with Ace/King after a flop where he hit nothing? Those seem like pretty weak plays that Moneymaker took advantage of. Congrats to him for refusing to be bullied by pro players and people trying to buy pots. Also, recognize the ESPN factor. They are trying to build ratings. Of course they are going to show people catching cards. It is more exciting. How much fun would it be to watch KK beat QQ in an all in situation. I suspect that ESPN was trying to show how luck, skill, and a few good cards played a part in Moneymaker's victory. Additionally, over the course of a week long event like the main event at the WSOP thousands of hands are played by each of the players. Since so many hands are played good and bad beats eventually even out, as does the quality of poor and great flops that hit for each of the players, as well as their starting hands. The winner of the tournament is usually the player who makes the best plays when the luck is in his or her favor. At the 2003 WSOP main event Chris Moneymaker took advantage of great flops and great starting hands when he got them.In Phil Helmuth's book he writes that the trick is to "finish the job" and go on to win the event when you are lucky enough to win a coin flip pot. What Phil is saying is that when you get lucky take advantage. Chris Moneymaker got lucky and "finished the job." Exactly like any pro would. Thank you for reading now you can go back to playing your ring games against Moneymaker and resume taking his money. Not that any one believes you.
gbtimmerz on July 20, 2004
Unregistered on July 16, 2004
Is it luck, is it skill? Doesnt matter, point is we love watching Moneymaker play. He sold the 2003 WSOP on TV... If it wasnt for him, we'd be yawning all the way through the smack-talking, greaseyhaired Farhas, Devilfishes, and Nguyens. First-timer Moneymaker sat solid like a rock and took the purse home. And to see a fellow Tennessean up there made it all the more worthwhile. Great job Chris, look forward to seeing you win again soon.
dwarfish on July 12, 2004
You think Im lucky? Well, luck goes around to everyone from time to time. Every person ever to win the WSOP should consider themselves lucky, and I am no exception. I love playing this game, and Im very lucky to be able to do it professionally. There are some strange people on here, but I appreciate all the kind words from people. See you all at the tables.
Chris Moneymaker on July 10, 2004
NO limit hold 'em is half skill half luck. sure, moneymaker had luck in 2003, but u don't get to #1 in an 800+ man tourney with all luck. In 2004 Chris didn't get the cards-so what! don't hate the player, hate the game. Chris showed a lot of skill in 2003, and trust me, like Harrington, he will be back in the coming years.
Searskies on July 8, 2004
Scotty2Hotty on July 6, 2004
GREAT JOB MONEYNAKER!!!!!! You give everyone that plays poker for the fun of it pride. A total underdog who wins it all $2.5 million to be exact. Sorry you had to finance your trip through your FATHER and a friend. Your dad is a real DUFFUS. Please leave him at home this year. GOOD LUCK at the 2004 WSOP!!
lovthatpoker on June 30, 2004
What the hell was your dad doing when you got lucky and caught 5 days worth of cards? i thought sammy was about to choke him after the way your smokey mountains ass pappy started jumping up and down.
Get your money took on June 30, 2004
Fuck off!... NO WAY was he simply 'just lucky'...... LUCKY is getting a full house twice in a row followed by a four of a kind... LUCKY is finding a wallet with $400 in it and not giving a damn about who owns it... LUCKY is winning the biggest jackpot lottery using the tried and tested 'pick the numbers that are the birthdates of your family members' method only to find out, later on, that you got your wifes birthdate wrong... SKILL is going ALL THE WAY from $40, winning some 2 or more seperate qualifying tournaments (whilst up against hundreds of opponents in each tournament), to finally then go on to beat nearly 1000 other players in your very first live tournament (with the added extra pressure of live International TV broadcasting cameras peering over your shoulder), pocketing 2.5 million, and being able to pack in a job you hate.
Unregistered on June 29, 2004
I used to think moneymaker sucked, but after watching his episode on the WPT and rewatching the WSOP, but now i think hes a pretty good player. Boyd made a great play at him and he made the best call of the tournament (or the part aired on TV). Yes he was lucky (flopping the nuts with queen jack vs lesters ace queen, brenes and iveys knockouts) but he still played good, probably better than Raymer did this year.
jeff on June 29, 2004
I Can't Believe Some Of You Idiots Think Moneymaker Is The Luckiest Man Alive..... Do You Really Think The Tv Shows Let You See Every Hand... Television Is All About Entertainment, Thats Why You Only See The Interesting/lucky/bad Beat Hands, Etc.... Moneymaker Didnt Just Turn Up With $10,000 He Beat Many People In Many Games To Get There.... You Dont Think Doyle Brunson Has Had 40 Years Of Luck Do You.... Give The Guy A Break He Is Better Than You Will Ever Be!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Dylan on June 24, 2004
i love the tripple chin threat, moneymaker if your man enough for a challenge meet me at the 1 2 table at commerce casino
gsgfsdf on June 23, 2004
great game face, farha tried and tried and tried to read him and it didn't work, when he went all in, farha had the check mark after the flop and moneymaker went all in and farha had to fold because he couldnt read him, he's an excellent player, the poker face is everything
johnny on June 23, 2004
Ugly Tuna on June 22, 2004
Johnny on June 18, 2004
Listen Chris Money Maker can play poker. The Luck Factor if you have played poker long enough u should know that everyone even the pros get lucky on alot of hands. Skill is a major factor if Chris Moneymaker did not use that he would not be in the wsop on a internet site and he would not be the champion and he would not be second place on the wpt at the final table. So the people who are cracking on him and dont give him any respect need to shut the hell up learn how to play poker win the wsop and a wpt then mabey they can talk but they wont cuz they would have RESPECT.
