Chris Moneymaker
About Chris Moneymaker
Chris Moneymaker is a professional Poker player and probably best known for winning the 2003 World Series of Poker Main Event. He qualified for the WSOP in a satellite tournament and not seen as a significant contender, yet his victory proved to the world that perseverance and hard work could take you places.
He was the middle child born in Atlanta, Georgia to a middle-class family. His father worked for a travel agency which provided the family with free vacations, and it was on one of their free trips. Chris experienced the thrill of gambling. They managed to sneak into the cruise ships casino and made it to a slot machine but were escorted out penniless.
His Life
Moneymaker graduated from the University of Tennessee with both a bachelors and his masters in accounting. He enjoyed playing poker once a week with friends or online at PokerStars but at that stage never thought of pursuing it as a career. However, as time passed bills piled up and he started playing poker online and luckily for him his $39 buy-in satellite tournament at PokerStars paid off.
At the start of the game, Moneymaker played to lose as he wanted to finish in fourth place for the cash prize however a friend of his convinced him to go for first as it would be a once in a lifetime experience, how right he was. The World Series of Poker began in 2003 and Moneymaker was competing against 838 of the best poker players globally, and each one started the game with 10000 chips. That day he finished with 60 000 chips and placed him 11th. The second day of the competition saw only 111 players left including Moneymaker who sat in 26th position with 10000 chips. Moneymaker just kept winning, and in the fifth day, Moneymaker beat Farha with a great bluff and walking away with 2.5 million and a gold signature bracelet.
Conclusion
Today he is PokerStars primary spokesperson and has attracted many new players. The sudden attention poker stared receiving was known as the “Moneymaker effect” This man is a true inspiration and shows people anything is possible if you set your heart and mind to it!