zman1979 on June 17, 2004
JohnP on June 16, 2004
Did I say 2 or 3 hours Moneymaker busted out? I'm sorry it was 4 hours. You know there is a difference between busting out in 3 hours and busting out in 4 hours. He was lucky to last 4 hours than 3 hours.
Jay T. on June 16, 2004
MEAT MAN on June 16, 2004
chris moneymaker was out in 4 hours at wsop in 2004.has anyone here played a nolimit tourney and been busted out after 4 hours of play? If you have played poker for a while you know the answer to the question. as for moneymaker, it wasnt a fluke the the guy won. he is hard to read and played very well for someone who has never played a live tourney or even against any pros, you gotta give em that. all you people who watch him on espn, i bet that 99.9% of you would not be able to make the no fear moves he made at the table. the guy is not a god but id watch out for him to make more money in poker.
why rag on him on June 14, 2004
DerryABU on June 13, 2004
I didn't see Moneymaker in the 2004 WSOP. Oops, I made a mistake. He was at the 2004 WSOP and was gone after playing for 2 or 3 hours, and then he lefted the casino.
Jay T. on June 13, 2004
You know yes he did get lucky, but yes he is a great player. Its one thing for a player to get lucky. But once a GOOD player gets lucky, watch out, cause he or she will win anytime, and thats what Chris did. Where was Moneymaker in 2004 WSOP?
GZZuS on June 12, 2004
Cool Guy on June 11, 2004
1 title=51% LUCKY (Hellmuth,Moneymaker,ect)
2 title=50/50 LUCKY, GOOD(Chan,Brunson,ect)
3 title=51% GREAT, 49% LUCKY "STU UNGAR". "Everyone needs SOME luck in order to win" "No ones plays if the gun has ALL 6 shots"
2 title=50/50 LUCKY, GOOD(Chan,Brunson,ect)
3 title=51% GREAT, 49% LUCKY "STU UNGAR". "Everyone needs SOME luck in order to win" "No ones plays if the gun has ALL 6 shots"
My 2-cents on June 11, 2004
the 2004 WSOP had over 2,500 entrants. In 2005 it'll be over 5,000. At the start of the 2003 WSOP there were 3 players with over $3,000,000 in career earnings. By the end of the 2005 there will be over 15. With another win and a 2nd place showing along with his 10th place at the 2004 WSOP Omaha he's shown anyone with 1/2 a brain that he's got the skills in bigtime tournament poker.
2004 WSOP on June 9, 2004
Wow, it's really sad that all of you take so much time and effort to bash a man that 99.9% of you would be scared Sh*tless to sit down at a table with. You should all leave Chris alone, and go back to your internet poker software, and play your free roll tourneys, because you obviously don't know sh*t about real poker... and yes, it's very different in real life, so before you go critizing the winner of the 2003 WSOP, tell me something : How much more money than him have you won? If you haven't won any more than him, you need to shut up, because obviously, he knows something you don't.
xxBurnxx on June 9, 2004
Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP, but only lasted for a few hours in the 2004 WSOP. It just goes to show you that winning in a poker tournament is all about LUCK!!!
Jay T. on June 7, 2004
"I think they should bump up the buy-in to $25,000 to weed out the wannabees."
Yeah, like yourself VABORIS!It's easy to talk shit behind the safety of the net.
Yeah, like yourself VABORIS!It's easy to talk shit behind the safety of the net.
DUX on June 6, 2004
Chris Moneymaker I think is a very nice player.... Risky? maybe, but takes his chances and does pretty well. And a question for *Whom it may conscern* Is moneymaker his last name or what? If so, Nice Carrer to pick with a last name like that.
Ima Shawty on June 6, 2004
Chris Moneymaker, Texas Hold'em player of the year? I would imagine that some people would disagree with this title, considering that Moneymaker is new to the game. We give Chris this title this year not because he is the best poker player in the world, but because of what his victory means to the game of poker. As you have probably heard, Chris qualified for the 2003 World Series of Poker at an Internet poker room, and had never had real game experience until he actually arrived in Las Vegas for the tournament. He started by paying $40 to register for an online tournament; a few tournaments later, his entry to the WSOP was paid for, and he was on his way. The 2003 World Series of Poker was already the most successful WSOP ever numbers wise; almost 900 players entered the tournament. Chris Moneymaker's win is simply going to bring poker to the masses, and ensure a 1000+ person pool of competitors in 2004. Well known names like Phil Hellmuth, Amarillo Slim and others are going to face their stiffest competition ever. The main thing preventing most people from playing texas hold'em is that they didn't have a place to play; online poker rooms just make the game accessible to the masses. The level of competition is going to sky-rocket, as people eye the 2.5 million dollar first place prize given out this year. For this reason, Chris Moneymaker is our Texas Hold'em Player of the Year for 2003, not because of his accomplishments, but because of what his accomplishments are going to do to the game of poker as we know it.
Info...Money Maker on June 6, 2004
HAHA - I saw moneymaker walking out of Binions after getting smoked within a couple hours of the WSOP. Dude had so many cameras around him it was unbelievable. I can't believe how much ESPN has hyped up this Fat phuck and this tourney. Too many players now - you need luck like foolish Robert Varkhoni to win this thing. I think they should bump up the buy-in to $25,000 to weed out the wannabees. MM and RV were outty within hours while trying to retain their titles. Hilarious. They suck - they need cards to win unlike the pros. Gve me someone like Dan HArrington who can smokes these guys anytime. That dude makes the final table so much it's nuts. LATE.
VABORIS on June 5, 2004
He Didnt Last Too Long This Year, Out In A Matter Of Minuets On The First Day. Guess The Luck Didnt Hold Up.
RICK on June 2, 2004
Moneymaker outdrew soooo many people in the 2003 WSOP. He shoulda been out of that tournament much earlier than he did or wait he was lucky enough to win. Aggressive but maybe too wreckless, it worked for him then but its not going to work in the long run. Altho i liked his bluff against Farha during Heads up. But not a bad amatuer.
Incubusfan72 on May 30, 2004
Chris, you can't play like you think you can. You should stay with your family in the towing business outside Knoxville, TN. I have beat your brains in down in Tunica, MS and I would do it in any home game you want to play. Holler back at me so we can tangle. I am only down the road from you MM!
JSP from Cleveland, Tennessee on May 30, 2004
Chris is a very good tournament player... Does anyone realize HE WON 2 MULTI TABLE SATELITE TOURNAMENTS to get his seat at the 2003 WSOP... with 100s of entrants. Which tells me he has most likely done well in the past, obviously done well in the WSOP, and pulled off at least 3 awesome finishes this year... Sounds to me like he is going to be in the poker picture for a long time to come... In 10 years, he will be a respected 'PokerStar' just like the others... Is he "The Best", of course not.. but he is a seriously strong tournament player... I sure wouldn't want to be in a big hand with him playing big slick vs. his little pockets.. and not hit my A or K... You had best just hide your face b4 the hand starts because his is gonna know... Yall now he got knocked out of the 2004 WSOP because a player caught a "2 outer" on the river!! That's poker.. Expect to see him at the 2005 WSOP with a better finish... I met him in San Diego on May 14th. at Harrah's and he is a very nice, funny guy, who enjoys playing poker and conversating with all the players and fans... Good goin Money!! I hope to follow in your footsteps (From PokerStars player TucsonOG... bring your cash to the No Limit Tables anytime, all you Money haters... I am always there to accept donations to my 2005 WSOP entry!!)
TucsonOG on May 30, 2004
hook on May 28, 2004
no MM had a AQ and Ivey had a 99, the flop comes Queen Queen something and then the turn card comes another 9 giving Ivey the full house. so we went all in and the the hell wouldnt MM call? and he did and he got an Ace on the river
Unregistered on May 27, 2004
Will MM ever take up Hon Le on his million dollar heads up challenge? I'd have to give the edge to Hon Le, that guy is frightening!!
Raiden_Fox on May 26, 2004
hes mad lucky, made some nice calls but in the end he just got so many good flops i mean Q/2os and hits Q/Q/?/2/? to amke fullhouseand the hand against phil ivey, full house beaten by a better full house too much luck
Unregistered on May 26, 2004
moneymaker is a degenerate gambler...and his father is the most annoying fuck ever....they both should be killed .....LONG LIVE HELLMUTH
Unregistered on May 25, 2004
Do Any Of You Idiots Know Anything About Poker? Luck Can Not Win You The Whole Damn Wsop! Mm Is A Good Player!!! So What If He Can't Win It Two Years In A Row, He Took Out So Many Players Last Year And He Is One Of The Best Out There!
NOT AN IDIOT on May 23, 2004
stax mcbluff on May 22, 2004
MM h8ter on May 22, 2004
joe on May 21, 2004
Hey geniuses, check out who just placed 10th at the WSOP Pot limit Omaha tournament...your buddy Chris Moneymaker. I think people need to wake up and realize it's not luck to win this thing, all players need luck, but skill takes it down. Moneymaker recently won another big holdem tournament, and his 10th finish in Omaha also proves he's not a one trick pony. Get a clue haters. Incidentally, Omaha is supposed to be Farha's game but I did not see his name on the money list.
Money's no joke!!! on May 20, 2004
The best post was, "Posted by: Jake on Mar 26, 2004 - He has proven to be the greatest of all time." That's like saying LeBron James is the best basketball player of all time. I love Money but that't just comical.
One funny post on May 20, 2004
Chris Moneymaker Is My Fav Poker Player, Because He Is A Serious Poker Man!i Called Him "john Daly" He Keep His Glasses On While His Tournament Start So No One Knew Who He Look At! Someday I Want To Met Him And Play Some Poker With Him.or Maybe I Want To Beat Him So, It Will Be Deaf's First Championship In The World !!i Will Be The One, If I Get My Support For Me To Go There To Wsop.
DEAFWORLDPOKER. on May 15, 2004
andrew on May 11, 2004
By Definition, your ignorant if you think MM will only lose 10k/yr playing poker. I just saw him last week playing in a $1k buy-in NL game, 30-60 blinds. You can make a killing in a game like that, but MM was in for 4k at the time. He won't be able to get away from the big games with all his money. I'm not saying he'll lose it all, but he's definitley a gambler. Go work on your gorilla math...late.
ratings on May 10, 2004
Tilt on May 10, 2004
Most of you are pissed. What you all have failed to mention, or realize do to lack of research, is that CM can play tourneys. The man cashed out a 2nd place $200,000 win a couple of months ago. He now has a track record, and perhaps his WSOP win wasn't a fluke.
Johnny Chan's left nut on May 10, 2004
It takes luck to make it to the final table against a field of 200 plus players... ... but to win at the final table takes skill, whether you want to admit it or not...Let's face it, Moneymaker isn't the greatest poker player in the world, but I'll be damned if he ain't one of the wealthiest right now. He could sit down now at the tables now for the next fifty years and steady lose $10k a year for the rest of his life and he STILL would still be ahead by some 2 million overall. So correct me if I'm wrong, but if poker is all just one long game, then Moneymaker has to one of the most successful poker players in the world (well at least for the next 50 years, but whose counting?)...
By Definition on May 9, 2004
badass93cobra on May 6, 2004
badass93cobra, you really are like the rest of these losers who dislike Moneymaker. The only reason you and these other cockhounds feel obligated to tear him down publicly is because of your own lack of confidence in your own game.
dba on May 6, 2004
Ratings is the only smart dude to post, the rest of you idiots are all talk. He was there the rest of you were not, end of discussion.
dba on May 5, 2004
You people who bash him are ridiculous. Everyone who has ever won one of these events has gotten lucky at some point. The "Ivey" hand was a bad beat for Moneymaker on the turn to begin with, so that's justice in my opinion. I'm not saying he's as good as the top pros, he did get real lucky, but he did not play BAD. The bluff on Farha was great, and so was the call on Boyd (I know I would have mucked that one, but he put him on a hand and stuck to his guns). I'm fairly confident that he will never win this event again, but who knows. I wouldn't say he's terrible.
Burt on May 5, 2004
considering the actual time length of the main event and the amount of time that you morons got to watch on ESPN, do you think that you might have missed a few hands? lets see.... 7 hours on ESPN vs. about 40-50 hours of live play. i think you all missed something here. no one could get a read on him, and when someone tried to put a move on him, he recognized it and took down the pot. Luck? I don't think so. Even the regular tournament pros have said that he played very well all the way to the end. why wouldn't he have made the call against ivey? could any of you lay down those queens knowing for sure that you had the best hand at the time? NO! back to the original comments, of course ESPN is going to show the hand against brenes, he hit a two outer, however, he had just taken several hands from brenes and wanted to intimidate him. after they show this hand, all of you can sit here and say that he got sooooooooo lucky. it is called ratings! now all of you and every other amateur with a bankroll of $10,000 think you can go win. now, instead of just getting the same or slightly better ratings, everyone in the country watches to see if another one of their amateur heroes can win it all again! it is just like what any other tv station does with shows, edits them to project the picture they want to portray. in this case, ESPN showed 1, 2 at best, lucky hands that MM played. it is not a lottery people, but if you ever win a tournament without getting lucky or hitting a 2-3 outer, then you must by some psychic power know exactly what cards are coming every hand. have any of you ever gotten into a pot with 99, played it out, and had your opponent turn over AK? who got lucky here? did you make a good read and call his bluff the whole way with 2nd pair, or did he get unlucky not hitting an A or a K? well, the truth is you probably got scared when a Q hit the board on the flop and figured that he hit it perfectly. do any of you "MM sucks people" even know what the odds of making a pair on the flop are? good grief, i am sure that because you have all read super system, all of a sudden you think you know how to play like doyle. well, guess what, you don't. and as for the guy that posted saying that MM knocked him out at bay 101, good for you for showing some good sportsmanship to all of these whiny babies who can't win an online multi table event, much less a WSOP main event.
ratings on April 28, 2004
ukgekko, too bad i'm pretty sure he is a gambling addict and probably already pissed away all the money from the wsop on the ponies.
tro on April 27, 2004
Mark my words...he won't crack top 200 in this years main event. Good guy though, but his play won't stand the test of time.
Nate71 on April 26, 2004
Who cares... he's a millionaire now. If he quit today and just lived the rest of his life he'd still have my respect. He looks like the kind of guy who'll actually hang on to his millions...
ukgekko on April 26, 2004
Obviously Dumb Luck prevailed the last 2 years at the WSOP. Hopefully that all changes this year. And for those of you amatures out there who think that MoneyMaker won the tournament because he made all the right calls or because he played well, I hope to see you guys this year at the WSOP.
Dallas Rounder on April 26, 2004
pure $%^*house luck, don't care for the way he plays and whats worse is how he looks and acts. look at his dad
philthy on April 25, 2004
The most controversial poker player in history. Personally, I think he's lucky, but still can hold his own. One does not master poker online.
22Miles on April 25, 2004
yet another voice on April 18, 2004
lucky but cool, if i was on the final table at wsop i doubt if i could play that agressive and stay cool!!
samsdmf on April 16, 2004
i hate moneymaker.he gets so lucky .the guy got everything and was the luckiest player in the tournament .i mean the bastard took out Johnny Chan
ace. on April 14, 2004
johnny chans dad on April 12, 2004
Johhny chans mother on April 7, 2004
Johnny Chan on April 4, 2004
Roy Batty on April 2, 2004
Yes He did play well, he did get lucky but i think the thing that really made him was how the real pros were gunning for him. They wanted to bully him but he stood up against them and did it well thats how he won. As far for making it to the final table again this year. I dont think he will do but GOOD LUCK ANYWAY.
Ron on March 28, 2004
Seeking opinion: On the bluff to Farha (busted flush draw versus Vahedi's top pair), afterwards they got talking and Vahedi claimed he folded Queens, and MM said something like "but the highest card was a ten...oh, you had them in your hand? Wow!" I thought this was brilliant acting on his part (someone wrote that he "couldn't remember" above), playing the role of dumb lucky amateur with aplomb to mess with Vahedi. What do others think?
Yoyoma on March 27, 2004
yo. on March 24, 2004
congrats to moneymaker for his intimidation. it will be interesting to see how he plays in the first day and hopefully he will get past it unlike varkonyi
brill on March 24, 2004
the reason he won was due to his ability of not letting players such as howard lederer read him. when you take that ability he becomes there equal heads up.
supersayon on March 24, 2004
stop getting down on moneymaker, he won the wsp2003 on skill he got lucky on that one hand against brenes besides that it was all skill. against ivey why wouldnt he call his all in with three queens and an ace kicker? and against farha he made some real gutsy moves and it paid off.
Unregistered on March 24, 2004
sounds like a lot of sour grapes here..don't forget that he bluffed Farha heads-up with NOTHING....with the tournament on the line...That takes cojones...luck is a great thing to have...I always say "the harder I work, the luckier I get"..Nice job Chris.
KBAM on March 22, 2004
People who think he's an absolute hack obviously know nothing about Tournament Poker at that level. I had the unfortunate experience of being busted by this guy last week at the Bay 101. Believe me he is for real. Impossible to read, and very difficult to bluff. He called me down with an underpair with 2 overcards on the board (which I missed). I can't think of too many pros that would have had the guts to make that play. In the WSOP, I think he made 1 mistake, calling Tomer's all in. To be honest, it wasn't that bad of a call. Chris had Tomer outchipped 4/1 and those of us who have played with Tomer know he could have made the bet with nothing. The play against Humberto was not a bad play. He did not "call" with pocket 8's. He raised, and for those of you who don't understand poker, this is called a bluff, or semibluff if you will. Running into pocket Aces can make anyone look foolish. Humberto put in a modest preflop raise so Chris did not suspect Aces. Humberto had lost a decent portion of his stack to Chris in the past several hands and I really think Chris thought Humberto was tilting, therefore trying to make a play at him. Humberto missplayed his hand. Instead of winning the pot, he was looking to double up. Slowplaying will kill you in high $$$ NL games, especially against the big stack. Look at the Lederer vs. Moneymaker in their AA vs. AK hand, flop came Kxx, Howard led and Moneymaker committed all his chips to the pot, forcing Howard to fold. That's the way it's supposed to be done in NL. When you have the best hand, you make it impossible for your opponent to draw. This is difficult for internet players to understand, because the play is vastly different. For the record, Chris NEVER put his tournament at risk with the worst hand after day 2. Chris had Humberto outchipped 4/1, Ivey 4/1, and Benvenisti 4/1. The read against Dutch Boyd was great, but I don't know if I'd have the stones to make that play.And don't confuse limit games with NL tourneys, that's like comparing the NFL to Australian Rules football. They are two different games completely. Just because you aren't great at Limit (and I'm not judging his limit play, I've never witnessed it), doesn't mean you are a poor No Limit Tourney player.BTW, he finished 2nd at the Bay 101, which will be televised on the Travel Channel in June. So if we combine WPT and WSOP events, he's had a better showing in the last year than most pros in the game. This guy is for real!
Pokerpro. on March 12, 2004
I do not know if SSS is him, or if by nevermind, quit looking at TV percentages he thought I was wrong he can go to cardplayer--the poker calculator and see that MM was a substantial favorite at 70%! Would you call with a 70% to become the chip leader and almost ensure a spot at the final table? Yep, the calculator also shows that AK has a 72% chance of winning over A5...Put yourself in both situations, in both situations you have a great chance to win the pot. Would you put all of your chips in, with this lead and try and WIN this tourny! You are already in the money--I'm pretty sure. It was a great call man.
Gman on March 12, 2004
Funny, your dead grandmother was WRONG, just like you. Must be genetic. And vahedi CALLED preflop twice with absolute trash, which BOTH chipped away at his huge stack.As someone else staed, the 33 play was on the flop, and he KNEW BOyd was on a play. by the way, I've won about 35k in tournaments the last year, and i dont even play them that much. Keep playing those low limit games, and if you ever wanna step up, come find me playing 200+15 10 person sit n go's on party 4 at a time, 150 tourneys a week......
pokerdali on March 11, 2004
sss on March 7, 2004
CM called A2s because A; HE had a stack. B. He Knew guys were getting aggressive substandard. HE was right, plain and siple. Just like when people say he got lucky and was dumb vs BOyd w/ the 33 hand. HE CALLED FOR LOW CARDS B4 BOYD EVEN SHOWED! If you dont understand this level of play, don't talk crap to someone who does. From your commentary, it's obvious i've FORGOTTEN more about tourney poker than you'll ever know, and make more in a average day of poker than you do in a year, thus SMALLSTAKES SAMMY! His play at the final table was as solid as anyones, and any PRO (emphasis obviously necessary) would understand that. AMir Vahdei is one of the best players in the world in tourneys, yet hwe looked like a idiot. ANy comments on him; of course not. High level poker at times looks bad. CM played solid aggressive poker, and was rewarded. Stick to the small stakes.
pokerDali on March 6, 2004
My Dead grandmother Knew he was up against overcards at minimum..... He was a slight favorite or a huge dog...Thanks for pointing out another mistake he made...If you call with threes in this situation you have no clue... How many tournaments have you won, you moron? Keep praising your idol and maybe some day you'll get blown out with small pairs against huge raises....THIS OBSERVATION BY YOU EXPOSES YOU AS A TOTAL FRAUD.. VAHEDI MADE THE AGGRESSIVE MOVE, HE DIDN'T CALL IT.. CALLING WITH BAD HANDS IS WAY WORSE THAN BLUFFING WITH THEM.......YES POCKET THREES ARE A HORRIBLE CALL, POKER 101.......
smallstakes on March 6, 2004
Uhh...What? His call was on the F-L-O-P, Dutch only had two more cards to outdraw him. I actually think the percentile meter said MM was about a 70% favorite. So it was a great call. In that situation the only potential bad factor is that is it for ALL his chips...but again, he is a big favorite. It's the equivalent of him calling with AK over A10 or something. Yes, if MM called and Dutch had A9, heck yes it would be a bad call, but the word IF is huge here. How can you honestly say it's THAT bad of a call? He basically won the tournament because of it, he was playing to win--he knew he needed the big stack to do so. I just think you REALLY REALLY hate MM.
Gman on March 6, 2004
When CM won the WSOP, he played a couple of days later a 200$ buy in on sunday at PokerStars. I noticed that i had make a note on his picture "money800". I made this note before he played the wsop ..And you know what my note was : you guess i will posted it in a couple of days
Erik123 on March 3, 2004
Call it what you want, but Chris is laughing the whole way to the bank. He played very well. In poker you need to have the skill and make the right calls to get in an oppertunity to get a little lucky. And you do need some lucky catches to win a tournament of that size. He made some great calls to put himself in position to catch some luck. Alot of players would not have made some of the great plays he did to put himself in a position to get some luck and win the whole thing! Good Job Chris and I hope you do well next year!
awobball44 on March 3, 2004
Hey pokerdali,your as dumb as MM. After tomer reraised to about 500,000. The nitwit called with A2 suited .That might be the worse play of them all. The blinds were 15,000-30,000..His job is to not let this guy double up..A2 is a Internet Players dream hand.. Pros know how much of a dog he could of been and would of threw away that hand..You look at the end results instead of reality.......
smallsstakessammy on March 3, 2004
I was unsure what to think of Moneymaker until he took down that pot against Farha heads up. One of the best bluffs I've ever seen. Anyone can win a pot when they have a hand, but only the pros can take down a pot with rags. Maybe he's not a pro, but that was a pro move.
Bry on March 2, 2004
rebuttals, in order;Billye: Name the SEVERAL times he put all his $$ i when behind. I can think of 2,(other than a bluff), 88 vs AA, and AQ vs 99. what are the others? name me a player who played better overall. Tll me "all the other mistakes the typical internet player makes" he made. allin vs aggression with a draw only? Calling 25% of his stack with a likely 2 outer? Oh, no, those were moves made by Johnny CHan and Phil Ivey, 2 of the best players on the planet.smallstakes sammy;Again, what HUGE mistakes? 88 was the only one, and it was an aggression mistake. If he CALLS 88, then thats a HUGE mistake, but he didn't. Maybe you just don't know the difference."Johnny CHan" (yeah, right) Actually, he had top pair/mid kicker and njut flush draw, so CM was about a 97% favorite.
pokerdali on March 2, 2004
Does everyone remeber the final hand i played against money maker?Kh-5h against A nut flush draw only 7 hearts were left in the deck!!I put the position into my computer,I had a 72%of winning he just got lucky.
Johnny Chan on March 1, 2004
Just a message to everyone talking about how Chris Moneymaker is horribly lucky and everything:Talk all you want, but the fact is, you wish you had won the WSOP. One guy gets lucky and wins 2.5 million dollars, and everyone hates him.Would you hate someone who won the lottery?
Brenny on February 29, 2004
The simple facts are that he made some giant mistakes. The odds of him winning with these type of mistakes were slim. He will never make it past the first day again.. MM will be making a $10000 donation every year for the rest of his life!!!
smallstakessammy on February 29, 2004
josmo on February 28, 2004
Ive been playing and watching poker for over 20 years and CM played as well as any pro in that tournament. He got lucky just like every person who has every won has but to all of you who think he has no skill how many of you could have bluffed out a man with top pair or called with poket 33 againts someone who tried to buy the pot. I dont know if he will ever be at the final table again but i do know with out the great calls and bluffs he did make all the luck he got wouldnt have got him the title. Great job moneymaker
michael/rotag28/luckystarr28 on February 27, 2004
While CM DEFINITELY got lucky, I agree with pokerdali that he made some great plays that everyone doesn't realize. I agree that his won over Ivey was not ridiculous, what was redicilous was Ivey hitting the 9 on 4th street. But most of all, CM went all in when he was heads up against Farha, after he missed the flush and straight draw, and got Farha to fold top pair (jacks) when CM was holding absolute garbage. That was a championship play. Luck is a huge part in poker, even when you have a lot of skill.
The_House on February 26, 2004
Farha folded a pair of 9's that hand...CM was so amped by that pot that he couldn't even REMEMBER what was on the board. (He thought the high card was a 10 by the way)
Stax McBluff on February 26, 2004
Moneymaker is a good player but luck definately played a factor, should have definately been out with that call on Phil Ivey, and there were other incidences. But then again he also made some great calls later on in the tournament, like the one he made against Dutch Boyd, loved it.
dbmc7 on February 24, 2004
pokerdali, second place at the wsop in 2002 was 23 year old julian gardner. a very solid player. cheers.
deac on February 24, 2004
Yes All his MISTAKES PAID OFF..oh yeah nikki baby...I'm sure Ron will be seeing you at the $1-2 tables.
Unregistered on February 23, 2004
civil66 on February 23, 2004
He Put All His Money In When He was behind several times..He made so many mistakes a typical internet player makes.. If he gets to final table again I will walk to Vegas....P.S. His dad was a total idiot as well!!!!
bill/billye/billye1111 on February 21, 2004
A player with a TON of heart, a guy not afraid to push it all in with nothing...of course, this makes him tremendously tough to play, and if he can get some more good cards this year I predict he will go well on after the 1st day...unlike R. Varkoyni. Sure, Chris sucked out a couple of times but on those occasions only half or so of his stack was at risk, remember the call against Dutch? Great reader, underestimated I think.
Gman on February 19, 2004
Chris is a good tournament player. Look at some of the plays a few of the "greats" such as Chan and Ivey made vs him; I dont see anyone dissing them. Chan made a god-awful bluff at him, trying to outplay, and people like to say how "lucky" he was vs. Ivey. TOTAL BS. Ivey called 300K of his stack with a 2 outer, and hit, and you expect CM to fold top trips best kicker? Ivey hit a 22-1, Cm hit a 6.5-1, so lets not talk luck. On the brenes hand, yeah, he got lucky, but only because brenes played it that way. I GUARANTEE he doesn't call 88 if brenes goes all in, but brenes tried to get tricky, and got busted. ANY player who wins a tourney gets lucky, period. CM is a solid tourney player, and comparisons to Varkonyi are laughable. Varkonyi won when behind and with TERRIBLE cards at least 6 times in the late stages, and then got hit with the deck. The only reason the guy who finished 2nd,(who was a very good player, but his name escapes me at the time) couldn't beat him, is that he couldn't get a hand, and he knew Varkonyi wasn't good enough to fold anything. People who think CM sux at tourney poker just don't know how good tourney poker is played, plain and simple.
PokerDali on February 19, 2004
why do y'all play poker? to win money? I thought so....he won it...you didn't. Don't cry "luck"...no one believes your stupid story anyway PokerKing....it's easy to be a hotshot on the web.
Frank/ FrankyDaPit/ pitbull2122 on February 18, 2004
he's good for a amaturer, but he had no business winning that. he got so lucky it was unreal. but poker is luck also . but wow did he get lucky ... but i will tip my hat to him .... he picked the right time to get lucky.lol wow ,,, poker king ... he won 2.5 million lol what could have lost in a 30-60 game 10k at the most .... wow do the math u .... u think he cares about the 10-20 k he lost. wow he got another 2.48 million
nicky baby on February 17, 2004
Poker king, learn who to talk and type. Good for moneymaker, because I didn't see poker king win the WSOP. Big Deal if lost to you and some of your backwards Indiana friends, everyone loses once in awhile, buy not everyone wins as big as he did. he took em all down one by one.
Tom on February 16, 2004
Dont Be Hating Chris Beacause He Won The Wsop. Sure He Got Lucky A Few Hands Who Doesn't? Its Poker For Christ Sake. But I Think For An Amaturer He Did Very Good. I Like His Poker Face Handled The Pressure Quite Well. Hes Allright In My Book.
zman1979 on February 16, 2004
That call he made against Dutch Boyd with pocket threes with three overcards on the flop was awesome. He could've gone home had he lost that hand ...
tri on February 14, 2004
Reed L on February 14, 2004
Moneymaker???? Weatlthy yes fourtunate of course. Poker player No way. That week great for moneymaker yes. But shortly after he comes to ceasers glory of rome in southern indiana and drops a huge chunk of his bankroll in a 30-60 ring game he was awful I'll play with moneymaker any time anywhere see ya in ceasers soon again i hope HACK your a HACK
poker king on February 13, 2004
Tom on February 12, 2004
brenes. enough said. he has to be a decent player to get this far, but he can never play my cash, ever.
rookie on February 12, 2004
Bryan Evans on February 8, 2004
The Body on February 5, 2004
The kid never backed down. Agressive, Agressive, Agressive. You don't get lucky that many times. Look at all the great players he sent to the rail!
FSU1 on February 4, 2004
Ron on January 27, 2004
Famous Players
Alan GoehringAlex BrenesAllen CunninghamAmarillo SlimAmir VahediAn TranAndy BlackAndy BlochAnnie DukeAntonio EsfandiariBarbara EnrightBarny BoatmanBarry GreensteinBerry JohnstonBobby BaldwinBrad DaughertyCarlos MortensenChad BrownChip JettChip ReeseChris "Jesus" FergusonChris BiglerChris KaragulleyanChris MoneymakerChrister JohanssonClonie GowenCrandell AddingtonCyndi VioletteDan HarringtonDaniel NegreanuDave "Devilfish" UlliotDavid BenyamineDavid ChiuDavid ColcloughDavid GreyDavid PhamDavid PlastikDavid WilliamsDewey TomkoDoyle BrunsonDutch BoydEric BrenesEric FroehlichErica SchoenbergErick LindgrenErik SeidelEskimo ClarkEvelyn NgFarzad BonyadiGarry BushGavin SmithGreg RaymerGus HansenHarry DemetriouHasan HabibHon LeHoward LedererHoyt CorkinsHuck SeedHumberto BrenesIsabelle MercierJason LesterJC TranJeff MadsenJeff ShulmanJennifer HarmanJesper HougaardNEWJoe AwadaJoe BartholdiJoe BeeversJoe CadaJohn BonettiJohn CernutoJohn D'AgostinoJohn HenniganJohn JuandaJohn MyungJohn PhanJohnny ChanJose RosenkrantzJoseph HachemJosh AriehJuha HelppiJulian GardnerKassem "Freddy" DeebKathy LiebertKenna JamesKirill GerasimovLayne FlackLee WatkinsonLiz LieuMarcel LuskeMarco TranielloMark SeifMartin de KnijffMatt MatrosMaureen Feduniak Mel JudahMen NguyenMichael MizrachiMike MatusowMimi TranOklahoma Johnny HalePatrik AntoniusPaul DardenPaul MagrielPaul MaxfieldPaul PhillipsPerry FriedmanPeter CostaPhil GordonPhil HellmuthPhil IveyPhil LaakRam VaswaniRobert VarkonyiRobert WilliamsonRon RoseRoss BoatmanRuss HamiltonRussell RosenblumSam GrizzleSammy FarhaScott FischmanScotty NguyenStan GoldsteinSteve DannenmannStu UngarT.J. CloutierTed ForrestThomas KellerThor HansenTiffany MichelleTim PhanTodd BrunsonTony DTony GTony MaVanessa RoussoYoung PhanPoker Personalities
Brandi HawbakerMike SextonNorman ChadShana HiattVince Van PattenWild Bill HickokBusiness & Industry
Anurag DikshitBarry ShulmanBenny BinionCalvin AyreLyle BermanMatt SavageRuth ParasolVikrant BhargavaPoker Groups
Hendon MobTeam BodogTeam FullTiltTeam PartyPokerTeam PokerStarsThe CrewOnline Players
Annette_15Brian TownsendDurrrrErik123Isildur1JennicideLeatherassNeverwinRaiNKhaNTheV0idZiigmundCelebrities
Andy BealBen AffleckCindy MargolisGabe KaplanJames WoodsJennifer TillyJerry BussMimi RogersNorm MacDonaldShannon ElizabethTobey MaguireWil WheatonPoker Authors
Andy GlazerDavid SklanskyJames McManusLee JonesLou KriegerMike CaroRolf SlotboomTom McEvoyVince BurgioWPT Amateurs
Harley HallJames TippinRandy JensenFictional Players
Cincinnati KidKGBMike McDermottWormLogin
Casino & Poker
